Statement from Next Door Solutions on Gender-Based Violence & Reproductive Justice

Statement from Next Door Solutions on Gender-Based Violence & Reproductive Justice

Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence is committed to ending domestic violence in the moment and for all time. Domestic violence is an ongoing pattern of intimidation, violence, controlling, and/or terrorizing behaviors by one person over another, and may encompass the denial of survivors’ bodily autonomy and reproductive decision making. We support survivors’ access to safe, affordable, and comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including abortion.Since 1971, Next Door Solutions has supported thousands of survivors, some who have been raped by their current or former intimate partner, who were denied access to birth control, who were threatened with injury or death if they became pregnant or terminated a pregnancy, who were sexually coerced into becoming pregnant against their wishes. These forms of abuse are used to control an intimate partner, denying them bodily autonomy and reproductive decision-making.Restrictions to reproductive health care disproportionately harm people of color, lower-income and rural communities, and LGBTQIA+ people who face obstacles to accessing affordable and safe health care that meets their needs and the needs of their families. Black women are already twice as likely, and Latina women are 1.6 times as likely to get late or no prenatal care compared to White women. Black women are about 1.5 times more likely than white women to experience preterm birth and are more than three times as likely to die through pregnancy and childbirth. Next Door Solutions’ programs and services are based on a survivor-defined model; we recognize the survivor is the most knowledgeable person in regards to their life and all the circumstances surrounding and flowing through it. It also means that we don’t “tell” the survivor what they should or should not do. That includes their reproductive decision-making. We support survivors’ choices and provide access to reproductive health care services including condoms, Plan B, pregnancy tests, and information about healthcare options and resources to support survivors’ reproductive freedom.Our vision is a community that views domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence as unacceptable, where survivors and families have the support and resources to achieve a life free of violence and abuse. Survivors, and all people, deserve the freedom to fully control their life and body, and reproductive decision-making.