Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs

Maddesyn George is a young Native mother, a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, and a survivor of sexual and domestic violence. She has been incarcerated since July 2020 for defending herself against her attacker. Instead of receiving support after suffering a traumatic experience, Maddesyn was incarcerated and denied bail, and separated from her infant daughter and community. She is being prosecuted by the U.S. federal government. Maddesyn has accepted a plea deal and is currently awaiting her sentencing hearing, which has been rescheduled for November 17. She faces up to seventeen years in prison.

Maddesyn’s story is emblematic of the ways U.S. criminal legal systems all too often neglect or exacerbate harm against Indigenous victims and survivors of violence. The targeting of Native women for violence is a fundamental aspect of settler colonialism both historically and today. Visit the full campaign website here.

On September 29, 2021 WCSAP's board of directors voted to publicly commit to not enforce Non Disclosure Agreements (NDSs) in place against former employees who speak out about their experiences of racism or other discrimination during their employment at the organization. This decision was based on our board's commitment to furthering transparency and accountability, related to harms experienced by former WCSAP employees. The NDAs have the effect of silencing people from sharing about their experiences of harm, which is in direct opposition to our movement's role in supporting survivors in telling their stories.

*note: Previously, this post had a typo and said that the vote was on September 30, 2021. The WCSAP Board of Directors actually completed their vote on September 29, 2021. The post has been updated to reflect this error.