Alliance Blog

Last week I received an email from Change.org asking me to sign a petition calling for Seventeen magazine to limit the use of Photoshop and “feature just one unaltered – real – photo spread per month.”  I haven’t been a part of Seventeen’s demographics for quite some time now but I was inspired by this youth-led effort to protest the sexualization of girls. I immediately signed the petition and recruited some friends to sign on with me.

Not only is this effort a great example of successful movement building, it ties into the primary prevention work we do here at the Alliance.  As outlined on our website, the goal of our prevention efforts is to change the social norms that permit and promote sexual violence so that ultimately, we see a reduction in perpetration of sexual violence. The sexualization of girls and women represents one of these social norms, or “root factors” of sexual violence, that we aim to change.  The Seventeen petition focuses on the damage these sexualized images can have on girls’ self-images, which can lead to “eating disorders, dieting, depression and low self esteem.”  I would add that this harmful social norm also contributes to a rape culture that allows for, excuses and even condones sexual violence.

Julia Bluhm, named “one bad-ass 8th grader” by Feministing, coordinated her petition with SPARK (Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge), an organization she is active in and regularly blogs for.  SPARK is a “girl-fueled activist movement to demand an end to the sexualization of women and girls in media…collaborating with hundreds of girls 13-22 and more than 60 national organizations to reject the commodified, sexualized images of girls in media and support the development of girls’ healthy sexuality and self-esteem.”

In support of Bluhm and the thousands of petition signees, SPARK organized a rally at Seventeen’s Headquarters on May 2nd. After presenting the massive petition list, Bluhm and three SPARK activists were invited to a private meeting with Seventeen Editor Ann Shoket. It’s unclear whether or not Seventeen will agree to the requests outlined in the petition but Bluhm is hopeful:

“I’m encouraged that they’re willing to listen to me and the 30,000 people  [now 72,000!] who’ve signed my petition.  Seventeen’s invited me to work with them on this issue, which means we girls — Seventeen’s readers — are finally being heard loud and clear. It’s really exciting.”

Hear, hear!

To sign the petition, visit http://www.change.org/petitions/seventeen-magazine-give-girls-images-of-real-girls

I interned at the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault the spring semester of my junior year at Tufts University. I had originally planned on studying in Spain the entirety of my junior year, yet after one semester I found that the overt misogyny of the culture made it difficult for me to stay there. Having felt cheated out of the “life-changing study abroad experience” I heard all my friends raving about, this ironically pushed me to want to re-do my “study abroad” in New York City, and into an internship with the Alliance.

I had always considered myself an “academic feminist,” being well-versed in literature from Betty Friedan to Judith Butler thanks to my women’s studies courses during my first two years at college. But I began to feel a twinge of guilt when other academic feminists would be criticized for their lack of “real-world feminist activism,” and I started to feel a sense of obligation to society, and frustration with myself for not having already joined the social activism cause on the organizational level. The Alliance would serve as my entry point into this sphere.

Having seen the scope of influence the organization has on the New York City area, I was shocked to find out that the non-profit organization (and all of their events and programs) is actually run by only a handful of extremely dedicated people. To use the words of one staff member, the Alliance truly is “small but mighty.” I was instantly incorporated into the tight-knit community of the organization, and had the pleasure of getting to know each member well personally.

I worked primarily with Kira Laffe, the Training and Outreach Coordinator, on several events and programs that the Alliance ran that spring. I helped to organize the annual Celebration of Excellence, in memory of the late Detective First Grade C. Lydia Martinez, who was one of the city’s experts on sexual and domestic violence. The ceremony celebrates five members of the community from different sectors involved in the acute-care response to sexual assault in New York City, including Rape Crisis Professionals, Assistant District Attorneys, Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners, NYPD Special Victims Detectives, and Volunteer Rape Crisis Advocates. Personally, this event presented as a fantastic opportunity for me to meet some of the most influential people in the anti-sexual violence field, and the event itself served as an essential day to thank several members of the community for their interdisciplinary skills and commitment to give survivors the best treatment possible.

I have also had the pleasure to help out with our spring Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) course, which trains nurses and doctors on how to provide care to a survivor when they come to the emergency room, and link them to community based services and counseling. This was of personal interest to me because I will be looking to attend medical school in the fall of 2014. Kira was beyond helpful in setting me up to learn as much as possible about the medical processes survivors go through, by encouraging me to attend the in-house trainings of the SAFE course. I was even able to attend the lecture with Gynecological Teaching Associates (GTAs), who used their own bodies as tools to help the students learn how to perform a medical and forensic exam on sexual violence survivors!

During my time with the Alliance, I also provided support to several other projects that let me grow as a feminist social activist. I was able to assist the Executive Director of the Alliance, Mary Haviland, in the drafting of an updated version of the New York Police Department community brochure on sexual violence, and meet several important members of NYPD’s Special Victims Unit. I also gave a speech at the third annual Sexual Assault Yearly Speak Out (SAYSO!) in Brooklyn, which creates awareness about sexual assault, and provides a platform for survivors to share their stories and continue the healing process. I attended several sexual assault task force meetings in multiple New York City boroughs, where leaders of the anti-sexual violence community came together to discuss important legislature, events, programs, and policies concerning sexual assault.

