The research of Rebecca Loya, PhD’12, research scientist at the Institute for Economic and Racial Equity (IERE) at Heller, was featured at the Free Future event, a meeting affiliated with the U.N. General Assembly held to raise awareness about gender-based violence (GBV) and work toward a violence-free future. The one-day event, held in New York City on September 18, was sponsored by the Ford Foundation, the U.N. Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and Girls and independent media company The Meteor.
At this year's event, which focused on the economic dimensions of GBV, dignitaries, advocates, service providers, business leaders and researchers spoke about various aspects of GBV. To bring survivors' experience to light, the organizers used archival data from Dr. Loya's 2014 papers on the economic dimensions of sexual violence. Dr. Loya provided de-identified parts of transcripts of interviews with sexual assault survivors, focused on the economic ramifications of sexual violence. Actor and author Amber Tamblyn compiled a script from these excerpts, and Tony Award winner Kara Young performed it.
"It was a powerful, moving moment to hear survivors' stories brought to life in this way, and it grounded the day's events in this lived experience,” says Dr. Loya.
A researcher at IERE since 2014, Dr. Loya conducts mixed-methods research on family economic stability and the gendered and racialized nature of economic inequalities in the U.S. Her recent work focuses on Children’s Savings Account programs, gender-racial wealth gaps, the role of sexual violence in creating economic disadvantage and the protective effects of financial assets and social capital.