Survivor Genius (A New Vision for Ending Gender-Based Violence)

A powerful call to recognize that those who have survived gender-based violence are essential to ending it, by the co-founder of Healing to Action

“In the act of surviving, survivors acquire an unmatched capacity to identify and make sense of why violence occurs, and how to stop it.” —from Survivor Genius

In an era in which a court finding of sexual abuse is no bar to electing a president, and the federal government attempts to deny the very existence of transgender people, the gender justice movement is in a fight for its life. Survivor Genius presents a road map for reinvigorating a part of that movement, arguing that survivors of gender-based violence are themselves the bold, resourceful, and creative leaders we need to end it.

Sheerine Alemzadeh, a co-founder of one of the leading anti-violence groups in the country, dismantles, one by one, arguments that victims are too fragile, broken, or scared to do more than share their stories in a legislative hearing. Survivor Genius offers a sharp analysis of the failures of traditional advocacy models led by “professionals” and argues for a new paradigm in which survivors, particularly those with marginalized identities, are leading players in the movement to end gender-based violence.

Through a collection of moving stories drawn from her organization’s work, Alemzadeh ilustrates how survivors of violence can both identify better solutions, tailored to their needs, and foster their on healing through collective action. Her book provides practical advice for field organizations and public institutions that would allow survivors to participate in and lead anti-violence work.

For readers invested in social movements and community empowerment, Survivor Genius offers a brilliant reframing capable of transforming our cultural understanding and public policy around a problem too often normalized as inevitable.