Sunny Scholarship Travel Fund: Giving a voice to formerly incarcerated women
“Everyone faces challenges in life, and you can either spend the rest of your life looking back, or you can make the decision to keep moving forward.”
Sunny Jacobs (1947–2025)
Facing gender-based discrimination : the importance of testimony
Like Sunny, a tireless abolitionist activist who tragically passed away on 3 June 2025, the voices of formerly incarcerated women, including those who have been on death row, are essential to guiding the abolitionist struggle and driving prison reform. Their experiences give them unique expertise on the challenges they have faced and the discrimination they have suffered, making them the best placed to advocate in an informed and effective manner.
A fund for the visibility of the women concerned
Exposed to intersectional discrimination and often from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, these women are particularly marginalised once incarcerated and face multiple challenges during their reintegration. The lack of financial resources – for food, housing, training, finding decent employment or travelling – is a major obstacle. This precariousness also limits their access to international summits and forums, where their experience and expertise would be particularly valuable in informing discussions and decision-making.
That is why, in order to ensure that these women’s voices are heard, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (World Coalition) welcomes the creation of the Sunny Scholarship Travel Fund, established in memory of Sonia, “Sunny Jacobs. Supported by the Women Beyond Walls (WBW) association, the fund will be managed directly by the International Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women (INFIW), which brings together hundreds of formerly incarcerated women in more than 30 countries on 6 continents. INFIW was founded and is led and composed of formerly incarcerated women.
This scholarship is intended to provide financial assistance to formerly incarcerated women who are INFIW members and wish to speak at international conferences or in advocacy forums.
INFIW is develping an application process that will be approved by the network membership in its December 2025 global virtual convening. Decisions for allocating funds will be made by the INFIW advisory committee (it’s governing board) in a transparent process, with full participation of those soliciting support. Grants will be given with en eye towards ensuring geographic diversity. Updates on the Sunny Travel Fund will be provided on the GoFundMe page and on the INFIW website.
This fund is part of the World Coalition’s commitment to promoting the active participation of those directly affected by the death penalty in advocacy efforts. More specifically, it is aligned with the objectives of the “Gender and the Death Penalty” project, which aims to highlight the voices of women facing the death penalty.
