Trauma advocacy & policy reform
Drawing from lived experience, academic research, and survivor-centered advocacy, I contribute to policy efforts that address victim’s rights, systemic injustice, especially in family court, mental health systems reform, and institutional responses to gender based violence.
I consult with lawmakers, provide expert insights for advocacy groups, and support survivors navigating systems that often misunderstand coercive control and trauma.
Advocacy & Systems Reform Activities
• Policy Advising & Legislative Testimony
• Professional Education & Training for Institutions
• Workshops and trainings for DPFS staff, victim service advocates, law enforcement professionals and caseworkers.
• Educational content and support regarding cultural competence and institutional systems response.
• Consulting to schools, religious institutions, and government bodies seeking to become trauma-informed and survivor-responsive.
Public Education and Community Engagement
• Engagement with elected officials to support legislation around emergent and contemporary issues related to abuse, liberty crimes, court-related trauma, and coercive control.
• Op-ed writing for various online news sources on areas of specialty related to public policy issues.
• Public talks and community forums on domestic violence, spiritual trauma, systemic bias, and human rights.
Her report didn’t just lay out the clinical case for reevaluation; it offered a compassionate, evidence-based call to justice.
“Dr. Emma Church’s evaluation and advocacy changed the entire trajectory of my client’s life. A 12-year-old Black girl had already been criminalized and labeled with a series of conduct-based diagnoses, culminating in a felony charge for a behavioral outburst at school. Emma saw what no one else did: the misdiagnosis, the trauma, the neurodivergence that had gone unrecognized for years. Her report didn’t just lay out the clinical case for reevaluation; it offered a compassionate, evidence-based call to justice.
Emma then sat shoulder to shoulder with the child’s parents, attorneys, school administrators, and the school’s legal team at a pivotal meeting. She spoke not just as a professional, but as an advocate with moral clarity.
As a result of her recommendations, the child was finally evaluated through an autism-informed lens, given an accurate diagnosis, and placed with a culturally competent provider. Months later, her mother informed me that she ran into Emma and was able to tell her that her daughter now says she loves school.
This is what happens when systems listen to the right experts. Emma’s work is nothing short of life-changing.