Alliance: Newsletter: April 2004: NYC Speaks Out
Newsletter: April 2004: NYC Speaks Out
Sexual assault affects all New Yorkers as survivors, and as co-survivors who have shared the pain of our partners, friends and families. This hidden crime continues to disrupt the lives of thousands of New Yorkers each year, yet it only surfaces publicly when an incident involves a celebrity, a church conspiracy, or other "sensational" circumstances, in which the survivor’s life is either exploited or ignored.But sexual assault manifests itself in countless ways. The abuse is committed by friends, partners, family members, strangers and colleagues. It is committed across the lifespan against children, adolescents, adults and elderly persons. And thousands upon thousands of survivors carry a misplaced and needless burden of guilt and shame. Misplaced because rapists, not their victims, deserve the blame for the crimes they commit. Needless because together as a community, we can remove that burden by sending a clear message to every survivor: "it’s not your fault."
As a society, our inaction perpetuates the violence. When we fail to speak out against rape, our silence forces survivors to feel isolated and powerless. Many survivors say that when they told their story, the reaction of family, friends or authorities felt like a second assault, that the interrogation by those they had gone to for support was a revictimization. By knowing how to listen, by rejecting rape myths that blame the victim, by listening with open minds and hearts to survivors, we can begin to create a society in which sexual assault is no longer tolerated.
This year the Alliance and the city’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) Organizing Committee is planning a 24 hour reading of survivor stories in City Hall Park. The 24 hour event will start on Tuesday, April 13 at 12 noon and finish at 12 noon the following day.
The event is called "Listen: 24 Hours of Survivors’ Stories." Our goal is to read 1,000 testimonials by survivors of sexual assault. The number is particularly appropriate for SAAM. Because the Alliance estimates that 12,000 sexual assaults occur each year in New York City, we estimate that one twelfth of this estimate, or one thousand stories, represents one month of the year.
The stories that we will read at this event have been published in books and websites. For many survivors, this will be the first time their words are spoken out loud. For many more, it will be the first time their words are not met with contempt and doubt. By reading and listening to these stories, we send a message to all survivors that their experiences are real, their anger justified, and their safety and support paramount.
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[1]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_article_160.html
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