Reproductive Rights
For Chicanas & Latinas and other women of color, reproductive rights mean helping women make informed decisions about their lives, their bodies, and their families. This includes everything from educating about basic health services, family planning, contraception, abortion, and health insurance, to helping women stay safe from domestic violence, sexual assault, forced sterilization, and all violence.
The National
Latina Institute for Reproductive Health has worked since 1994 "to
ensure the fundamental human right to reproductive health for Latinas,
their families and their communities through education, advocacy and
coalition building." The site has up-to-date,
well-researched data sheets on reproductive health issues among Mexicanas and Latinas, native and
immigrant, as well as fact sheets about public funding issues. Their
links page has an excellent
set of resources including information on domestic violence, emergency
contraception (morning-after pill), diabetes, sexuality, abortion clinics
(and funding help), HIV/AIDS, and other women of color health resources. Don't
miss this powerful, educational site!
The Feminist Women's Health Center in Seattle, Washington offers lots of information on women's health in English y Espanol, including birth control options, breast care, abortion, menopause, and more. Especially valuable is their collection of stories by women who have made decisions involving abortion, and their birth control comparison chart (tambien en espanol).
For teenagers and youth, check out Scarleteen for direct and unbiased information in clear language about sexuality and relationships.
Immigration
The
National Network on Immigration & Refugee
Rights is an amazing coalition
of immigration, legal, labor, civil rights and religious activists seeking
to promote a "just immigration and refugee policy in the United States
and to defend and expand the rights of all immigrants and refugees, regardless
of immigration status." This is the site to check for up-to-date
fact sheets and analysis
of recent Congressional legislation.
Education
For a Chicana feminist perspective on Texas educational policy, read Educational Equity, Politics & Policy in Texas by UT Austin professor Angela Valenzuela and her staff.
Scholarships! For an excellent general resource on financial aid for Chicana/o and Latina/o students, check out Latino College Dollars: Scholarships for Latino Students compiled by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute
And more scholarships! The folks at Educators for Fair Consideration have compiled this list of scholarships that don't require social security numbers.
Domestic Violence
We've long been grateful to The Women's Justice Center/Centro de Justicia para Mujeres in Santa Rosa, California, for this terrific fully bilingual website that offers basic help resources as well as information about policy issues and supporting women in abusive relationships. Don't miss their extensive online handbook, Advocating for Women in the Criminal Justice System (English o espanol) , or esta seccion para mujeres inmigrantes.
Arte Sana es una
agencia que existe para 
ayudar a nuestras comunidades a sobrevivir y prevenir
la violencia a través
de la educación comunitaria y el empoderamiento artístico/cultural. In
other words, they serve survivors of
gender and racial violence in ways that promote healing and empowerment
through the arts and community education. See their beautiful
art gallery, and various resources including the Latina Sexual
Assault Victim Advocate's Toolkit in English y Espanol (Recursos
para Sobrevivientes de la Violacion y la Violencia Sexual y Domestica que
Buscan Ayuda en Espanol). The site is also home to ALAS,
a Latina-led national Latina victim advocate’s group.
Civil Rights
The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF) was founded in 1968 in San Antonio, Texas, to foster just public policies, laws and programs to safeguard the civil rights of the 40 million Latinos living in the United States and to empower the Latino community to fully participate in our society. The site includes research and policy analysis on issues of education, law, economic development, immigration, and language.
The National Council of La Raza, headed by Janet Murguia, is the largest national civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. See their extensive fact sheets and policy information on issues including civil rights, community and family, education, employment, immigration, farmworkers, and health.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers does terrific work organizing "Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida." Since 1993, they've used a mix of research, public outreach, and worker organizing, they use creative and effective strategies to make change --see their Anti-Slavery Campaign and Campaign for Fair Food.
Violence Against Women Globally
The murders of the women of Ciudad Juarez remain one of the most grievous instances of femicide in the United States. More than four hundred women and girls have been reported killed and another seventy missing in the vicinity of Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua, Mexico. Read up on the situation at the Amnesty International page, Derechos Humanos de la Mujer. Chicana director Lourdes Portillo has written and produced a movie about these killings titled Señorita Extraviada.
Hay varios redes en espanol sobre asuntos de la violencia contra la mujer. La Red Feminista Latinoamericana y del Caribe ofrece recursos sobre la Violencia Domestica y Sexual; la Red es parte de la Isis Internacional en Chile, que tiene recursos excelentes de la salud de la mujer en todas partes de latinoamerica, incluyendo este BancoDatosFeminicidio - AmericaLatina y Caribe Espanol. Redfeminista.org (La Red Estatal de Organizaciones Femenistas contra la Violencia de Genero) en Espana tiene recursos, leyes, documentos, y campanas internacionales.