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 We would like to
thank everybody who came out to our
Report It Now Rally in
the spring. We had lots of public support (at least, I think that is why
everybody was honking at us) and we were able to pass out many pamphlets
on how to keep kids safe. We ordered the pamphlets from Darkness to
Light. They highlighted these 7 steps to protecting children.
Step 1: Learn the Facts
Step 2: Minimize
Opportunity
You
can find more details on the steps at
http://www.darkness2light.org/.
At
their website you can also learn more about the Prevent-a-thon that they
are hosting to help train thousands of Charleston-area parents and
youth-serving organizations on how to prevent, recognize and repond to
child sexual abuse.
PAVE:
Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment
was the main sponsor of the Report It Now Rally. They provided flyer
information and a very helpful action plan. It was a very empowering
experience to wear my PAVE t-shirt, hold my " No shame in being a
survivor " sign and be among friends and family to help promote the
fight against sexual violence.
-a
special "Thank You" also goes out to Officer Oliver of the Phoenix
Police Department, he was very helpful in explaining the "public
gathering" guidelines, and let us know where the closest restroom was.
PAVE'S
next event is their first annual
Removing the Mask: Art and Soul to Shatter the Silence of Sexual
Violence benefit. This event will be held in
Los Angeles,
CA on September 17th, 2009.
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Self magazine
had a great short article on Amy Barth of
Atlanta. She joined with
Camp Twin
Lakes and started
Camp
Cadi, a week long summer camp near
Atlanta
where 9 to 21 year old female survivors of child sexual abuse can go to
heal through the power of art and breaking the silence together.
Watching this 2006 psychological thriller was like
eating a whole pint of Ben and Jerry's; really good,
but leaves you feeling a little sick. It is the
story of 14 year old Hayley Stark who meets 31 year
old Jeff Kohlver on-line. They hook up for coffee
and then go back to his place. At this point one
expects him to take advantage of her, but instead
she drugs him and he winds up tied to a chair.
Hayley is convinced he is involved in the
disappearance of a local girl.
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What follows next is her attempt to
locate evidence in his house and
coerce him to confess. (Warning:
parts of this movie are not for the
faint of heart) Revenge, vigilante
justice, retribution: this movie
goes where self help books never do,
and for good reason. There is
however one very satisfying scene.
Towards the end of the film Jeff
begins to realize he has
completely underestimated Hayley
and is in serious trouble. He yells,
"What the hell are you?". She
replies, " I am every little girl
you have ever watched, touched,
hurt, screwed, killed."
It was a very vindicating moment in
which I had to remind myself that it
is also just a movie and not part
of any healing process. In fact most
books on healing shy away from
survivors confronting abusers,
insisting that it never goes as you
think it will, and healing is
about the survivor not the
abuser. Overall, I liked the movie.
It scared me, freaked me out and
reminded me that two wrongs don't
make a right.
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