Washington is in many ways a small city where the very poor and
vulnerable live within sight of the rich and powerful. Rarely do the
two groups meet or talk. Saturday night was an exception.
At a private home in the tony Kalorama neighborhood, surrounded by
embassies and multimillion-dollar residences, the elite women of D.C.
spent an evening with women who have survived addiction, incarceration
and poverty. Read the article...
Recent Events
On October 20, two girl leaders from the Rebecca Project for Human
Rights, Nadeyah Sheffer and Tiffany Rivera, testified before the US
House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee. Please see pictures and
the girls' testimonies.
Feature Media
Malika Saar on Protecting Women on the Margins. View media...
Girls Initiative
The invisibility of girls extends beyond the walls of their
confinement, to the ways in which juvenile justice discourse and
reforms neglect vulnerable girls. Read more...
The Rebecca Project for Human Rights, (RPHR) is a national legal and policy organization that advocates for public policy reform, justice and dignity for vulnerable families.
The Rebecca Project strives to reform child welfare, criminal justice, and substance abuse policies that impact the lives of vulnerable families. We frame the pervasiveness of violence against women and girls, the draconian conditions that too often characterize maternal incarceration, and the dearth of access to health and healing for mothers and their children, as fundamental human rights violations.
We seek to stop the shattering cycle of violence, trauma and addiction.
We seek to urge for policies and practices that honor, strengthen, and render whole the sacred ties between parents and children.
We affirm the worth and dignity of every child, every family.
Mother and Girl Leadership
Film on Mother and Girl Leaders
Our Vision
We believe that vulnerable mothers and children—and all families—have the right to live free of sexual and physical violence, to heal from the injuries of violence, trauma and addiction, and to raise our children in healthy, safe, and strong communities.
What's New
REBECCA PROJECT IN THE WASHINGTON POST
A D.C. activist with humble roots has powerful people adopting her cause
December 24, 2009
The Making of Malika is a five-part harmony. A song of elevation on a capital scale.
She delivers the foundational bass note, if you will -- Malika Saada Saar, the one with all the street cred, all the degrees, all the passion. The activist with the au courant social cause: a small organization called the Rebecca Project for Human Rights, dedicated to reforming welfare and criminal justice policies affecting women and children. Read the article...
REBECCA PROJECT IN THE WASHINGTON POST
'Precious' girls without a happy ending
by Malika Saada Saar
The movie sensation "Precious" ends with the line "for precious girls
everywhere." Director Lee Daniels's story of Precious, a poor, abused,
illiterate and overweight African American teenager, is indeed a
tribute to the forgotten girls living at the edges of U.S. society.
'Precious' Character Is Reality For Some Girls
November 18, 2009
Host Michel Martin talks with Malika Saadar Saar, executive director
and founder of the Rebecca Project about the real life of girls like
Precious, and what can be done to help them to overcome difficult
situations. Read more...
REBECCA PROJECT IN THE HILL
Rebecca Project for Human Rights
November 17, 2009
An evening honoring the Rebecca Project for Human Rights was held at Juleanna Glover's
Kalorama home Saturday evening. The Rebecca Project is a national
policy and legal organization that strives to achieve public policy
reform, justice and dignity for vulnerable families. Read the article...
REBECCA PROJECT IN POLITICO
Stories of Success
November 15, 2009
A benefit for the Rebecca Project for Human Rights was held at the
Kalorama home of Juleanna Glover Saturday night. Female survivors
of violence, incarceration and addiction, whose plights are the focus
of the public policy advocacy group, mingled with some of the city's
most powerful women. Read the article...
REBECCA PROJECT IN THE HUFFINGTON POST
Race, Violence Against Girls, and the New Oprah Movie
by Malika Saada Saar
The Oprah Winfrey-produced movie, "Precious," which recently opened to
ecstatic reviews, tells the story of a poor, abused, illiterate, and
overweight African-American teen. Rarely has American popular culture
bothered to fully humanize a young woman on the forgotten edges of the
American experience -- or courageously unearth the injuries of spirit
and body done to so many vulnerable African-American girls.
