Here’s how one woman is empowering domestic abuse survivors around the world

Women and girls around the world are getting help to escape sexual violence through an innovative ethical fashion business.

Fair Anita, based in Minnesota in the United States, works with a global network of craft cooperatives to help give women financial independence, self-respect and the means to leave a violent partner.

The social enterprise was set up by founder Joy McBrien, following her own traumatic experience of sexual abuse. After she was raped when a senior at high school, McBrien said she wanted to “reclaim some of my own personal agency,” and set up the social enterprise in order to positively impact fellow survivors around the world.

Fair Anita is an ethical fashion company that sources jewellery, clothing, bags and other products from marginalized women who face gender violence in their communities.

The company is a social enterprise – a business set up to make a positive impact on the world – and currently works with 8,000 women in 16 countries.

The company sells the fair trade products made by its women artisans. In return, the artisans receive fair wages, long-term employment and opportunities to develop their business.

McBrien says she “learned that financial insecurity is the main reason that keeps women in abusive partnerships”, which is why Fair Anita pays its women craftspeople at least three times the minimum wage. This helps women free themselves from gender violence by becoming more financially independent and having access to the resources they need.

To further empower its women artisans, Fair Anita also invests in developing their skills in design, business and leadership. It does this through activities like workshops, mentoring and networking events.

Fair Anita started in Peru in South America. After deciding to help other women who had experienced sexual abuse, McBrien discovered that Peru had the highest reported rate of domestic violence in the world.

According to the United Nations, a third of women in Peru will suffer physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetimes.

In her first year of college, McBrien went to Peru and set up a women’s shelter there. The following year she met Señora Anita, a social worker who helps abuse survivors in Peru.

The social enterprise is named after Señora Anita, who taught McBrien about the importance of employment in empowering women and building their confidence and financial independence.

Since Fair Anita was set up in 2015, it has reinvested more than $1 million back into its women artisan co-operatives. The company says the women artisans who create its fair trade products get back between 30% and 60% of proceeds when products are sold.

Fair Anita says its artisan partners have access to health insurance and educational scholarships, as well as a sustainable income.

The company has also donated more than $110,000 to COVID-relief efforts in its communities.

Fair Anita says more than 80% of the materials used in its designs are sustainable. Reused boxes were used for all orders shipped in 2021.

“Our partners in India have developed a 100% plant-based plastic to send products to the US,” the company website says.

Fair Anita says it has also started to take part in carbon offsetting programmes. These help people and businesses compensate for their carbon footprint by investing in initiatives designed to reduce carbon in the atmosphere.