This spring, while studying abroad in Barcelona, I spent six weeks volunteering with AADAS (Associació d'Assistència a Dones Agredides Sexualment), a nonprofit that offers psychological support, legal advocacy, prevention work, and trauma-informed care to survivors of sexual violence. My project grew out of my Laidlaw research the previous summer and a fall semester of focus groups with women who had experienced domestic violence. Those conversations, and later helping a domestic violence shelter, A Woman’s Place, develop its annual report, showed me that many organizations have the expertise to help but not the capacity to reach everyone who needs them. I wanted to see what that gap looked like in a new country, Spain, in my second language of Spanish.

The project contributed to Gender Equality (SDG 5) by strengthening a community-based organization that addresses gender-based violence, one of the most persistent barriers to equality. It also contributed to Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3), since violence harms physical and emotional health, and survivor-centered services help people rebuild safe lives.

The first challenge was finding an organization to work with. I was still learning the language and had no local connections. I initially cold-emailed organizations but quickly realized they didn’t respond well to that in Barcelona. Instead, I began reaching out to Brown alumni. I met a Brown alum who was a professor at the international school in Barcelona. She introduced me to her research. She also led me to AADAS and to the Plataforma Unitària Contra les Violències de Gènere, and I began writing to them in Spanish. I offered the annual report I had designed for A Woman’s Place, with identifying details censored, and a proposal to create one for AADAS using colors, graphics, and symbols that represent them. I asked whether they had a style guide and whether 2025 statistics were available, and I asked whether I could join their volunteer program, in which professionals train volunteers to accompany survivors. AADAS accepted my request, and I learned that leading with what I can offer opens more doors than leading with what I want.

Throughout my time in Barcelona, I built a network around the project. The professor introduced me to community events and panels that gave me context beyond AADAS's day-to-day work. Sara Farris of Goldsmiths spoke on the "coloniality of care": how Spain and other European countries rely on migrant women, especially from Latin America, for care work, and how that echoes colonial relationships. Sarka Kolmasova and Katerina Krulisova described how anti-gender politics in Europe is not just a local backlash but a well-coordinated transnational strategy, spread through funding, networks, and even humor and lifestyle influencers. Both talks reminded me that survivor support doesn't exist in a vacuum. It sits inside larger economic and political systems that shape who is protected and who is not.

I also connected with an alumna who spent her time at Brown and afterward working on gender and domestic violence and abortion rights. She has become a mentor to me; I would update her on my progress, and we're still in touch to this day! She gave me a lot of valuable advice on life in Barcelona and how to work with Nonprofits in Spain.

My hardest challenge was communication. Designing public-facing materials in a second language meant my work had to be accurate for an audience I wasn't part of. I asked for feedback early, revised with AADAS staff, and checked that my drafts matched their voice and survivor-centered values.

My goals were to volunteer with AADAS for the full six weeks, including its volunteer training; design social media content for AADAS's Instagram and LinkedIn by the end of the project; and volunteer at larger community events. 

Over the course of the six weeks, I helped AADAS design its social media presence, including informational posts explaining what trauma and trauma-informed care mean and what AADAS does: psychological support, legal support, prevention and training, and workshops. I also created volunteer highlights explaining how to join. I learned about "La Melodía de Mi Cuerpo," founded by Daniela Conte, which offers group sessions that use body-based, expressive, and meditative techniques to support women's emotional and physical recovery. Through Plataforma Unitària Contra les Violències de Gènere, I volunteered at Lilafest and helped set up materials and supplies for the event. The main aim of the event was to promote a life free from gender-based violence through public awareness, the creation of community networks, and social advocacy.