Rape makes you feel incredibly alone. When your body is attacked, the only place to retreat is deep inside yourself. The irony is that by protecting yourself in this way - protecting your body from any more pain or violence - you cut yourself off from love, which is the whole of the journey back.
[…]
Hearing a story about sexual assault can make you feel really powerless. Maybe you read my story here or heard a story at a Take Back the Night, and you felt moved, a little astounded to hear the words spoken out loud, supportive but a little lost.
Sexual assault is a crime of power and […]
On Monday, I spoke at UMass Boston’s Take Back the Night as a part of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center’s survivor speaker bureau. The speakers bureau has been a great way to tell my story for the purpose of breaking silence, dispelling myths, and educating the community about the realities of sexual assault.
BARCC’s training for this program […]
One of the most powerful tools we can provide for survivors of sexual assault and abuse is hope. When facing the pain and suffering that accompanies sexual violence, hope can seem like a distant joke. As friends and family of survivors, as members of a community that does not tolerate sexual violence, and as […]
As a survivor of sexual assault and abuse, I watched the media coverage of the allegations against Sandusky and administrators at Penn State unfold with fascination and disgust. There were lots of stories published about lots of different people, and through it all, one person stood out to me: John Surma. While I am […]
I love the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center’s annual Walk for Change. It’s an event for survivors of sexual violence, their family and friends, and advocates. This year, I’m walking with my husband and 8-month old baby boy. I want to teach my son how to be a compassionate friend to people who are […]
In 2008, I created a presentation for a nonprofit management class at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management on the messaging and funding challenges for organizations that work in the sexual violence arena. This work came out of my experience as a volunteer at a local rape crisis center and nearly ten years of […]
Dear Governor Patrick,
I’m writing as your constituent to urge you to sign the $400K included in the FY2010 supplemental budget for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program. (Line Item 4510-0810 of the Department of Public Health).
I also urge you to match these funds of $600K from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services […]
If there is a crime to get away with, it is rape. Only 16% of rapists will ever spend a day in jail. Read about it on the RAINN website.
Artwork by Paul Pierson