Your support for MapYourVoice provides so much more than giving survivors a place to tell their story. It also helps connect survivors with location-specific resources so they can access the right help, at the right time.
Within each survivor’s private online account login on MapYourVoice.org, they are provided with personalized, locally-specific resources based upon their current zip or regional code (they need not provide any other address information).
Our team of advanced developers have used their technological experience to create one of biggest pools of survivor resources available online.
This means survivors can access a plethora of local resources, including:
Many times when someone has been victimized, they don’t know where to turn for needed support. By creating a free MapYourVoice user account, survivors are guided to the resources that can make a crucial difference during a time of great need.
Thank you for your continued support of this important project.
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The new movie She Said, is a dramatic retelling of the long history of sexual abuse Harvey Weinstein perpetrated on women in Hollywood, and the brave reporters and survivors who finally publicly outed him as a serial predator.
The cultural reckoning brought on by this public spectacle, along side the outing of Bill Cosby and Larry Nassar, led to thousands of sexual violence survivors worldwide sharing their own stories publicly, in a moment now known as #MeToo.
This historic phenomenon marks the beginning of survivors having a public voice on such a larger scale, because by-and-large, sexual violence has lived (and thrived) in the shadows.
Even though the #MeToo moment has passed, sexual violence has not decreased. In fact, throughout this recent extended period of Covid isolation, the rates of intimate partner violence and child sexual abuse have risen.
While sexual violence is a difficult topic to hear about and confront, it is still crucial to keep supporting survivors in having a voice. This is why our primary project, MapYourVoice.org, exists - to give survivors a safe place to tell their stories and access appropriate assistance.
During this season of giving, we want to thank you for your continued support for this important endeavor.
In gratitude.
Some people may wonder why it is important to support survivors of sexual assault. And, beyond this, how does supporting survivors help in the grand scheme of the global epidemic of sexual assault?
Here are some important reasons your support of survivors can make a positive impact:
1. Supporting survivors can help them feel empowered. Most survivors stay silent about sexual assault and abuse due to “victim blaming,” cultural misunderstanding, familial backlash, lack of meaningful criminal justice, and psychological impacts of sexual trauma. By supporting survivors, we let them know we believe them and honor their bravery...we've got their back in speaking up. Even though there are a lot of reasons to stay silent, we let them know by our encouragement, there are good reasons to speak up as well - namely for their own empowerment. Reclaiming their voices from sexual trauma is important.
2. Providing a crucial step toward recovery. Research shows that safely speaking about trauma is a first key step in recovery from sexual trauma. Therefore, supporting survivors can lead to increased recovery in those who've experienced sexual trauma.
3. Paving the way for other survivors speaking up. If we support survivors, more will speak up. As Gloria Steinem once said, "Whenever a person speaks up and says, 'Wait a minute, this is wrong,' it helps other people do the same."
4. Stopping further sexual violence. By survivors speaking up it can expose perpetrators who tend to prey upon multiple victims. They can no longer hide out in the shadows. With exposure, they may even be prosecuted, preventing them from initiating future assaults and abuse.
5. Reducing the stigma around the topic. If we keep engaging in the conscious conversations surrounding sexual violence, it can help decrease the stigma associated with being a survivor of sexual violence. This can help increase public knowledge and understanding of sexual violence, leading to better outcomes all around.
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MapYourVoice provides vital resources for survivors and communities worldwide. These resources include:
• A safe place for survivors to tell their stories, which is both therapeutic and helps them organize their thoughts around the realities of trauma.
• Trauma-informed resources for survivors and the people who care about them.
• Research-driven data to better understand the issues surrounding sexual violence.
• Worldwide accessibility via computer or smart device.
• Ability for allies to show their support by interacting with survivor reports on the map.
Please visit MapYourVoice.org to explore all of the services and resources our organization provides.
We appreciate your continued support of this important project.
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November is Military Sexual Assault Survivors Month to bring awareness to the ongoing epidemic of pervasive sexual assault within the military.
According to an October 11th New York Times report, sexual assault in the U.S. military is “A poison in the system” with one-in-four servicewomen sexually assaulted while serving. Military sexual assault has a long history of being swept under the rug. Survivors who report being abused often encounter harassment, retaliation, and backlash within their careers for stepping forward.
A majority of cases go unreported, and of those that are, very few are successfully prosecuted. In the U.S., criminal proceedings takes place within military judicial systems and multiple investigations have reported that the military fails to comply with federal law in sexual assault cases.
In 2012, a group of filmmakers premiered a documentary at the Sundance Film Festival called The Invisible War that exposed the realities of sexual assault in the United States military to a broader public audience.
Given similar circumstances within the Canadian military, Canada has recently begun turning military sexual assault investigations and prosecutions over to civilian courts.
The Pentagon, under Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, is enacting a set of military-wide sexual assault reforms, which are expected to take six years to complete.
Frustrated with years of little progress on this issue, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are drafting legislation. Currently talks between bill founder, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and the House Armed Services Committee are moving forward to enact a broad set of changes, including the removal of all felony-level sex crimes from the military chain of command.
To make your voice heard in support of military sexual assault survivors, contact your U.S. House and Senate members to express your support for the Military Justice Improvement Act.
Thank you.
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Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you will get an e-mail when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports via e-mail without donating.
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