What do you call it when marginalized communities’ assets are unseen, undervalued and even destroyed through projects undertaken for the so-called public good? We’re calling it wellbeing stripping.
The predominant narrative calls it wealth stripping. But it’s not just financial assets that are often drained from communities that can least afford it, as part of major development or public good projects or in response to climate emergencies.
In her post on Medium, FFI Founder and CEO Katya Fels Smyth shares a new name for an enduring phenomenon: wellbeing stripping. Because the assets that matter to people are broader, deeper and less transactional than money and financial wealth. And without a name, it’s too easy for power to dismiss or de-legitimize the harms and the repair.
This tool offers a set of questions related to tradeoffs and the Five Domains of Wellbeing that you can use as a “check engine light” for you and your work.
Use this tool to identify how a specific policy, project, program or practice will impact different stakeholders’ wellbeing, allowing you to anticipate and address unsustainable tradeoffs.
Learn how domestic violence practitioners can shift from a singular focus on short-term safety toward increasing survivor safety in the context of creating opportunities to support long-term wellbeing.