A Liberatory Consciousness Framework for Reproductive Justice

Reproductive justice (RJ) is an orientation centering the lived experiences and voices of birthing people who have been marginalized, which aligns well with social work values and ethics. RJ is intended to be practiced in real life with engagement and activism, components that also underscore the social work profession. Teaching RJ with a liberatory consciousness (LC) framework acknowledges the enduring nature of oppression and everyone’s role in systemically dismantling it. An LC framework consists of 4 A’s: Awareness, Analysis, Action, and Accountability/Allyship that are useful in introducing students to RJ work. This chapter provides an overview of RJ concepts through a LC framework and provides an active engagement project activity for an RJ course. Other assignments are provided for further consideration of teaching RJ in social work classes or within an entire course unto itself.