Janelle Medeiros ’17 and Michael Knortz ’17 won an April 2016 asylum grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Asylum Office for A—, a young woman from Haiti. During her childhood, A—and her mother were severely abused by her father. As a result, she developed a strong commitment to women’s and children’s rights. While studying nursing, A—, together with two university classmates, formed a feminist organization. They spoke out in meetings and on the radio in favor of gender equality, against domestic violence, and in opposition to the common practice of forcing poor children to work as domestic servants in wealthy households. Their message threatened entrenched interests, and two of the group’s co-founders were murdered. Soon after, A— was abducted, sexually abused, and threatened, forcing her to flee to seek safety in the United States.