Speak Out Saturday (2)-Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April 1 is best known for being April Fool's Day.  For some, April 1 is not just one important day but the start of an important month.  April is designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Many agencies/programs/community groups spend April spreading awareness about sexual violence.  I work for a rape crisis center, and we're working to do that as well.  In the past, we've held special events, but budget cuts and limited manpower have prevented us from doing that this year.  Instead, we've focused on getting information out to local businesses, using local media to our advantage, and reaching out to as many people as possible.  We'll be doing this for ALL of April rather than holding an event for one day of April.

On Thursday, I attended our county commissioners meeting with my co-workers to have a proclamation read declaring April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in our county.  But this isn't just a local thing.  The President even read a proclamation on Thursday recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Sexual violence is all around us, whether we  like it or not.  The only way to change that is to begin talking about it.  Remaining silent gives perpetrators power.

Speak Out Saturday (1)

I've decided to make Saturdays on my blog "Speak Out Saturdays."  My posts on Saturdays will be related to issues I find important and interesting.  Sometimes they may be rants, and sometimes they may be educational.  I hope that my blog visitors will take some time to explore the issues they are passionate about, even if they choose not to blog about them on "Speak Out Saturdays."  (Also, if someone else already does Speak Out Saturdays, please let me know.  I will then change my blog titles).

For the last few months, I've been facilitating Sexual Assault Counselor training for the program where I work.  We have one session left and will have completed 40 hours of training.  This round of training involves counselors and community members who want to be volunteers.

I've been doing the SAC training for about 2.5 years now.  I originally took the training when I became a volunteer for the program.  After volunteering for 2 years, I began an internship there and was hired as the volunteer coordinator.  After working as the volunteer coordinator for some time, I took on the role of legal advocate as well.  Once I graduated with my undergrad degrees, I began doing counseling with children and adults.  Currently, my job titles include volunteer coordinator, legal advocate, and sexual assault counselor. 

Working to end sexual violence is an issue that is very important to me.  It is an issue that many people shy away from or deny.  It is an issue that many people pretend doesn't exist.  Unfortunately, it is an issue that surrounds us every single day. 

In the last 2.5 years, I've come across approximately 300 victims of sexual violence.  I've heard horrific stories of sexual violence and seen glorious victories in the courtroom.  Over and over again, I have been reminded of how little the general public seems to know about sexual violence. 

The next few Speak Out Saturday posts will be in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  Every April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).  During this month, many rape crisis centers make extra effort to make their communities aware of the widespread occurrence of sexual violence.  To kick off this month, next week's post will be about Sexual Assault Myths.  It's time to fight back against those myths!

The Lovely Bones

After I finished Breaking Dawn, I started reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I wanted to see the movie but wanted to read the book first. A few years ago, I read Lucky by Alice Sebold and really enjoyed it. I had seen several posts on my online book club about how people felt about this book. There were also some thoughts on how people felt about seeing the movie.

I had a general idea of what the book was about. I knew it was about a girl who was murdered and looks down on her family and friends from Heaven. The book, in my opinion, was much more than that, though.

I liked that the author didn't focus too much on what exactly happened to the girl. That puts too much attention on the murderer. To me, the story really seemed to be about the love between a child and parent and how that love can be tested. Sebold's writing helped me to feel the pain of the father when he learned his little girl was dead. I could understand the yearning Susie had to be able to reach out to her family again.

Lovely Bones was an extremely touching book that made me look at things differently. At first, I was disappointed with the ending. Then I decided that the obvious "happily ever after" ending isn't always the most suitable.