About
Vision
Objectives
& Principles
Vision & Mission Statement
LIFT envisions creating a community of driven, compassionate, knowledgeable individuals committed to advocating for, educating and supporting single parents who are victims of domestic violence (DV) / gender-based violence (GBV) and who have faced systemic injustice/s by their country’s government / legal systems that have forced them to become exiled from their respective countries.
LIFT strives to create a just world for these displaced and exiled parents where they and their children are able to feel safe – not just from their perpetrators but from persecution by their governments – liberated, and hence, able to achieve their fullest potential. LIFT is built on the core belief that all individuals should be advocates for Gender Equality and Social Justice, and against all forms of abuse, in particular GBV.
Objectives
The objectives and goals of LIFT are to provide support for persecuted, displaced / exiled single-parent-survivors of DV / GBV in the following areas:
- Escaping DV / GBV to ensure their safety from the perpetrator. This includes crisis accommodation, relocation and linking to other support organisations.
- Navigating international legal systems and jurisdictions to help these parents avoid persecution by their governments and by the Hague Convention and other international agencies such as Interpol and extradition treaties.
- Education for these exiled single parents and their children in managing their mental health and coping with the traumas associated with DV / GBV.
- To provide a forum for discussion about DV, GBV, child safety and wellbeing, positive parenting, current legislations surrounding these topics and advocating for changes to legislations that disempower and discriminate against these individuals, especially the Hague Convention.
- To share best practices, case studies, and identify and discuss trends and patterns surrounding the persecution of single parent survivors of DV internationally – by their respective governments and by the weaponization of the Hague Convention.
- To identify additional individuals, agencies and / or organizations with the potential to assist in creating additional support and spaces for the target groups of single parent DV survivors to meet and discuss their issues.
- To develop a 24/7 online support helpline.
- To establish an international base of highly skilled and experienced facilitators and targeted material to address audiences from a wide range of backgrounds.
- To advocate for a coordinated collaborative international approach to gender equality and justice interventions and programmes.
Principles
- LIFT acknowledges that persecuted single-parent-survivors of DV / GBV are diverse in age, religion, ethnicity, class, ability, educational background, sexual orientation, geographical location, attitudes and beliefs and that we should engage with all whilst holding fast to the values and principles we espouse.
- Partnership with other international NGOs and GOs and learning from their experiences as leaders in the movement to liberate persecuted single-parent-survivors of GBV from rigid gender roles, inequalities, discriminative legislations and stereotypes is critical to achieving Gender Equality and Social Justice.
- LIFT members can choose to live peaceful, non-violent lives and should advocate against all forms of unjust persecution, abuse of power, corruption, indifference, systemic injustice and use of violence including GBV.
- Commitment to family, gender equality, justice and healthy relationships must include a commitment to overcoming the challenges, ideologies and stereotypes that label women as weak victims and men as dominant perpetrators. LIFT promotes both men and women as being equal partners in parenting.
- LIFT promotes and encourages self-awareness and knowledge as a key to overcoming our fears of vulnerability, victimisation and change. This requires an understanding of cultures, history, toxic patriarchy, victimisation, critical self-reflection and the incorporation of new understandings and education into our lifestyles.
- Cultural and spiritual beliefs which people hold as important can contribute to positive livelihood and peaceful co-existence and should be addressed in our work.
- LIFT encourages members to strive towards achieving these values and qualities: resilience, humility, empathy, compassion, gratitude, peace, nurturability, and respect for others.
- LIFT and its members stand firm in their qualities of accountability, assuming responsibilities and authenticity – being true to oneself and others. LIFT emphasizes these traits as critical components of healthy development and can be promoted by positive peer encouragement and support.