Narrative change is more than just a communication strategy. It’s a critical tool to help accelerate collaboration and advance economic justice. When we talk about building a more economically just world, we cannot leave intimate partner violence (IPV) out of the conversation. Financial insecurity is the number one obstacle to safety for survivors. Yet the dominant narrative defines IPV as a short-term crisis and fails to account for how this systemic issue impacts survivors over years, decades, and generations with economic symptoms and economic solutions. Asset building is a critical strategy to supporting survivors’ long-term safety and building a more just economy for all.
When we design policy and determine investment strategies from a framework of scarcity, we will not build the equitable economy we seek. For survivors of intimate partner violence, we, as a sector, can lead and work from a place of abundance. Join this conversation to explore how narratives and data can be deployed to impact asset building strategies, policy solutions and systems level change to make the economy more inclusive and long-term safety more affordable for survivors.
During this session, we discussed innovative approaches to philanthropic partnerships that inspire and sustain systems-level strategies and policy advocacy efforts. We featured FreeFrom, which envisions a world in which all survivors are able to build the financial security needed to thrive.
Together, we:
- Discussed to continue to activate AFN’s Realizing Economic Justice framework to reexamine power, disrupt systems and invest in economic justice.
- Elevated data that centers community voice and power to inform action-oriented solutions for philanthropy and other stakeholders to deepen efforts to support economic justice.
- Explored forward-thinking asset building strategies and collaboration models to advance policy and practice solutions to support survivors before and beyond a crisis moment.
This session was open to funders and community partners.
Speakers
Sonya Passi, Founder and CEO of FreeFrom
Jo Christine Miles, Principal
Rachel Wick, Blue Shield of California Foundation
Velvet Bryant, Asset Funders Network (moderator)
- Trust Survivors: Building an Effective and Inclusive Cash Assistance Program
- Before and Beyond Crisis: What Each of Us Can Do to Create a Long-Term Ecosystem of Support for All Survivors
- Support Every Survivor: How Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality, and Disability Shape Survivors’ Experiences and Needs
- FreeFrom Map and Scorecard
- Documentary Trailer
