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Christine Blasey Ford and a Survivor’s Choice
Editor’s note: A survivor’s decision to seek help or report a rape is a personal choice that belongs only to the survivor. Survivors’ bravery and credibility are not dependent on whether they choose to report an assault to authorities or not. All survivors are courageous; their reasons to share their experiences or keep it to themselves are their own. When a high-profile survivor story dominates news headlines, survivors’ accounts get called into question and are heavily scrutinized.
What is Digital Abuse? Signs to Watch For and How to Get Help
In the age of smartphones and smart homes, using technology to harass and abuse has become increasingly common.
Blogger Beth Manos Brickey on Food, Wellness, and Her #MeToo Moment
Beth Manos Brickey is a Certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, a yoga instructor, and a blogger with a love for food and wellness. She was chosen as one of four bloggers to compete in the Canyon Bakehouse Sammie Smackdown, a challenge to create the tastiest gluten-free sandwich. Canyon Bakehouse will donate $10,000 to the winning blogger’s charity of choice, and Beth is competing for Joyful Heart.
New State Laws To End The Untested Rape Kit Backlog
During its second year, Joyful Heart’s national campaign to pass comprehensive rape kit reform continued to build momentum. Since January, an exceptional 46 rape kit reform bills were introduced in 24 states. We worked with partners in 11 states and helped lawmakers amend several drafts of legislation. As a result, we celebrate 15 states passing 14 rape kit reform laws that include one or more of our six pillars.
Working With LGBTQ Survivors of Sexual Violence
Lyzanne Malfitano has been a hotline shift supervisor at the Chicago Rape Crisis Hotline for five years. She is the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning) staff trainer for the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago 40-Hour Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention Training. She is also a mental health counselor and provides counseling to women and LGBTQ adults at the Chicago Women’s Health Center, focusing on feminist-relational, trauma-informed counseling.
5 Facts About Sexual and Domestic Violence in LGBTQ Communities
June is LGBTQ Pride Month, when lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning people and their allies celebrate diversity, progress, and pride. This month Joyful Heart reaffirms our support for survivors of all sexual orientations and gender identities or expressions.
Sexual and domestic violence can happen in all different relationships and to anyone, and respecting survivors’ diverse identities and experiences is essential. We support healing practices that recognize and affirm different aspects of survivors’ lives, including whether they identify as LGBTQ.
MILCK and the Power of Speaking Out
MILCK is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and poet. Her song, “Quiet,” is a clarion call for people of all races, creeds, and colors who have suffered and survived gallantly in the face of trauma, trials, and tribulations. MILCK created the #ICANTKEEPQUIET Fund to help build a culture where anyone can find tools to protect against and protest injustice. The Joyful Heart Foundation is one of three beneficiaries of the Fund. To learn more about the #ICANTKEEPQUIET Fund, visit icantkeepquiet.org.
A Conversation with Jennifer Fox on her HBO film, The Tale
Jennifer Fox is an internationally acclaimed producer, director, writer, and camerawoman. The Tale is Fox’s first fiction feature film, which she wrote, directed, and produced. The HBO film is based on Fox’s own life story as the main character, portrayed by Emmy award-winning actress Laura Dern, re-examines her first sexual relationship and the stories we tell ourselves to survive as she rereads a short story from her middle school days.
Miss North Carolina USA: Advocating for Change
Caelynn Miller-Keyes is Miss North Carolina USA 2018. She received a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University and currently works as a mentor to young girls at Windy Gap, a Young Life camp in Weaverville. As Miss North Carolina USA she is committed to improving policies for sexual assault survivors and inspiring other survivors who want to share their experience.
Healing as a Family After Child Sexual Abuse
Nancy Nesbitt is the parent representative on the Connecticut Governor’s Task Force on Justice for Abused Children. She applies her perspective and experiences as a mother of children who were sexually abused at a young age to her work. The task force serves to coordinate agencies in the investigation, intervention, and prosecution of child sexual abuse and serious physical abuse cases.
