D.C. and explained in her caption that they spent their visit advocating to support the Violence Against Women Act.

Jolie wrote, “Honored to visit Washington, DC, with Zahara, working with advocates and lawmakers to modernize and strengthen the #ViolenceAgainstWomenAct to include protections for children’s health and safety, communities of color, tribes, LGBTQ survivors, rural areas, and all survivors. We need reforms including judicial training, trauma-informed court processes that minimize the risk of harm to children, grant programs for technology to detect bruising across all skin tones and create non-biased forensic evidence collection, and protections for the most vulnerable.” She led the photo series with a shot of her and Zahara alongside Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), the co-sponsor of the House VAWA Reauthorization.

For the visit, Jolie wore a white button-down shirt and maxi skirt while Zahara wore a brown coat over a black top and pants.

Jolie spoke in October to Peopleabout how raising Zahara and her five now teenage and young adult siblings impacted her. “They’re pretty great people, and because there’s so many of them, I think they’ve had a very significant effect on each other,” she said. “It’s not like I’m the head of anything. I’m very honest with my kids. And I’m very human with my kids.”

She added that she has grown with them and let herself evolve with them: “I have six very individual human beings in my home,” she said. “I am so excited about all the different stages and feelings and curiosities that they go through. Why wouldn't you be? We’re supposed to help them figure out who they are. And you can’t figure out who they are if you don’t enthusiastically develop with them.”