TIME Impact Dinner Highlights Efforts to Support Domestic Violence Survivors

TIME hosted an Impact Dinner in Chicago where speakers emphasized the critical role of supporting survivors of domestic violence and the ongoing need to break the silence surrounding abuse. The event featured reflections from photojournalist and activist Donna Ferrato, author and speaker Tommi Vincent, her husband Troy Vincent (NFL executive vice president of football operations), and activist and actor Ashley Judd.

Ferrato opened her remarks by honoring her mother, a survivor of domestic abuse, as the inspiration for her decades-long work. She pledged allegiance to survivors, stating, "Survivors are the ones who lead this movement." Ferrato recounted the story of Elisabeth Lindberg, who was documented in Ferrato's well-known photograph "Behind Closed Doors." Lindberg, Ferrato said, "empowered herself" and became "unbeatable," ultimately sharing her story to help other women. Ferrato highlighted Lindberg's courage in giving up her privacy and urged attendees to "break the silence" and "be outspoken" in praising survivors.

The Vincents shared their personal experiences that led them to become advocates. Tommi Vincent, a survivor of past abuse, described her mission "to normalize the conversation, not the behavior." She stated, "I am compelled to use my voice, my experience, my resources, and my relationships to be part of the solution for victims and survivors." Troy Vincent spoke about witnessing his mother's abuse while growing up and the devastating impact it had on his family. He noted how his mother's experience with financial instability, exacerbated by the abuse, underlined the connection between domestic violence and economic hardship. "People closest to the problem often are the ones equipped to help find solutions," he said. The couple is collaborating with organizations like the National Domestic Violence Hotline to "build a new house for survivors," a place where their voices are heard and their experiences shape solutions, offering a new definition of love where "love does not hurt, intentionally."

Ashley Judd addressed the complicity of those who remain silent about male violence and the entitlement to female bodies. Drawing on her own experiences with sexual violence and abuse, and referencing recent national headlines, she argued that those who foster such attitudes or witness abuse without speaking out are "all complicit." Judd declared her resilience but questioned why survivors must be strong, attributing their need to survive to "male demand to female bodies" and the silence of others who minimize or dismiss such actions. She urged attendees to become "upstanders" rather than bystanders, stating, "If you really want to support survivors, you become an upstander. You heal the village, you heal yourself, and you hold men accountable."