Mission
The mission of the Southwest Women’s Law Center is to create the opportunity for women to realize their full economic and personal potential by:
- eliminating gender bias, discrimination and harassment;
- lifting women and their families out of poverty; and
- ensuring that all women have full control over their reproductive lives through access to comprehensive reproductive health services and information.
Guiding Principles
The Center seeks unique and creative ideas and collaborations to accomplish our mission, and our advocacy is guided by the following principles:
- there is a significant relationship between gender bias and
discrimination, poverty, and reproductive justice;
- legal advocacy is necessary to create the systemic changes
needed to improve the lives of a large number of women and
girls;
- women of color, including immigrant women, face additional
obstacles and discrimination that must be considered in all
aspects of our work;
- our agenda should arise in part from ideas and information
received from community-based service providers and advocates
who work on behalf of low-income women and girls in New Mexico;
and
- collaborations at the national and local level are essential for identifying and implementing the most effective strategies for fulfilling the Center’s mission.
Long-Term Goals
Girls in New Mexico have the educational opportunities and support needed to remain in school and obtain a high school diploma.
The working poor and victims of domestic and sexual violence have sufficient time off to address family and medical issues, and, in the case of victims, to deal with the aftermath of the violence.
All women of childbearing age in New Mexico have access to comprehensive family planning and reproductive health services.
All young people in New Mexico receive age-appropriate, medically accurate comprehensive sexuality education.
New Mexico courts preserve and expand the legal rights and protections afforded to women and girls in New Mexico under federal and state law.
Community-based agencies that work with women and girls are able to increase opportunities for their clients to receive necessary services and attain economic self-sufficiency through legal advocacy.