From Surviving to Thriving: What Gender-Based Violence Survivors Say Funders Need to Know About Economic Security

Gender-based violence is both an economic justice issue and a systemic economic problem—and philanthropy has a defining role to play in addressing it. Nearly 1 in 2 women and more than half of transgender individuals in the U.S. are subjected to some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime, and up to 99% of survivors are subjected to economic abuse: damaged credit, depleted savings, stolen income, and debt they didn’t incur. Survivors are unequivocal: financial insecurity is the primary barrier to safety.

Join the Asset Funders Network and FreeFrom for the release of Advancing the Economic Security of Gender-Based Violence Survivors, a new brief grounded in longitudinal survivor data. Funders will leave with a survivor-informed roadmap for investing in economic security throughout the healing journey: from immediate crisis response to long-term wealth creation. The roadmap offers pathways for direct services and system change—and actionable guidance on grantmaking practices to support transformation.

Whether planned or not, your economic security investments likely benefit survivors. This session will help you hear what survivors are telling us and respond with the urgency, care, and intention they deserve.

Attendees will learn:

• What survivors say about the economic impact of gender-based violence and their economic needs over time
• How systemic barriers compound economic harm—and what survivors say needs to change
  Survivor-led recommendations for grantmakers on what and how to fund organizations and the movement
• How to apply a survivor-centered lens to existing economic security grantmaking strategies

Target Audience

This program is open to members of Catalyst, Northern California Grantmakers, and Southern California Grantmakers.