Efforts to change legislation are often best pursued through back-door channels. Taking legal action through the judicial system, or placing addendums into legislation that benefit special interest groups, can be effective routes for introducing new policy. Activists pursuing policy change should seek out loop-holes in the political system and advocate for policy via multiple avenues.

It is important to think creatively about how to use the legal side of the political system in order to change policy. For instance, Claire Bailey, a woman’s movement activist and member of the Green Party in Northern Ireland, gives an example of how the political system was used to obtain funding for women leaving Northern Ireland to get abortions in England:

If a bill comes to the floor, anybody can put an amendment to that bill on anything, it doesn't have to be connected, it doesn't have to be relevant to the bill. You just stick on amendments, and this is how you can get sneaky pieces of legislation in as well.

Bailey notes that this mechanism was used to secure financial aid for women traveling for abortions by adding an amendment to an entirely unrelated bill. An activist with a Black Lives Matter group in the Southeastern US shares that they have a committee specifically dedicated to handling court cases and legal injustices as a means of movement mobilization. Another Black Lives Matter activist in the Southeastern US talks about how she has served as a legal observer and that the group offers legal support where needed in cases of discrimination. Black Lives Matter activists have also used campaigns to increase minority voter turnout to vote out conservative judges, sheriffs, and other elected officials within the justice or security sectors. These examples speak to the importance of understanding the legal and political system and leveraging it to further the organization’s goals. 

Similarly, existing political spaces and frameworks can be leveraged in order to pursue focused goals. One example of this comes from Emma Johnson of the Northern Ireland Youth Action, who notes that the legal framework of the Good Friday Agreement has been exploited to suppress measures for marriage equality in the North. Although this is an example of how an existing political framework has been used to thwart the work of movements for social justice, it speaks to the fact that activists can use legal frameworks to advance progressive change.

Challenges you may encounter using this tool

• Even when political or legal system loopholes exist, they cannot always be leveraged successfully. When an entire political or legal system is opposed to a change, activists may need to focus their efforts completely outside the policy realm.

• Politicians may be wary of social change organizations because established and larger organizations tend to hold politicians accountable more so than individuals or smaller community based organizations and groups. Thus, although there may be many policy channels through which to push a change, personal relationships and alliances with individuals in power are key to leveraging those channels effectively. However, forming these relationships may be a challenge, particularly for grassroots organizations or activists new to the political arena.