Get Compensation! is a compensation tool for survivors of domestic abuse. The project was a collaboration between FreeFrom and ThoughtWorks. FreeFrom is the first and only organization in the United States working to combat domestic violence nationwide by providing survivors with financial resources needed to stay safe permanently. ThoughtWorks is a software consultancy that focuses on both revolutionizing the IT industry and creating positive social change while addressing our clients' toughest challenges.

Domestic violence, whether it results in damaged property or medical bills, ends up costing $8.3 billion annually in the United States. Currently, the costs of these damages fall directly on the survivors themselves. Without a way to rebuild financially, survivors typically won't leave an abuser. If they do, they risk becoming homeless, losing custody of their children, or having to return to their abuser.

On top of the cost of damages, the lack of adequate knowledge about legal compensation is the primary barrier for individuals trying to litigate claims of domestic abuse. This consequently prevents Californians from being financially reimbursed for the abuse suffered, leaving thousands of dollars unclaimed every year.

This landmark project required a team of designers and legal professionals to holistically examine the cycle of abuse through examining current crisis intervention and violence prevention services and by understanding the needs of California's survivor of domestic abuse populations.

Get Compensation! is a fully functional responsive web application that enables FreeFrom to scale their services by distributing information about compensation options in California widely and ethically in order to improve the financial stability of survivors in California.

Individuals select one statement across six major themes: time, cost, award, likelihood of, safety, and story. Similar to interactive online quizzes, each statement is scored independently. By selecting a subset of weighted statements, an individual aligns themselves with a particular mindset.

We created four different types of mindsets, each relates to a form of compensation: Victim of Crime Acts (VOCA), Small Claims Court, Criminal Restitution, and Civil Tort. Relating a mindset to a type of compensation makes a complicated process less intimidating by reflecting back an individual's preferences while showing them the first step to inspire action.

Since its release late last December, Get Compensation! has already provided vital information to 60,000 users in the first seven weeks. Get Compensation! launched with the support of 11 legal firms that conducted legal research, as well as multiple domestic violence organizations in California. FreeFrom has received requests from across the country to expand the tool to different States, speaking to the need and the efficacy of the tool. Providing access to a digital tool that is easy and simple to use is key for not only the project's success but also in creating larger social impact by breaking the cycle of domestic violence.

Introduction

Get Compensation! is a compensation tool for survivors of domestic abuse. The project was a collaboration between FreeFrom and ThoughtWorks. FreeFrom is the first and only organization in the United States working to combat domestic violence nationwide by providing survivors with financial resources needed to stay safe permanently. FreeFrom's programs in compensation, credit repair, and small business entrepreneurship work directly with survivors to attain the financial independence needed to ensure safe futures for themselves and their families. ThoughtWorks is a software consultancy that focuses on both revolutionizing the IT industry and creating positive social change.

Domestic violence, whether it results in damaged property or medical bills, ends up costing $8.3 billion annually in the United States. Currently, the costs of these damages fall directly on the survivors themselves. Without a way to rebuild financially, survivors typically won't leave an abuser. If they do, they risk homelessness, losing custody of their children, or having to return to an abuser.

When we launched our collaboration in the summer of 2017, FreeFrom CEO, Sonya Passi, shared that she is trying to push the movement to think beyond emergency services with a focus on financial empowerment—"If survivors are financially secure, they can afford to leave and find safety. Then they can do healing work that will break the intergenerational cycle of abuse." We set forth with a mission to see how a survivor-centered approach to product design and software development could be used in the legal sector to help survivors achieve economic justice and financial independence.

Using a survivor-centered approach means intensively involving survivors as end users during each phase of product discovery and development. This landmark product challenges the cycle of abuse by: 1) using empathy to holistically examine current crisis intervention and violence prevention services, 2) adapting to the needs of California's survivor of domestic abuse populations, and 3) enabling the survivors to participate in the design of a compensation tool alongside the legal service provider, product designers, and technologists.

