We are survivor led and we listen first.
Safety is personal. We’ll work together to determine your needs and give you options. We offer practical support, immediate safety, mental and emotional safety, and systems navigation.
Safety is structural. Safe Horizon partners with survivors and communities to advocate for policy change at all levels. We are leading the charge to build a safer society for everyone.
Safety is a human right. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their communities, homes, bodies, and minds.
Our Approach to Our Work
We know that every client’s situation is unique, and that clients are the experts in their own lives. We encourage survivors to tell their story in their own words and provide information and choices rather than directions. We offer support and expertise so that each client can make informed decisions about their own safety and the safety of their families.
Our Approach to Inclusivity
Anti-violence work is anti-racism work. Just like any form of violence, racism harms and traumatizes the survivors we serve every day, and the data shows that Black, Indigenous, and survivors of color face added barriers to safety, healing, and justice at every turn.
In 2014, Safe Horizon began a journey to transform how we support survivors, families, and communities. By acknowledging white supremacy, anti-Blackness, and systemic racism, we started with recognizing bias within our own organization. Now, we are extending this work to the systems and communities we engage with. Our commitment is to remain accountable and to share our progress both internally and externally.
Human-first language
People are at the heart of our work, so we use language that honors each person’s identity.
We generally refer to clients who have experienced violence as “survivors” to emphasize healing and moving beyond the violence. If a client prefers “victim,” we respect that choice. However, some individuals do not identify as “victims” or “survivors,” so we avoid imposing external labels. Similarly, we may use the phrase “someone who has experienced violence, abuse, or exploitation” if neither term is appropriate for the individual.
We work with many survivors of domestic violence, which we define as violence or abuse by one person against another in familial or intimate relationships. Domestic violence is often thought of as intimate partner violence, but can also include violence or abuse from a family member. Intimate partner violence is violence caused by a current or former intimate partner, and both forms of violence can occur in heterosexual and same-sex relationships.
Gender-based violence occurs against someone because of their gender or gender expression. The term is inclusive of or may be used interchangeably with “domestic violence” or “intimate partner violence” and “hate violence.” Gender-based violence offers a more expansive sense of gender, sexuality, and other identities of both the survivor and the person who causes harm; however, we do not always use it because some individuals may not identify their experience strictly as gender-based.