Many individuals and organizations across the country have been working for years to enact policies that ensure workers are able to do things like care for themselves or a loved one when they are ill, be home with a newborn during those crucial first few months, spend time with a dying family member, or heal from the trauma of sexual or intimate partner violence - And all without worrying about losing their paycheck. While to many, policies like Paid Family Medical Leave and Paid Safe Days seem like a basic human decency that we all deserve, the fight for such policies has been anything but easy.

Today's guest, Josephine Kalipeni is one of the leaders navigating this fight across the country. From a local organizer, to consulting, to executive level leadership, Josephine Kalipeni has been working in economic, racial, and gender justice policy and advocacy for more than 20 years. Born in Malawi and raised in the Midwest by immigrant parents, (and as the oldest of six children) Josie has personally navigated immigration, a bicultural identity, caregiving, and racism in Africa and North America. She initially worked in social work, where she witnessed systemic issues that drove her into progressive advocacy, particularly on issues of Medicaid, elder care, and caregiving. Josie is working to rethink traditional systems of work and leadership and ensure that everyone can give and receive care on their own terms.

In this conversation, Josie and I explore how policies that increase economic supports for families are deeply connected to sexual violence prevention. More than that, though- we really dive into the idea that this country has decided who is and is not deserving of dignity when it comes to rest and care, and what we can do to change that.

LINKS:
Don't Leave Your Friends Behind - Victoria Law and China Martens
The Need for Paid Safe Leave & Model Legislative Language
Emergent Strategy - Adrienne Marie Brown

Both/And is a project of the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs.
www.nmcsap.org

Intro music: "Can't Get Enough Sunlight" written and recorded by Michelle Chamuel http://michellechamuel.com/
Logo: Alex Ross-Reed
Produced by: Jess Clark
Edited By: Dacia Clay at Pillow Fort Studios
https://www.pillowfortpodcasts.com

In March of 2020, today's guest, Sarah Viren published a piece in the New York Times Magazine that left me seriously questioning some of my long-held beliefs about false accusations of sexual violence. It was an engrossing story that read like some kind of mystery or detective novel—except it was all true and had all happened to Sarah and her wife. And at the heart of it was this deeply nuanced conversation that I had never considered about false accusations being used to target the very people that laws like Title IX were created to protect.

From that piece came a podcast, and eventually a book that leaned into the complicated and very human narratives that can surround false accusations. In this episode, Sarah and I talk about why it was so important for her to tell her story, the larger implications of overly-simplified narratives, and how (like we often do over here at Both/And!) we can sit in the discomfort of many things being true at once.

Sarah Viren is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and author of two books of nonfiction. Her essay collection Mine won the River Teeth Book Prize and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Her memoir To Name the Bigger Lie was a New York Times Editor's Choice and named a best book of the year by NPR and LitHub. A National Endowment for the Arts Fellow and a National Magazine Award finalist, Viren teaches in the creative writing program at Arizona State University. She lives in Tempe, Arizona with her partner, two kids and adorable rescue dog Oki.

LINKS:
Learn more about Sarah Viren!

To Name the Bigger Lie - A Memoir in Two Stories

The Inbox - Part of The 11th, a podcast series from Pineapple Street Studios

The Accusations Were Lies. But Could We Prove It? - Sarah’s New York Times Magazine piece

Both/And is a project of the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs.
www.nmcsap.org

Intro music: "Can't Get Enough Sunlight" written and recorded by Michelle Chamuel http://michellechamuel.com/
Logo: Alex Ross-Reed
Produced by: Jess Clark
Edited By: Dacia Clay at Pillow Fort Studios
https://www.pillowfortpodcasts.com

Have you ever felt like you didn't belong in movement space because you didn't have all the "right" language? If so, you are very much not alone! In this episode, Janae Sargent and I moved through the idea that some of the language that can be so helpful in grant applications and public health spaces can also limit our ability to reach the communities we know should be centered, and become a barrier to talented and passionate people getting in and staying in prevention.

Janae Sargent (she/they) received Bachelor's Degrees in Journalism and Fine Arts from Pacific University, Oregon. After working in print and broadcast journalism for several years, she transitioned into the anti-violence field in 2018, as a community organizer and prevention practitioner. Her work has primarily included TGI justice, reproductive justice and community-level prevention. At VALOR, she coordinates the day-to-day activities of PreventConnect and advances policy initiatives through the Solis Policy Institute. When she is not working, Janae spends her time outside on the trails, snuggling her pup and illustrating.

LINKS:
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded

Measuring Love as Violence Prevention

Prevent Connect

ValorUS

Both/And is a project of the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs.
www.nmcsap.org

Intro music: "Can't Get Enough Sunlight" written and recorded by Michelle Chamuel http://michellechamuel.com/
Logo: Alex Ross-Reed
Produced by: Jess Clark
Edited By: Dacia Clay at Pillow Fort Studios
https://www.pillowfortpodcasts.com