Sexual Violence in the News

Last week, I started my Thursday with three stories related to sexual violence - THREE stories.  Had I dug a little deeper below the surface, I would have read more for sure...unfortunately.

The first is the story of a cheerleader in Texas who was expelled from her cheer leading squad for not chanting the name of her rapist - full story here.  The Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal and the family has been ordered to pay ALL legal expenses of the school after a federal court ruled that the teen had no rights to free speech (which she was exercising to NOT cheer) as she was a "mouthpiece" of the school.  This is dangerous language, rife with implications and grossly objectifying - as if this young woman needed more objectification.

The second story or series of stories relates to the handling of sexual violence within the Peace Corps and their shameful treatment and regard for those who have courageously come forward with their stories of victimization.  I read a few stories regarding the mishandling of victims disclosures and the Peaces Corps response but I am sharing a New York Times article because I like the mention of "First Response Action", an advocacy group for Peace Corps volunteers who are victim/survivors of sexual violence.  This is truly a group of women making a difference - where one system failed, they created another one.  This gives me hope.

The last story I read was another of those 'story in a series of stories' - a piece of a larger issue - and most of them coming from various African countries.  This story was of the rape and murder of Noxolo Nogwaza.  Beyond being a woman with an inalienable right to live her life of liberation and prosper beyond her wildest dreams, Noxolo was a lesbian and a gay rights campaigner in South Africa.

The CNN story reports activists as saying that Nogwaza was a victim of "corrective rape" - this is a tragic misuse of words.  Rape is rape and by calling it "corrective" we inadvertently justify the act because we imply that something was wrong in need of 'correction'.  More appropriately, if we absolutely need an additional qualifier beyond RAPE, let's call it what it is: Homophobic Rape. 

As an advocate/activist in this field, I often feel helpless when I hear stories of continued violence. I begin to contemplate the extent of the difference we make, especially locally and then it leads to exploring ways to move beyond the effects of the violence to the cause - the root, the core.  We are the change agents.

So we use our tools and we reach out into the community that we serve and we inform, creating a platform from which to speak about these issues feels a little less like we are standing still in the middle of a desperate abyss and more like we are standing in hope.

I encourage you to read the stories above in the name of being informed and I'd be happy to hear your thoughts - comments are welcome.

In love and hope,
Tina Vaughn, Director of the RRT

Lara Logan Breaks 'Code of Silence'

Watch the '60 Minutes' Interview Here

In her first television interview since being sexually assaulted two months ago, CBS News chief foreign correspondent and "60 Minutes" reporter, Lara Logan, reveals what happened to her in Tahrir Square in an interview with Scott Pelley.

Shatter the Silence

The mission of the Rape Recovery Team (RRT) is written above and that mission guides us like a beacon in the work that we do...for our clients and for our community.

The RRT is a team of advocates at the Women's Center of Jackonville based out of Jacksonville, Florida.  The RRT serves Duval, Nassua and Baker counties as THE certified Rape Crisis Center (RCC).  We are the first responders to the ones who have experienced sexual violation and violence, talking them through the acute crisis period, serving as a mobile support system and partnering with them in the name of healing.  Additionally, the RRT educates our community on preventing sexual violence - it is by recognizing those behaviors that ultimately contribute to power-based personal violence that we will ultimately dismantle and abolish them.

Over the last year, RRT has committed to greater community outreach - to channel our passion and inspire change within our community.  This means starting the dialogue, engaging and being willing to stand in that uncomfortable space that we might be met with initially.  RAPE is not easy to talk about, not a comfortable issue to address by any standard.  However, we know the reality because it is the field within which we move EVERYDAY in the name of service and honor to our clients, therefore we know we must.

"If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." ~ Lilla Watson

I was introduced to the above quote at a conference recently and I felt as if I had finally found words to effectively articulate what we aim to do when we do what we do for our clients.  The RRT stands with them, not because we believe that they cannot stand on their own because we have seen the fierceness with which our clients stand in the wake of what could have been their worst tragedy but because we know our own liberation is bound up with theirs.

Welcome - this blog will be an extension of our voice, what we feel our community deserves to know about actual and potential violence against our fellow community members, especially our women and girls. 

In Love and Hope,
Tina Vaughn, Director of the RRT