Liberation Fund and the Fight for Gender Justice
By Lisa Small, Liberty Hill Senior Director of Youth & Transformative Justice
Return to NewsletterThe Liberty Hill Foundation is proud to announce a $2 million commitment to the Liberation Fund, aimed at ending the incarceration of girls and gender-expansive youth in Los Angeles County. This investment will support 12 BIPOC-led organizations and provide crucial infrastructure support to the community backbone team leading this groundbreaking, multi-year initiative. The work in Los Angeles County is laying the foundation to create a model for ending the incarceration of girls and gender-expansive youth across California, with the potential to be replicated nationwide.
The Liberation Fund not only aims to transform the lives of those impacted by the justice system but also underscores the broader need for supporting women and girls, who are often overlooked. In 2024, Los Angeles County is prepared to pay over $2 billion in claims related to a decades-long sex abuse scandal involving girls and other young people in the county’s care. For scale, the Catholic church paid $4 billion to respond to sexual abuses within its ranks across the globe. These payouts are not for safe housing or job support but for thousands of individuals who, due to a change in state law, can now sue for sexual abuse they experienced as children in the county’s custody. Last year, county officials anticipated 3,000 plaintiffs, but the number has already grown to nearly 5,000.
Despite the contributions and potential of women and girls, charitable giving for this demographic remains less than 2% of all U.S. giving. This stark reality highlights the importance of initiatives like the Liberation Fund, which prioritize the needs and rights of women and girls and sees their unique needs, ideas, and innovation as vital to advancing movement causes for all.
As Melinda French Gates noted, "The second the global agenda gets crowded, women and girls fall off." Through the Liberation Fund, Liberty Hill is challenging the status quo and reaffirming its commitment to gender equity and justice. By investing in organizations championing the rights of girls and gender-expansive youth, we are building a future where every young person can thrive.
