Community leaders call for whole-of-society-approach to eliminate intimate partner violence
ST. PAUL, MN — The Battered Women’s Justice Project (BWJP), through its landmark MOSAIC Initiative, and the Centre for Public Impact (CPI) today released a powerful new report capturing the outcomes of a two day national summit held in Chicago in October 2025. This gathering that brought together survivor leaders, advocates, culturally specific organizations, Tribal partners, researchers, funders, government officials, and practitioners in a unified and urgent call to end intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual violence, and all forms of gender-based violence (GBV).
The report, titled “Beyond Silos: Harnessing Collaboration to End Gender-Based Violence,” represents more than a summary of the convening. It is a living blueprint, co-designed with those most impacted, for transforming fragmented, siloed systems into coordinated, survivor-centered, and community led responses that can be adopted at local, state, Tribal, national, and global levels.
The summit took place at a challenging moment. Participants shared that shifts in federal priorities, funding reductions, rising online abuse including the use of AI-generated deep fakes, a strained GBV workforce, and persistent inequities had left many feeling as though the movement was starting over. Nonetheless, over two days, survivors modeled truth telling and shared leadership, culturally specific organizations highlighted the expertise held within communities, and advocates, funders, and government partners demonstrated what it means to stay at the table and advance a vision for change even in moments of uncertainty. What emerged was what the report calls “a mosaic of intertwined ideas and lived realities that propelled the group forward.”
“When national advocacy stalls, it’s time to increase the focus locally. Though organizations may be facing many challenges, we need to put survivors at the front of our minds; they need us right now,” said Amy Sánchez, CEO of BWJP.
“Gender-based violence touches every system we know, yet for too long, our responses have been fragmented and based on outdated models that treat symptoms rather than root causes,” said Kandice Louis Wilson, Interim Senior Director of CPI.
At the heart of this new effort stand Lynn Rosenthal and Rosie Hidalgo, the leaders of the MOSAIC Initiative, whose decades of expertise in federal policy, survivor advocacy, and systems transformation have shaped the architecture and resolve behind this movement to advance a broader and more integrated framework focused on safety, healing, dignity, and justice. Key MOSAIC partners include Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community, Esperanza United, ValorUS, the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline. As Karma Cottman, CEO of Ujima, declared: “Living and surviving is not enough; thriving needs to be the threshold.”
The convening drew from lessons learned through the development and ongoing implementation of Chicago’s Citywide Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence and Human Trafficking. Chicago’s comprehensive, multi-sector approach demonstrated how coordinated local innovation can take shape, including compensated survivor leadership, sustainable public and private funding strategies, collaboration between community-based organizations and city agencies, and community-informed data to guide action. The convening also explored how the framework and core principles of the U.S. National Plan to End Gender–Based Violence: Strategies for Action, launched in 2023 and reflecting the input of thousands of stakeholders, could advance a comprehensive framework to improve public health and safety across the lifespan.
The MOSAIC Initiative is rooted in seven interconnected keystones, including prevention, survivor health and well-being, housing and economic security, legal and alternative justice responses, online safety, emergency preparedness, and research and data. Inspired by the goal of advancing state and local comprehensive strategies, MOSAIC offers communities co-designed tools such as planning guides, self-assessments, capacity building resources, and a forthcoming learning portal.
The report concludes with a resounding call to action at the local, state, and national levels. As the report affirms, supporting the work ahead means committing to long term, coordinated action, anchored in survivor leadership, community wisdom, and the belief that safety, healing, and the right to live free from violence are possible when we build the future together.
About BWJP
The Battered Women’s Justice Project works at the intersection of gender-based violence and the legal systems that shape survivors’ lives. BWJP advances practical, forward looking solutions that center survivors, strengthen justice responses, and create lasting change in communities. Learn more at bwjp.org.
About CPI
The Centre for Public Impact, a not for profit founded by Boston Consulting Group, supports government, civil society, and public sector organizations across the globe to redesign systems, work, and cultures, shaping a new future of government, reimagined so that it works for everyone. Learn more at centreforpublicimpact.org.
About the MOSAIC Initiative
Learn more and join the learning community at thelearningcommunitytoendviolence.org/mosaic.
Contact:
- BWJP Communications – communications@bwjp.org
- CPI Communications – carmella@centreforpublicimpact.org
