Sexual Assault Awareness Month may be over, but our voices will continue to be heard! We have to make a conscious and loud effort to say NO MORE abuse.
As you may already know, Stop the Hurt has a facebook page (click here!). I am working hard to get as many 'like's as possible, but did not yet reach my goal of 300. Sometimes just the click of a button can make a difference.
Right now, at the Women's Center where I work on campus, we are interviewing new advocates for the fall. I won't be here because I'll be studying abroad in Australia but I want to get to know the new advocates since I will be back in the spring alongside our newest intern. In our interviews, most of the new advocates are excited to help by providing advocacy to victims. We give our speeches about how advocacy will always be supervised and they will never do it alone, but we also talk about how they may not give advocacy at all in a semester. It's possible that they just won't be around when a client comes in, and usually the bigger cases are taken over by our supervisor and more experienced peer advocates. I worked with just 3 clients this semester, but we saw over 30.
The reason I'm telling you this is because it doesn't take providing direct advocacy to make a difference. Most new advocates are ready to put on their superhero cape and save the world. But it's important and necessary that they all understand that everything they do as advocates is making a difference. This goes for anyone out there wanting to do something. Even just handing out a flyer, hosting a booth, spreading the word about our program, or 'liking' a page on Facebook is making a difference.
We can all be leaders in the change we wish to see happening.
We can all be a part of ending this abuse. Ever notice how all of the superheroes wear masks? You don't need to be flying around showing the world what you're doing. You can make a HUGE difference even from the comfort of your home.
So, be inspired. Do something. Like a page (mine, for instance!), make a flyer, post a status, share facts, host a booth, watch a documentary, follow organizations like NO MORE and Love Is Not Abuse and Break the Cycle Everything you do can and will make a difference.
Do your part and stop the hurt.
