Most women, even if they are in a soft season now, do not have the luxury of choosing leaders like a child chooses entertainment for a birthday party.
Most women, even if they are in a soft season now, do not have the luxury of choosing leaders like a child chooses entertainment for a birthday party. People living with violence do not have the luxury of symbolic politics.
They need material safety in every stage of life.
Girlhood. Young adulthood. Middle age. Wiser years.
Systems that work. And room to breathe. Oxygen.
Who prioritizes the health, safety, and wellness needs of Survivors in this country?
“You cannot pour from an empty cup.”
Caring for yourself is not selfish.
It is part of caring for others.
Listening to women in crisis, you hear words like this…on repeat:
“I need somewhere safe tonight, not next month.”
“I need a way to feed my kids without going back.”
“I need a job that won’t fire me because I went to court.”
“I need a doctor who doesn’t rush me or blame me.”
“I need a school that doesn’t punish my child for what happened at home.”
“I need money that’s mine, not controlled by him.”
“I need help that doesn’t treat me like a case file.”
“I need protection that actually protects.”
I need all of this, right here, where I stand on this land.
I am unable to help anyone else if I do not have it for myself.
Housing & Physical Safety
What survival requires
Rapid rehousing and long-term affordable housing
Relocation support and confidentiality protections (address privacy programs)
Protection from offender retaliation in housing contexts
Why this is foundational
Without stable shelter, every other service collapses. Safety is not a program. Safety is not just a space. It is infrastructure.
Healthcare & Healing Systems
What survival requires
Trauma-informed emergency and long-term medical care
Reproductive and sexual health services when needed
Providers trained to believe and not blame
Why this matters
Survivors are often told to “be strong” while carrying untreated injury in the body and mind. That is neglect disguised as resilience.
Justice System & Legal Protection
What survival requires
Affordable or free legal representation
Custody and family-court safeguards
Multiple safe reporting options (including non-police)
Serious, educated, and up-to-date, response to stalking and digital abuse
Why this matters
A system that requires courage but does not provide protection is not justice. It is risk transfer.
Labor & Economic Security
What survival requires
Emergency cash assistance
Job-protected leave for court, medical care, relocation
Workplace accommodations for people with disabilities
Protection from retaliation, sexual harassment, or firing
Long-term income-stability programs
- Real world investment in education that meets the needs of Survivors
- Safety and protection for students on college campuses and in k-12 schools.
People do not stay in danger because they are confused.
Sometimes, they stay because rent or mortgage is due.
Education & Child Stability
What survival requires
Safe and affordable childcare access
School transportation continuity for all children (rural areas too)
Trauma-informed classrooms that don’t overburden teachers (hire more trained staff)
Protection from disciplinary punishment tied to family violence
Confidentiality for children of Survivors
Why this matters
Children should not lose their future because an adult harmed their parent.
Community Services & Survivor Advocacy
What survival requires
Confidential Survivor advocates (the violence keeps growing but the number of trained advocates is not?)
Culturally competent services
Language access (Including sign language)
Rural and elder-accessible services (Not as an add on. There are a lot of Americans living in rural areas)
Long-term case support (Growth, change, healing, and leaving an abusive relationship and family takes YEARS not days or months. We need more long term support options for any human being working through this.)
Why this matters
Systems are mazes. Survivors should not have to navigate them alone.
Digital Safety & Privacy
What survival requires
Data privacy laws
Device safety support
Why this matters
Modern abuse travels through phones, apps, and databases.
Ignoring that reality leaves people exposed.
Prevention & Community Protection
What survival requires
Community-based violence prevention programs
Early-intervention family support
Youth education
Accountability programs that reduce repeat harm
Why this matters
Safety is cheaper to build than funerals.
If you want the trust (not the fear) of Survivors and families living with violence, these are the minimum:
Our children need safe doors to sleep behind. Not prayers alone. Doors.
Our bodies need care that is gentle, unrushed, and believing.
Our minds need tending. Trauma does not disappear because we are strong.
Our homes must be stable, not temporary mercy.
Our families need legal protection that does not treat us like inconveniences.
Our hands must hold our own money again.
Our work must not vanish because violence touched our lives.
Our children must not be punished for surviving what adults failed to stop.
Our elders must not be sent back into danger because systems move slow.
Our warnings must be taken seriously before funerals are planned.
Our voices must have many doors to speak through.
Our cultures must be understood, not flattened or dismissed.
Our privacy must be guarded like land.
Our communities must protect girls before they are called women and protect women until they become elders.
This is not luxury.
This is inheritance protection.
If these are not secured:
Delay the requests for loyalty until that change people keep talking about comes.
End the requests for patience.
Do not ask for symbolic gestures.
Safety is not a campaign promise.
It is the floor.
“I take care of myself so I can show up for myself whole and for my people.”