Advocacy Learning Center Sponsors

The vision and design of the Learning Center have been shaped by advocates and advocacy programs from around the country. The course builds upon 30 years of organizing by thousands of sexual assault and domestic violence advocates.

It is offered by Praxis International and Manavi in partnership with the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice

---

Praxis International is a nonprofit research and training organization that works toward the elimination of violence in the lives of women and children. Praxis works with local, statewide, and national reform initiatives to bridge the gap between what people need and what institutions provide. Since 1996, the organization has worked with advocacy organizations, intervention agencies, and inter-agency collaborations to create a clear and cooperative agenda for social change in their communities.



Praxis is partnering with Manavi to ensure that an organization engaged in advocacy daily is at the heart of the Advocacy Learning Center. Led by and on behalf of South Asian women, Manavi not only works with a community outside of mainstream legal and social welfare institutions, but also integrates direct, institutional, community, and transnational advocacy. Manavi’s woman-centered advocacy is strengthened by a keen understanding of the intersection of violence against women, gender status, and social, economic, and political factors.



The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) of the U.S. Department of Justice administers financial support and technical assistance to communities around the country that are creating programs, policies, and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. Its mission is to provide national leadership to improve the Nation’s response to these crimes through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), the Violence Against Women Act of 2000, and the Violence Against Women Act of 2005. OVW pursues this mission by supporting community efforts, enhancing education and training, disseminating best practices, launching special initiatives, and leading the Nation’s efforts to end violence against women.