April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It is a time to reflect on an issue that impacts far too many of our friends and neighbors. In a culture where sex and violence are mainstays of our marketing and entertainment industries, the reality of rape is rarely addressed in an honest, responsible way.
While the perpetration of sexual assault continues unimpeded, a multitude of survivors and their loved ones are forced to live, and suffer in silence. This April, the Butler County Rape Crisis Program is giving survivors, and indeed all of us, the chance to break that silence.
We are launching an awareness project entitled "Dare I Say." It will be in the style of the book PostSecret, and with the message of the "Clothesline Project." "Dare I Say" endeavors to capture the unspoken truths and emotions underlying the devastating crime of rape. We are collecting anonymous postcards from survivors of sexual assault, or anyone impacted by the crime, whether directly or indirectly. The postcards can contain words, images or both. We are looking for whatever best captures the unspoken sentiments of your experience, whether it is the outrage, sadness, or triumph. They can be written on a postcard or created on a computer. The postcards we collect will become part of an ongoing display, and perhaps eventually published in a bound collection.
Please visit our display in the Shriver Center Food Court from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 11 through 15 and at the Women's Center in MacMillan Hall April 18 through the April 29. You can complete a postcard and leave it in our box at the display table, or you may take one with you and mail it in later. You may also visit our project website at www.dareisay.webs.com.
This April, let's all resolve to lift the veil of silence on the experience of rape in our world. Will you dare to say what society prefers you keep to yourself?
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