The Power in Community

We recently had the awesome opportunity to sit down with Jahla Lawrence, a young leader in the sexual violence sector, to talk about her experiences and her advice for other young people.

You can check out the first part of our interview here where we talk about all things social change, and Jahla’s experience working in advocacy and the sexual violence sector. In the second half of our interview, Jahla shares some awesome insights and advice on community, self-care, and how we can get involved in change making.

What advice would you give to girls who are trying to work out what they want to do?  

I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on young people to have it all figured out, which is it's completely unnecessary. Look for the next opportunity and live with intention in terms of your values. Have an idea of what kind of person you want to be, what kind of life you want to live and then a job fits its way into that. A job should not be our end game and goals, the way that we live should be, so take your time. 

I know there is a lot of anxiety around where young people are with social issues and climate issues, and it feels like there is this pressure to get everything done really quickly. But in our lives, and in the movements that we that we work in it's about the long game. We can't fight every fight and it's quite difficult to sometimes say “I can't be a part of that”, despite the fact that we might wholeheartedly believe in it. But you have to pick your battles and be like 

“this is my hill, this is one that I stand on and I say no  to others,  so  that I can do this.”

There are so many more opportunities for young people than there ever have been, which is cool but also very overwhelming. So don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by all the options, just do what you love and see where that takes you. 

What do you think young women can do to get involved with things like advocacy and social change? 

A lot of it is about figuring out what's already in the space. There are a lot of young people who are very passionate, and they want to do something and so they create their own new thing which sometimes is great, but to do that we need to recognise what already exists. So have conversations that give you an idea of what is currently happening, and then you can see whether your skill set is best suited to support something that already exists, or whether there's a need to start something new. Then look to your own communities and see what's missing, and then look to other communities and see how they filled that gap and see if you can replicate that. It's really looking at what's been done for you, so you know how to move forward. 

Also don’t devalue the role of social media activism. People go "oh it’s just social media", which is bullshit because it's so important and there's so much power in social media as a platform for reaching vulnerable or marginalized groups. I definitely think that it's a very accessible way of engaging in activism. 

What is your top tip for young women who are wanting to make change? 

I can’t remember who said it, but someone somewhere who is very experienced said that “whatever the problem community is the answer”, and I fully believe in that. You want to make change, that's amazing – 

find your  community,  find your people, and then there's power  in  collective action. 

There's no point in any of us doing any of this on our own. Through the sharing of knowledge and resources and energy and support we are so much stronger. We’re not alone, lots of people feel like they're alone with their anger and their frustration with the way things are. So, find your communities of people who feel like you and who are able to validate your experience and then things build from there. 

What is your top wellbeing tip for someone who is getting involved in change making? 

Community. I have a really big problem with the way that the concept of self-care is kind of weaponized in the consumerist capitalist system of like “go buy yourself things or take the day off work” it’s so unreasonable for a lot of people.

Self-care is about  community and  about not doing this on your own.

In terms of wellbeing it’s all about people and finding your people. Knowing how to ask for help, when to ask for help, what your boundaries are, what you need and what you can give. What I tell a lot of people who are really struggling is to do something for someone else. Whether that's volunteering with animals, or with people, or going outside it helps to get you outside of your own head and your own life and your own brain and doing something for someone else. 

What ways do you think young women can empower each other in their daily lives? 

This world is designed in a way that intentionally pits women against each other and separates them into different identities. So, I think the first thing is support each other, understand each other and recognize that 

diversity is not pretending that there isn't a difference, it’s celebrating those differences. 

We as women can come together and empower each other and live out our feminist beliefs through our social action, through recognising how different we are, and fundamentally supporting each other on the big things, but in the little things too. 

People so often think that activism or social movements are big things, but to me it's about almost always looking what is happening in the home, that is then being replicated in society. So, when it comes to how young women support each other it’s about what that looks like in the classroom, in school spaces, and in extra-curricular activities. If we start from a fundamental premise that as women, we support each other, then what we build from there will naturally be a more equal and more equitable world that we live in.