Safety
Safety is the underpinning of our ability to thrive. We catalyze the conditions so that women, girls, and gender-expansive people are free from all forms of violence and can be safe and well at home, school, and in their communities.
Through research, policy, grantmaking, and narrative change, we make strategic, innovative investments in more just systems, policies, and programs to increase and enhance services, prevention, policy, education and mobilization to improve safety and well-being.
What the Data Shows
Women Experience Violence in Minnesota
Women in Minnesota face a high likelihood of experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime. The data also shows that only a small fraction of women report physical or sexual violence.
ONE IN TWO Minnesota women report sexual violence from an intimate partner at some point during her life.
ONE IN FOUR Minnesota women report physical violence from an intimate partner at some point in her life.
Native & Black Women Face Violence at Alarming Rates
Nationwide, Native American women are 71% more likely than white women to have experienced violence in the past year, and 19% more likely to have experienced violence at some point in their lives. More than one-third of survivors (38%) were unable to access the essential services they required.
7x
Native American women in Minnesota are murdered at a rate 7x that of white women
2.7x
Black women in Minnesota are murdered at a rate 2.7x higher than white women
1 in 3
Almost 1 in 3 of Native American teenage girls has attempted suicide – far greater than Native boys or teens of any other cultural group.
Sexuality and Gender Identity Affect Safety
More than three-quarters of LGBTQ+ Minnesotans report experiencing anti-LGBTQ+ behavior in the last year. In a 2021 survey, two-thirds of respondents reported verbal abuse due to their gender and/or sexual identity, and 35% were threatened or attacked physically due to their LGBTQ+ status.
Three times as many transgender or nonbinary Minnesota students and almost twice as many lesbian girls in 8th, 9th, and 11th grade report running away from home or living in a shelter on their own as their straight, cisgendered counterparts.
Our Policy Investments
“We have to consider root causes of historical trauma, systemic racism, sexual objectification of Black women, and the vulnerabilities that poverty, homelessness, child welfare disparities, domestic violence, sex trafficking, and fear of law enforcement create.”
Ruth Richardson
President and CEO, Planned Parenthood North Central States,
Former MN House Representative
Grantee-Partners Make an Impact
With investments from WFM, Esperanza United facilitates youth programming that promotes healthy relationships and sexuality while mobilizing Latinas and Latin@ communities to end gender-based violence.
Related Funds & Research
We strive to create strategic, innovative investments to increase and enhance services, prevention, policy, and education to improve safety and well-being.
Latest Updates in Safety
Sep 1, 2023
Listening to Partners in Northwest Minnesota
The Women’s Foundation invests in listening and research to understand and share the lived experiences and solutions of communities through…
Jul 7, 2023
You Belong Here in Minnesota: A WFM x OutFront Pride Dialog Series
Jun 9, 2023
2023 Legislative Session Concludes with Historic Wins for Gender & Racial Justice
Our Statewide Impact
Interactive Grants Map
Discover more about Women’s Foundation grantee-partners, statewide. Click on the icon in the upper right of the map to expand the legend and see other options for viewing. Use the drop-down menu in the legend to filter grantee-partners by fund, location, or impact area.
View a larger version of WFMN Grantee-Partner map created with eSpatial mapping software.
Explore Ways to Give
Your support fuels the innovative community-based, community-led work happening across the state. Explore our funding opportunities.