1:30

This class leads you through the Playbook of Mary Justine as she started on this personal journey in a small Mississippi River town, in Iowa, USA, at the age of 17. More than 20 years later, she is now the founder and Executive Director of Shamsaha, the first and only domestic and sexual violence crisis response program in the Middle East. She is the winner of EY’s 2018 Middle East Winning Women Award for women entrepreneurs. She is the winner of Ingrid Vanderveldt’s Empowering A Billion Women 2020 – Most Innovative App Award, as the creator of the Shamsaha mobile app, to scale humanitarian services in Bahrain. Mary-Justine was a former international humanitarian aid worker, specializing in gender-based violence for refugees and vulnerable populations, M-J has worked for major global NGOs . M-J’s women’s empowerment work has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, The Huffington Post, Google Earth, The Telegraph, Emirates Woman and Trade Arabia, among many.

12:37

Explore the journey of Mary-Justine Todd as she becomes founder and executive director of Shamsaha, an award winning domestic and sexual violence crisis response program in the Middle East. Mary started her journey holding Bachelor’s Degree of Arts to a PhD in International Law that focus on women rights developing a keen understanding of how to accomplish women's empowerment and equality in the governmental, corporate and civil world through 15 years advocating for women and domestic violence.

12:38

in this lesson, we will be understanding the prevalence of domestic violence as a public health concern and the numerous ways abuse , harassment can occur ranging from disrespect to causing someone physical or mental pain and more. Mary-Justine unravels the root causes of gender based violence and violence against women as well as barriers to safety while addressing common misconceptions about gender-based violence.

13:05

Being an advocate doesn’t limit to being part of an official organization Showing support to women who are around you whether by small acts of kindness or on social media to keep the conversation going. Whether you’re talking to your friends and family, Mary- Justine shares different ways on how you can further extend your support to a woman or a child who might be suffering from any type of harassment.

17:45

Many communities and hospitals have formal women’s crisis advocacy programs to get involved with. Mary-Justine gives the 101 on becoming an official crisis advocate, and what the reality of serving women as a violence crisis advocate means.

8:45

Safety planning is a crucial step for women in crisis . Mary-Justine outlines possible aspects of safety beyond the physical and significance of having a holistic approach to safety. Identify how do you yourself raise alert to specific situations, how do you differentiate between the scale of certain situations and when your safety may be at risk , learn how to develop a specific safety plan including ongoing support networks and resources to reach out to for yourself and others that need your help

5:57

Mary-Justine dives into the psyche of an abuse and harassment victim giving the right techniques and simple day-to-day steps that people can take to show their support to victims. It is crucial to understand how the mind of a survivor functions in order to deal with them correctly without causing triggers and retraumatization

6:45

Bystanders make a difference by preventing acts of violence and assault against women and children , and encouraging others to provide assistance in future situations. Mary Justine gives you tips and advice on how to assess a situation and safely help someone in crisis without getting yourself in a difficult and risky position. She also stresses on the importance of bystander intervention training in the workplace as a way to empower employees to address and prevent work harassment.

6:39

This lesson helps you to focus on your overall emotional and mental well-being. Mary-Justine helps you to recognize unhealthy patterns and tackle different forms of emotional abuse and how to take care of yourself or someone who needs it and the role of advocacy of supporting mental well-being, shares her personal experience on how to deal with the rollercoaster of emotions that come from crisis advocacy.

11:08

Living in a violent environment , trauma can be transmitted over generations causing intergenerational trauma to keep passing on until it causes symptoms, reactions, patterns, and emotional and psychological effects from trauma experienced by previous generations. Mary-Justine dives deep into the concept of intergenerational trauma in hopes of spreading awareness to start healing yourself in order to heal future generations.

8:01

In this lesson , Mary- Justine stresses on the importance of teaching adolescents and children boundaries, the concept of consent and safety measures for their awareness and protection. She also flags what contributes to the perpetuation of violence against children and girls in order for you to teach children how to protect themselves in different scenarios and settings.

8:48

Men have a role to play in the prevention of violence against women, this lesson highlights the importance on engaging men and boys in the prevention of sexual violence, domestic violence and harassment. Mary-Justine provides practical and easy guidance on how to engage men and boys in violence prevention and show support in numerous ways on a day to day basis.

4:45

Mary-Justine draws from over a decade of experience in this field and gives advice on how to Identify workplace risk factors and assault that can be prevented or minimized by HR Managers and Career Professionals and how to take appropriate precautions to ensure a better work culture and a safe space for women , as well as the procedure that needs to be done when an individual faces harassment or bullying in the workplace.

11:28

Being the founder of Shamsaha the first and only domestic and sexual violence crisis response program in the Middle East. Mary-Justine explores how you can attract the right investors and donors by sharing her own personal tips for long term success and how to communicate your vision and mission in order to gain supporters and allies.

5:5

Mary Justine discusses different modern solutions to tackling a long history of violence and crimes against women giving hope and ways you can be part of a big change and a safer world for the future women generations who come.

7:05

Mary-Justine re-explores the meaning of feminism, the different types and how its all about respecting diverse women’s experiences ,knowledge and identity and strive to to empower and fight for equal chances for both genders in all aspects of life