- America's justice system has a punishment problem.
- The United States is five percent
of the world's population
but we have 25% of the world's prisoners.
- Incarceration does nothing to stop
the crime from happening again
and frankly, does nothing to alleviate the pain
associated with the crime.
- One might expect that survivors of crime
would want harsher prison sentences,
but survivors are actually
some of the biggest advocates for justice reform.
- Survivors speak. - Change happens.
- Crime survivors and their voices
illustrate what in the system broke down.
These are people that turn their pain into power.
- These crime survivors are fighting
to change our justice system to focus less on punishment
and more on healing and crime prevention.
And they're winning.
- What is our responsibility to end the cycle of violence?
You have to make investments in righting historical wrongs.
- I never thought I'd be a gun violence survivor,
much less an activist.
- We all got our part to play.
If we play our part, it's game on.
It seems like April 18, 2012 every day for the most part.
I was in the backseat of my sister's car.
The bullet ended up going through the bumper,
the trunk, and the back seat before entering my right hip
and tearing up everything in its path.
I felt the only way to heal for me was to try to understand.
I want to talk to survivors like myself,
try to say what it is that we can do
now that we are the ones who've experienced this?
- One thing that is often missing
in conversations about what would keep us safe
are the people that are victims of crime.
And so part of our work is trying to do just that,
being responsive to victim's needs.
We need to create communities
that address the root causes of crime, that prevent crime,
and that keep people safe.
- As a child, I was sexually assaulted
from the age of two all the way to the age of four.
I, once again, was sexually assaulted as an adult
when I was 18 years old by a close friend of mine.
All the work and the involvement
that I've been doing in recent years,
it gives me joy and passion
because I always felt lesser than.
- Welcome to Survivors Speak 2020.
(crowd cheers)
- Someone who's Puerto Rican and queer,
you never have positions of power.
You never have influence
and just knowing that I'm able to take my story
and really make changes,
it just brings so much gratitude and so much healing.
- Crime survivors for safety and justice,
you are amazing.
Now, give yourselves a hand.
(applause)
- My name is Doctor LaDonna Butler
from St. Petersburg, Florida.
I'm a survivor of domestic violence
and childhood sexual assault.
And as a survivor, I think it feels different
and lands different for me to say
that I have been harmed.
And yet, I still believe in our capacity to be more,
together.
Now, this does not absolve anyone of causing pain
and being held accountable,
but it does pose an interesting question to our society.
What is our responsibility to those who have been harmed
and then cause harm?
What we need is a commitment to seeing value in each other,
understanding that no one is disposable
despite what their worst actions were.
- Last year, survivors helped pass
Florida's first criminal justice reform policy
in over 20 years.
(applause)
The bill created job opportunities
for people with felony convictions
and removed barriers for crime survivors
to access victim compensation and resources.
- I've been able to not only just change something
for this moment of time,
but this can be something historically
that changes for people that will come after me.
- It's survivors that are experiencing these crimes
and doing the work and healing through action.
- Healing is a journey.
When we connect as human beings,
we can bring about true healing for ourselves,
our families, and our community.
- Thanks for watching this video.
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