Experiencing abuse, especially as a queer person, can make it feel like there are no ways out of a vulnerable situation. That’s why Sonya Passi strives to equip survivors with the tools they need to exit abusive relationships. Since she was 16 years old, Passi has been trying to create a world free of gender-based violence, one survivor at a time.
“We don’t have to live in a world where one in two women and trans people are subjected to gender-based violence,” she says. “But we all have to play our part if we want to change that.”
As the founder of FreeFrom, a feminist organization led by queer, trans, and BIPOC survivors, Passi and her team teach people about building economic freedom in order to leave abusive relationships and break cycles of abuse. In August, FreeFrom received $2 million from Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Festival that will be invested directly into resources for survivors.
“All of us deserve safety, and I won’t stop fighting for us,” she says.
For Passi, this work and this fight aren’t just vital; they’re personal. “Coming out was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done because it required me to lose absolutely everything except myself,” she says. “I overcame it with queer love and joy. I met my now-wife at the same time, and her love created the conditions for me to heal.” @freefromdotorg
