Ashoka
Investing In Survivor Wealth
Financial insecurity is the number one threat to an abuse survivor’s safety, says Sonya Passi. She started FreeFrom in 2016 to change the way domestic violence is addressed in the U.S., from a short-term, crisis intervention approach to focus on long-term recovery and safety for survivors and their families. Ashoka’s Lorena García Durán spoke with Sonya about her changemaker journey since age 16 and about what reforms are needed.
Ashoka insight
Our vision at FreeFrom is a world where domestic violence survivors have the financial resources to support their healing, their family's healing, and their community’s healing. Our work is based on the premise that we can’t end gender-based violence unless survivors can afford to heal and rebuild their lives. So the solution as we see it is to invest in survivors and their financial security and build an ecosystem to support their long-term safety.