The Project

Phase 1: Empathy

In the first part of the project, product designers worked with FreeFrom's founder and compensation program director to uncover factors that lead to financial collapse of those affected by domestic violence. The lack of adequate knowledge about legal compensation is the primary reason that individuals trying to litigate claims of domestic abuse end up saddling debt. This phase was structured as an inquiry-based learning process to acquire first-hand knowledge of the challenges, opportunities, and resources of the various stakeholders mapping out cyclical processes of crisis and homelessness.

We read dozens of accounts of abuse and talked to individuals first-hand to discover why many qualified for, but did not obtain, compensation. Working with this type of end user required unique sensitivity from the team to get insights. We leveraged FreeFrom's relationships in order to liaise with participants, in some cases doing phone interviews to maintain anonymity. Our documentation didn't include photography or video to preserve trust with interviewees. And we worked with FreeFrom to employ language that doesn't stigmatize users.

Whether it is the difficulty in understanding legal terminology, fear of confronting their abuser in court, the perception that services are unaffordable, or a feeling that they don't have the time it takes to go through the legal process, many survivors walk away from taking advantage of these underutilized resources, leaving thousands of unclaimed dollars every year. We know it is imperative that we improve access to this vital legal information for both the individuals and the community at large. From listening to stories of survivors of domestic abuse, we uncovered a reoccuring theme—the moment they left their abuser was associated with a sense empowerment. We decided to challenge ourselves to design a product that embodied that sense of empowerment.

Phase 2: Adaptability

In this phase of the project, we worked with FreeFrom to develop a product vision and blueprint of a digital tool that would assist survivors in understanding what compensation is available to them based on their situation. Very simply, a user would go to the legal compensation tool, answer questions about her situation, and receive information about her eligibility under California State law for certain types of financial compensation. We believed this is the minimum functionality that would provide value for an individual seeking financial compensation.

However, we encountered a significant setback. A legal advisor to FreeFrom recommended that we could not move forward with this format because it exposed FreeFrom to liabilities associated with providing legal advice. We knew we needed to dramatically change the way that the information was gathered from and delivered to users to eliminate legal risks in three different ways:

Instead of asking personal questions, we asked users to select statements that described their "personal style";

Instead of providing case-specific recommendations, we provided generalized compensation avenue details;

Instead of providing individuals with the "right" answer, we reflected back their priorities and preferences along with a list of various compensation options, empowering users to make informed decisions for themselves.

After reframing and re-thinking what the experience in this way, we were able to test an experience that didn't expose FreeFrom to legal liabilities.

Part 3: Enablement

Finally, with a new direction for the product, we developed a fully-functional responsive web application for FreeFrom to distribute information about compensation options in California widely and ethically in order to improve the financial stability of survivors in California. The prototyping phase included iterative design, development, testing and refinement of the new and improved product.

We created four different types of mindsets, each one directly related to a form of compensation: Victim of Crime Acts (VOCA), Small Claims Court, Criminal Restitution, and Civil Tort. Similar to a quiz, an individual selects one statement across six major themes: time, cost, award, likelihood, safety, and story. Each statement is scored independently. By selecting a subset of weighted statements, an individual will align themselves with a particular mindset. This mindset is associated with an approach to compensation. We can't tell an individual what to pursue, but we can tell them what kind of mindset, character, or spirit animal represents their preferences and nudge them in that direction. Relating a mindset to a type of compensation makes a complicated process less intimidating by reflecting back an individual's preferences while showing them the first step to inspire action.

Since its release late last December, Get Compensation! has already provided vital information to 60,000 users in the first seven weeks. Get Compensation! launched with the support of 11 legal firms that conducted legal research, as well as multiple domestic violence organizations in California. FreeFrom has received requests from across the country to expand the tool to different States, speaking to the need and the efficacy of the tool. Providing access to a digital tool that is easy and simple to use is key for not only the project's success but also in creating larger social impact by breaking the cycle of domestic violence.

The product design process has proved to be a vital tool for expanding the boundaries of legal sector and engaging stakeholders to solve urgent social justice challenges. Deliberately designing products in this way has helped to ensure that the experience and value of legal services meet the needs of some of our most vulnerable in our communities.