By Pamela Pine | Founder and CEO, Stop the Silence
Hello, all!! Well, lots has happened this past Fall and as we've moved into this very chilly Winter on the East Coast in the U.S.
The Road to Change - Walk to Stop the Silence, Stop Child Sexual Abuse, a 10,000 mile walk to raise awareness on CSA lead by Matthew McVarish, Scottish actor, playwright, musician and activist, and the European Ambassador for Stop the Silence from 2011, ended very successfully on May 31, 2013 through February 7, 2015. The purpose of the program was to raise awareness and catalyze action about on child sexual abuse (CSA), build solidarity and partnerships between organizations and communities, support survivors, and influence social and political change by meeting with high level politicians, university departments, survivors, agencies, celebrities, and the media.
Stop the Silence was an important catalyst for RTC, and it and other organizations and companies, and many, many individuals supported the project along with a number of British Embassies, and, where possible, the British Ambassadors in each country have walked short distances with Matthew to show their support for the Road to Change (RTC). RTC attracted major media coverage with local, national and international TV, radio and print media, and reached millions across Europe with the message that we all need to help Stop the Silence. Information on the program was translated into numerous languages. Some journalists remarked that Matthew is the first male survivor they have interviewed who revealed he was sexually abused in his childhood. And, wonderfully, RTC is continuing to make a difference... Matt brought important information provided by Stop the Silence and his own important work forward on policy lelves and there is definitive movement along the lines of creating all-Europe change on the Statutes of Limitations through sweeping policy change. See pics attached, including Matthew obtaining an honorary doctorate due to the work done on this project. FANTASTIC! Sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to Matthew - I do not know anyone else who would have taken on this amazing effort - and his team! Congratulations to all who participated! (See original press release and pics attached as well as lots of other info on the RTC website.)
Additionally, during these past few months, there has been lots of progress at the University of Maryland-University Movement (check out the new UMD-University Movement Facebook page), at Indiana University and, with plenty of new collaboration budding in the Pacific and elsewhere as we move into the Spring. At UMD, we have great new interns. With Savannah at the helm of the Club, Sarah and Amy keepin' on keepin' on, now, too, Emily, Kristine, Dian and Kevin are doing wonderful work on university and community outreach, social media, and working on the development of new university programs.
So, some specifics about UMD-UM... As the Club has continued to grow, planning has been on-going for a major symposium in April 2015 at UMD that focuses on the relationships between CSA, trafficking, pornography and prostitution. We will be showing a film called Flesh: The Movie, which helps people understand more about these issues! Speakers from various organizations will be presenting to raise awareness. A set-up event two weeks before the symposium will help to raise that awareness and educate students on campus about the critical nature of these issues by having student actors depict trafficked victims, while other students provide a petition to sign that is specifically focused on a policy issue that will be in front on Congress (more details to follow). The students will also be letting people know about the upcoming symposium. Additionally these past months, Stop the Silence, Inc. staff continued providing presentations in classrooms to large and small groups about CSA prevention and mitigation. REALLY IMPORTANT WORK!
At the upcoming HawaiiI IVAT Conference in early April, I will be presenting the overall Stop the Silence Art as Advocacy Program at the 12th Annual International Hawaii Training Summit and also meeting with local groups to identify possible programming. Stay tuned for information on other, developing programs! If you want to bring the university program to a university near you, just send me a line: pamelajpine@gmail.com.
Please continue to help support the work that we do in advocacy, community outreach, education, program development and training. Make a donation to help Stop the Silence this holiday season! We thank you for your support now and always along the way. And, you can click the following link to make a donation now.
Thank you and keep WARM happy continued Winter and into the Spring!
Pamela Pine, PhD, MPH, Stop the Silence
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