Building Change Through Communication: The Advocacy Work of Victor Molina
Master of Human Rights (MHR) alum Victor Molina didn’t always know his path would involve combining human rights advocacy with communications work. Now a communications manager at NAMI Minnesota (the National Alliance on Mental Illness), an organization that champions justice, dignity, and respect for all people affected by mental illnesses, Molina is using his human rights experience to create effective communications to advocate for change. Molina believes that communications is not just about conveying information—it can be used to produce an impact, build community, and create accountability within systems.
Early Activism
Molina began his career as a young LGBTQ+ activist searching for ways to bring about change in his community. After experiences in local activism, Molina got involved with Amnesty International Venezuela through their internship program. As a communications intern, Molina learned many aspects of the communications and advocacy field.
Molina’s human rights advocacy took a great toll on him. He was arbitrarily detained and tortured by the government of Venezuela in 2017 for his human rights activities. After his arrest, he left Venezuela for Spain, where he worked with Amnesty International again before moving on to take other jobs involving advocacy across all of Latin America. Molina was forced to start a new life far from his family but continued his dedication to human rights.
Bringing Human Rights Work to Minnesota
Molina’s international human rights advocacy experience inspired him to go back to school and complete the Master of Human Rights (MHR) degree at the University of Minnesota. After graduation, Molina went to work for the NAMI Minnesota (the National Alliance on Mental Illness), where he manages media relations and oversees the development of social media campaigns, newsletters, and public messages. Molina uses many of the same tools he used in his international advocacy work in his role, where he works on communicating about mental health issues, reducing stigma associated with mental health conditions, and shaping public policy.
During times of political or immigration enforcement crisis, Molina has played an important role in guiding NAMI’s response through public statements. With rising fears and uncertainty among members of immigrant communities in Minnesota, NAMI Minnesota provides mental health services including suicide prevention services and educational materials to help reduce stress and provide comfort to families who have felt isolated due to fear.
According to Molina, advocacy does not only involve calling for action or change. Rather, it involves learning how to make such changes feasible, using strategic planning, effective communication, and organization. Moreover, advocacy involves creating movement, developing safe spaces, and holding governments accountable.
Molina also challenges the notion that human rights movements are primarily formed by nations located in the Global North. Instead, he emphasizes the contributions of countries in Latin America and other areas of the Global South, where advocates have pushed for change on issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, gender equality, and reproductive rights. “We in the Global South have pushed really strong to make [the conversation] evolve,” notes Molina.
The Future of Human Rights Advocacy
A consistent theme throughout Molina's career has been the conviction that communications can represent a form of advocacy. Looking back on his time working for Amnesty International Venezuela, Molina remembers how powerful it was when their social media campaign reached millions of users. “Seeing that we had the power to change the minds of people in a massive way … it was a huge turning point,” he recalls. This awareness changed much of what he would do professionally in the future and helped reinforce his belief that the stories that are told publicly have the power to affect entire communities and governments.
Molina views mental health as an important area for human rights advocacy. Mental illnesses remain largely misunderstood today, and while conversation surrounding racial inequality, gender equality, and sexual orientation have advanced greatly in recent years, stigma surrounding mental illnesses remain. Molina points out that our culture today does not talk effectively enough about mental illnesses and create space to engage in conversation with compassion and honesty.
While Molina has worked in various countries and with many advocacy organizations, he has always centered his work on a single objective: helping individuals feel seen and heard in environments where they are regularly ignored. From advocating for LGBTQ+ rights to responding to acts of political violence or fighting against stigma associated with mental illnesses here in Minnesota, Molina's work shows us that human rights are ultimately concerned with protecting dignity, promoting community-based care, and allowing individuals to exist free from the threat of harm.
