TIME held an Impact Dinner in Chicago on Thursday that featured reflections from four people who are working to support survivors of domestic violence.
The four speakers at the event, which was presented by The Allstate Foundation, were Donna Ferrato, a photojournalist and activist whose photographs of survivors helped raise awareness of domestic violence in the U.S.; Tommi Vincent, an author and speaker who is also president of the family lifestyle brand Vincent Country, and her husband, Troy Vincent, executive vice president of football operations at the NFL; and Ashley Judd, a humanitarian, activist, and actor who was one of the “Silence Breakers” recognized as TIME Person of the Year in 2017.
Here are highlights from each of the remarks.
Donna Ferrato
Ferrato opened her remarks by honoring her mother, who she said was a survivor and “will be forever the inspiration for my work.”
“I pledge allegiance to survivors of domestic abuse and sex trafficking,” Ferrato said. “Survivors are the ones who lead this movement.”
She also shared the story of the woman she said was “the person that I owe everything in my arsenal to.” One of Ferrato’s most well-known photographs, “Behind Closed Doors,” documented an act of domestic violence, focusing on a couple known at the time under the pseudonyms “Garth” and “Lisa.” Lisa’s real name was later revealed to be Elisabeth Lindberg—who today, Ferrato said, is “on top of the world.”
“She empowered herself,” Ferrato said. “Even as her life was unraveling, she allowed me to be with her. She’s not just a hero in my eyes … [but also] in the eyes of countless others who have followed her journey from being abused to becoming unbeatable.”
Ferrato called TIME “the midwife that brought Elisabeth’s rebirth to light,” recalling how Lindberg had shared her story in emotional interviews.
“She gave up her privacy for the good of other women,” Ferrato said. “She represents courage and love. And she proves why women must believe in their own inner voice.”
Ferrato also reflected on her decades-long career photographing the lives and experiences of survivors of domestic violence. When she began her focus on the topic more than 40 years ago, she said, victim blaming was pervasive in society. Ferrato set out to raise awareness about domestic violence through her photographs, and she praised the women who entrusted her with their stories.
She ended her remarks by emphasizing that such courage is needed now as much as ever. “Let’s break the silence,” she said. ”Let’s be outspoken. Praise these survivors.”
Tommi Vincent and Troy Vincent
The Vincents began their remarks by sharing how their own personal experiences drove them to become advocates.
“I am a thriving domestic violence survivor on a mission to normalize the conversation, not the behavior,” Tommi Vincent, who has been outspoken about her experience with past abuse, said. “I am compelled to use my voice, my experience, my resources, and my relationships to be part of the solution for victims and survivors.”
Her husband said that he also experienced “the devastation and the impact of domestic violence,” sharing how he and his younger brother witnessed their mother being abused while they were growing up.
“There were times when that abuse left her unable to work for extended periods,” Troy Vincent said. When “the shame of abuse finally lost its battle to the threat of eviction,” he said, his mother sought help from family members—underlining the link between domestic violence and financial instability. “That experience taught me something that still I believe in today—that people closest to the problem often are the ones equipped to help find solutions,” he continued.
The Vincents expressed their commitment to use their own experiences to help others. Tommi Vincent said that she and her husband, working with organizations including the National Domestic Violence Hotline, are “building a new house for survivors.”
“A house where survivors are centered. A house where their voices are heard. A house where their experiences help shape solutions,” she said. “And a house where we teach a new definition of love—one where love does not hurt, intentionally. That is the house we are committed to helping build.”
Ashley Judd
During her remarks, Judd said that, while not all men are violent, many are silent about the violence that other men perpetrate. She spoke about her own experiences with sexual violence and abuse, as well as stories of abuse that have made national headlines recently, and the common thread of “entitlement to female bodies.” Those who foster that attitude, or who see abuse and remain silent, are “all complicit,” she argued.
“I am resilient,” she said. “But why do we have to be strong? I am a survivor—of what are we surviving? Male demand to female bodies—and other men and some women and their families who are silent, do not confront and break their own denial, who minimize, trivialize, and dismiss what men do and say about women and to each other.”
She urged anyone who witnesses abuse to speak up.
“There’s no such thing as a non-complicit bystander because if you really want to support survivors, you become an upstander,” Judd said. “You heal the village, you heal yourself, and you hold men accountable.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7. Call 1-800-799-SAFE or visit TheHotline.org.
TIME Impact Dinner: Empowering Survivors: Building Strong Futures Together was presented by The Allstate Foundation.
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