Sonya has been an anti-violence activist since she was 16 years old. During high school, she started an Amnesty International Community Group, and, while working on their global violence against women campaign, discovered her life’s work. 

Before founding FreeFrom, she launched the Family Violence Appellate Project (“FVAP”) while earning her law degree at UC Berkeley. Based in Oakland, California, FVAP is the first and only organization in California to provide pro bono appellate legal services to survivors of intimate partner violence and has fundamentally transformed the legal landscape in California. 

For her work in the field, Sonya was listed in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Class of 2017 For Law and Policy.

In this episode, Sonya shares the importance of approaching domestic violence as a systemic issue, why financial insecurity is a big piece that needs to be addressed by society, and why Bill 975 in California allowing cancellation of coerced debt is an important step in the right direction. 

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