OUR VISION

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Freedom from sexual violence

We recognize that sexual violence and rape culture are so pervasive that people often don’t realize they aren’t free from it. Ampersand envisions a world in which we recognize the impact sexual violence has on every individual and every community, and decide as one unit that it’s no longer acceptable.

OUR MISSION

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Support individuals & engage communities

When it boils down, the focus of Ampersand is to support folks who have been impacted by violence, and to engage the community in changing rape culture. We hope that our mission is as meaningful to you as it is to us.

OUR VALUES

  1. We stand firm in our convictions. We strive to be brave and vulnerable as we provide resources to individuals and as we grow and develop.
  2. We prioritize anti-oppression. It is our responsibility as individuals, an organization, and a community to show through our words and actions that we are mindful of the privileges we carry. We are dedicated to developing strategies to diminish rather than further the oppression of one another.
  3. We function through an intentionally intersectional lens and use it to inform all of our actions and decisions. To achieve freedom from sexual violence, we need to intentionally engage individuals of differing backgrounds from all walks of life.
  4. We value healthy and open communication because sexual violence thrives on secrecy, shame, and isolation. We connect survivors to support and resources, communities to the cause, and stakeholders to each other. We will thoughtfully consider others perspectives and opinions, and when we disagree will do so with compassion.
  5. We value trustworthiness. We will cultivate trust through practicing transparency, authenticity, and reliability. We preserve the confidentiality of the individuals we support to the highest degree allowed by law.
  6. We value the intrinsic strengths, abilities, and worthiness of individuals and communities, and we hold space in which those traits can be harnessed.
  7. We value holistic well-being, recognizing that each individual is a whole person whose life intersects with sexual violence. We will support and encourage practices that foster health and longevity.
  8. We believe that we can and will create a culture of consent. We vow to recognize our success and view failures as a step toward positive change. We will approach our work with tenacity and determination.
  9. We value shared ownership of sexual violence. We join together to craft solutions and engage each person in creating a culture free from sexual violence.

We are uniquely positioned as experts in our field. We cultivate and share our expertise as we seek freedom from sexual violence by supporting individuals and engaging communities.