My experience with the New York City Alliance has finally allowed me to know what it feels like to put work into something that is really important to me, and to say that it is gratifying is simply an understatement. I have gained invaluable experience in the “real world” dedicating time to a cause I am passionate about, interacting on a daily basis with people who are determined enough to demand a change in societal norms, yet patient enough to stay and see the progress. I was thinking not only of the ceremony’s award winners, but also specifically of the Alliance staff, when I suggested publishing the following quote by Margaret Mead on the event program for our Celebration of Excellence: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Living in a post-feminist culture that causes oppressed groups to question their sense of dissatisfaction with their position in society, I still cannot fully articulate how important it was (and still is) to me to have worked with a group of people that sees the world as I do. Perhaps I could sense that as feminists, we could all relate to sentiments of frustration and self-doubt at some point in our lives. Although I have never been one to particularly hide my strong opinions publically, my internship at the Alliance has given me the confidence and reassurance to express them outwardly in all types of spheres. I will undoubtedly take all that I have learned at the Alliance and carry these lessons with me throughout life: through the rest of my undergraduate years, through medical school, and beyond, and hope I will be able to influence others around me as the Alliance has influenced me.

Lauren Border

My name is Lauren and I am proud to speak out against sexual violence on behalf of the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault today. The mission of the Alliance is to build the capacity of communities, organizations, and institutions to advance the right to live free from sexual violence, and we have implemented several events and programs to further the cause of our mission. I have personally worked on organizing our annual Celebration of Excellence, in memory of the late Detective First Grade C. Lydia Martinez, who was one of the city’s experts on sexual and domestic violence. The ceremony celebrates five members of the community from different sectors involved in the acute-care response to sexual assault in New York City, including Rape Crisis Professionals, Assistant District Attorneys, Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners, NYPD Special Victims Detectives, and Volunteer Rape Crisis Advocates. I have also had the pleasure to help out with our spring Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner course, which trains nurses and doctors on how to provide care to a survivor when they come to the emergency room, and link them to community based services and counseling.

I would like to take the time to thank Safe Horizon’s Brooklyn Community Program for hosting this event. As the nation’s leading victim assistance organization, Safe Horizon provides services to over a quarter million people affected by violence each year. Similarly, the Brooklyn Community Program has been a leader in creating awareness about sexual assault, and providing a platform for survivors to speak out for 3 years now via SAY SO!.  They are also a member organization of the primary prevention project, Project Envision Williamsburg, whose goal is to change social norms that promote and permit sexual violence. In a victim-blaming society, addressing the root causes of sexual violence is absolutely crucial, and I thank you for all your contributions to this program.

The Alliance created the Sexual Assault Yearly Speak Out in 2004, originally introduced under the event name “Listen.” “Listen” was a 24-hour event staged in April as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and marked the first 24-hour reading of stories about surviving sexual assault in New York City. In 2006, the event name was changed to SAY SO!, capturing the spirit of the anti-sexual violence movement to initiate a public discourse about sexual assault, and celebrate the strength of survivors. The Alliance now provides technical assistance to organizations looking to host a SAY SO!, and we encourage our community partners to take the theme and create something of their own to create a powerful message regarding sexual violence.

As a part of my own (and very first) Sexual Assault Yearly Speak Out, I would like to share a poem with you today that I wrote about one of my friends’ experiences during college.  It is entitled “The Formal.”

[TRIGGER WARNING:  Please read carefully, share responsibly and seek support when needed]

The Formal

In her least favorite dress

she reluctantly stepped out of the cab

to attend the formal a friend

dragged her to, promising her

a date and a break

from the monotony of normal nights,

and now, surrounded by

gruesome buildings,

pointed and gothic,

staring at her,

she meets him.

Girls in stiletto heels staggering,

their dates keeping them from falling,

grabbing at the hems of their dresses,

and looking around, she sees

only unrecognizable faces,

the familiar ones of friends lost in

the air of an Ivy League school…

No choice but to leave with him…

God this walk is long…

going where?

swear those passing buildings are breathing,

gasping

In a room, a bed, rising towards her

engulfing her stiff body…

pressure, pain

her mind floats above the bed, watching

eye contact with her body difficult to maintain

Suddenly: outside, alone, and

lost, the buildings are laughing at her,

mocking disheveled hair and lack of shoes,

calling her a dysfunctional Cinderella,

but she’s numbed, comforted only by the sensation of

warm drops from her eyes,

falling to her feet,

she runs furiously, finally finding

city lights through blurred vision,

lights that were beautiful and bright,

now dimmed by guilt and shame…

Once again in a cab, closing the circle of her night,

the driver asks what’s wrong honey, says that

if it’s over a boy, she’s a pretty girl and

shouldn’t worry about these things,

and she heads back home,

missing the monotony of normal nights,

the echo of the buildings’ laughter

in the background

the deafening silence of screams

that will never be heard

still ringing in her ears.

*

This speak out is important to me because 1 in 3 women and 1 in 33 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. This speak out is important to me because most often a victim of a rape personally knows the perpetrator, but we live in a culture where some people think that stranger rape is the only “real” type of rape, the rape that glosses our newsstands or our nightly news. This speak out is important to me because 84% of rapes are never reported, and out of the countless number of my personal friends that are survivors, not a single one reported. But most significant, this speak out is important to me because I believe in a reversed future society in which acts of sexual violence will not be a daily norm, but speaking out against sexual violence will be.

Lauren Border

Training and Outreach Intern