In this webinar, we will discuss the current state of Sex Ed in Massachusetts, the efforts in place to change it, and why we need comprehensive sex ed to eliminate sexual violence. 

Katia Santiago-Taylor, MS, Advocacy and Legislative Affairs Manager at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center

Katia Santiago-Taylor is the Advocacy and Legislative Affairs Manager at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC). In her capacity, she leads BARCC’s legislative agenda and statewide collaborations for systems change. She joined BARCC on February 2013, as the Manager of Systems Advocacy, overseeing BARCC’s Medical Advocacy, Hotline, Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), Access to Forensic Information (AFI), Legal Advocacy, and Case Management Programs. Prior to joining BARCC, she was at the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA), where she held several positions. She joined MOVA as the Victim Services Coordinator in February 2007. As the Victim Services
Coordinator, she provided Direct Services to Victims and Advocates, Outreach and Training, and participated in several Victim Service Initiatives. In August 2009 she became the SAFEPLAN Program Manager. The SAFEPLAN Program is a statewide court based domestic violence advocacy program. SAFEPLAN Advocates assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault with protective
orders. In November 2010 she became the Director of the Victim and Community Services Team and as the director, she oversaw the direct victim services, crisis intervention, outreach and training, policy and legislation, and SAFEPLAN services at MOVA. She has been working in the Victim Services
Field since 1999, first as a Victim Witness Advocate in the Middlesex County DA's Office, in Lowell District Court, and at the Suffolk County DA's Office. During her tenure at the Suffolk County DA's Office, she was a part of the Judicial Demonstration Project that created a model Domestic Violence Court at the Dorchester District Court, which required a great deal of work with interagency community collaborations and community-building. She also worked as an advocate in the Elders and Persons with Disabilities Unit working with vulnerable populations and taking the initiative to create and actively participate in community outreach & education and training initiatives.