Introduction/Club Purpose IGNITE is a nationwide organization with numerous chapters that is geared towards women's political advocacy, with the intent to create pathways in political leadership. At UCLA, IGNITE is dedicated to reproductive justice along with providing opportunities for members to engage within their communities, volunteer with other nonprofits, build upon leadership and public communication skills, and collaborate alongside other campus organizations. IGNITE aims to enact change on campus as well as throughout the UC universities, empowering young women to get involved in legislative processes and network with fellow peers with the same passions. This year our focus has been devoted to our Rape Test Kit Initiative. Our goal with this project is to make rape tests kits accessible for all students, provide safe transportation to and from the treatment center if desired, and provide our students with the correct resources to contact. IGNITE is dedicated to making students on campus feel safe, seen, and heard.
Other Projects The Rape Test Kit Initiative is IGNITE’s largest project and many of our resources are devoted towards it; however, our members simultaneously execute several other impactful initiatives that are worth noting.
The Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee has worked to create an Incident Report Form to give to other clubs, modeled after our own Whistleblower form. This form creates a safe place for members of UCLA organizations to report an incident where they felt uncomfortable, unsafe, offended, or violated. Using an anonymous form eases the pressure or anxiety possibly felt when a member must make a report, in person, to their peer in a position of power. The EDI Committee successfully created a template to share with other clubs to address this issue. Additionally, EDI is currently in the process of creating an informative podcast to share the information that our club has researched and discovered through our Rape Test Kit Initiative, and they plan to interview experts from different backgrounds relating to the initiative. Outside of EDI, the marketing and fundraising committees are both working on powerful and inspiring projects. Marketing chooses an important female figure each week to highlight on IGNITE’s instagram, informing our followers of the great achievements women have accomplished, and inspiring them to follow in their footsteps. Finally, our Finance Committee chose to fundraise for organizations that increase abortion access for all people in need. IGNITE at UCLA is a multifaceted organization that makes changes, small and large, for women and for our community.
Past Projects Looking back on the last school year, amidst focusing on community building and recruitment in order to rebuild the club, we were able to accomplish two main objectives. IGNITE helped circulate a petition that called for menstrual products to be free, unlimited, and accessible to all UCLA students. IGNITE also participated in the Bans Off Our Bodies Rally which was organized by Planned Parenthood to send a clear message: everyone deserves the basic right to get abortion care when they need it within their own communities.
Rape Test Kit Initiative Last year, the Special Projects Committee began its initiative to expand student access to rape test kits. Currently, student access to rape test kits is limited. In order to have a test performed, survivors must travel to the Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center, about 4 miles away. This is because tests are only performed at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center if the patient requires critical care. Since many students do not have vehicles this is a significant barrier to student accessibility. Initially, our goal was to make rape tests kits available to all survivors at Ronald Reagan, even if they do not require critical care. However, after learning more about the Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center, we have shifted our focus to developing and expanding the free and reliable transportation that is offered by the Treatment Center. On a wider scale, we have been working to encompass all the UC campuses into our project and to ensure all UC students have reliable access to rape test kits on their UC campuses.