Reunion Online

 I often find myself in awe, but somehow not totally surprised, that turning towards the issues sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse is often so hopeful, so joyful. Maybe you sometimes find yourself thinking the same. It's often inexplicable, or at the very least, difficult to put into words as to why this is. And it can certainly be a strange thing to feel—and to write at this very moment—but it's true. And last Wednesday evening was no exception.

One day last summer I was working in my front garden--part of my notion of having vegetable garden domination on my little plot of earth. I was tending the rows of tomatoes, basil, beets and kale, when an older woman, dressed in black, stopped and started to chastise me about my weeding technique.

I didn’t really understand her, as her English was not so good and my Italian is -- ahem -- non-existent. Still, she showed me, good naturedly, the proper technique of tilling the earth.

As some of you may know, Joyful Heart is part of an exciting and transformative initiative called NO MORE, a movement to unite all of us around one universal symbol and the simple message that together we can end domestic violence and sexual assault.

Just over a month ago the question of how a friend or family member can best support a man who had been sexually abused was the subject of a post by Peter Pollard.  This started to get me thinking.

I had the privilege recently of attending the national summit of a new initiative lead by Esta Soler and her team at Futures Without Violence and the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention called The Y Factor: Men Leading By Example. The event saluted and encouraged activists and survivors who are committed to ending violence against women and children.

The following is a guest post from athlete, advocate, author and fearless Joyful Heart supporter, Katie Hnida. If you—like we do—find yourself inspired by her story of healing, of overcoming fear and of finding her a way to support other survivors and stop the violence, we invite you to join us in turning towards the issues of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse by becoming a member of the Joyful Revolution Athletic Club.

About three years ago, I made a gut-wrenching decision that would alter my life forever. At that time, I was in the middle of a breakdown of sorts. I wasn’t sure why I was in the middle of a breakdown—and for that I was confused—but since I couldn’t manage my anger and emotions,  I decided to quit my job in advertising, a job that many people would kill for.

The following post is the second in a mini-series by Aaron Kesseler. You can read his first post here and look out for more in the coming months for more about his journey through healing as a survivor of child sexual abuse.

When  1in6’s founding Board member, Dr. David Lisak, and I were talking with a group of students and staff at Brown University recently, someone asked for ideas about how to best  support a friend or family member who is coming to terms with unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood.

"Good" and "evil" always seem like handy labels, especially when describing those involved in incidents of child sexual abuse.

So depending on your point of view, I was either blessed or cursed by lessons I learned 25 years ago from Roger, a complicated man who upended any certainty I had that the distinctions between "good" and "evil" are actually so sharply defined.