Speak up

Say something now, not later

Justine Wu
Thousands of people every day
are victims of domestic violence or
sexual assault. There are many people
who would like to tell their stories but
fear of keeps them from speaking out.
Every two minutes in the United
States, someone is sexually
assaulted. according to the Joyful
Heart Foundation.
Mariska Hargitay, an actress for
the Law and Order: Special Victims
Unit is the founder of the Joyful Heart
Foundation. Hartigay along with her
fellow employees work to find ways for
victims who are willing to speak up
and be heard, .to shed light into the
darkness, says Hargitay. Giving
victims of these crimes hope,
empowerment by letting them know
that someone cares.
A few students from Deland
High School were asked questions
about their view of sexual assault. The
questions asked were pulled from
information on the Joyful Heart
Foundations website.
Alex Murphy, a 9th grade
student, responded to some of these
questions by saying, The person who
assaults someone should always be
convicted of their felony. Alex goes on
to say, No matter who it is, they
should be punished for what they did.
To increase awareness and combat the
probability of such crimes, Alex
suggests that education about sexual
assault and its penalties should be
incorporated into our education,
through the form of classes.

Another 9th grade student,

Amanda Lopez, was asked similar
questions and had similar responses.
Amanda believes that sexual assault
is wrong, and it should never occur to
anyone ever. We should raise
awareness for things like that.
Sydney Carter, a 9th grader who
does not attend DeLand High School,
but is homeschooled states I think
that showing girls it is a problem will
help. Sydney sees it as an
opportunity to educate others about
the seriousness of this type of crime.
The after effects on victims can be lifelong and damaging individuals in a
way that is irreparable. Sydney goes
on to say that people confide in her
but she does not think it is place to
tell. However, she does believe that if
education was more readily available
about how to get help, she would feel
confident in doing more than just
listening to others. Sydney feels that
lack of knowledge impedes on ones
ability to report. Fear drives behavior
that is often damaging for those
victims because they are afraid to
speak out due to the possibility of
judgement, and being believed. This
often results in having to relive the
trauma over and over.
Sydney says that even as a
ninth grader she has had people
confide in her. My friend told me that
her sisters best friend has been in
relationships where she has felt the
threat of sexual assault. This is terrible
but I feel helpless for them. Sydney
goes on to say, I wouldnt tell anyone,
but I would try and help them as much
as I could.
A 9th grader who asked not to be
named states that there should be
more protesting against it, not just

when it is someone who is famous that

commits this type of crime. No one
should have to go through that.
Jon Robinson, a youth pastor for
Stetson Baptist Church, that sexual
assault is sinful. I think sexual
assault is a terrible thing. It is sinful. A
result of pride and lack of self-control.
To help he says, One of the first
things we can do is make sure those
found guilty receive the right amount
of punishment. Within the realm of
education, we have sex ed classes,
but we need to include a sexual
assault in this class.
To help stop assaults for good
his solution is, Jesus coming back.
People are sinful by nature, and it will
continue to occur. We cant eliminate
it fully. Jon goes on to say that while
we may not be able to eliminate it,
people should be more aware to help
reduce the occurrence of this crime.
The NFL, which has seen a
surge in high profile assault cases
against some of its players, has
teamed with the Joyful Heart
Foundation.
NFL athlete, William Gay, is a
strong advocate of the NFLs new
stance. His mother was a victim of
domestic violence. I didnt live it, my
mom did. He says, I need to just
keep my moms voice alive.
He speaks out about this topic
because he can no longer hold in his
pain and frustration. It wouldnt be
healthy for me to hold in the pain, he
says, it was tearing me up.
He is one of many NFL players
who are speaking up and reaching out
to those in need. In their Public

Service Announcements (PSAs) they

say:
No more: She was asking for it.
No more: She was drunk, he was
drunk, and boys will be boys.
No more: She seems fine to me.
No more: She never said no.
No more: Its just a womans issue.
No more: Its just the way he is and
he has such a bright future.
No more: Why doesnt she just
leave?
These players are showing true
emotions. Speaking through tears of
sadness, heartache, and love. They
want to help.
Ex NFL coach, Joe Ehrmann,
speaks out on the topic focusing on
rookies and other young players.
They have a responsibility to give
back and make a difference. Saying
that not only the men today but the
young boys must also work together.
Your decision can change someones
life.
Domestic violence is a public
health problem due to its devastating
effects for women, men, children,
youth, and elderly. Domestic violence
has no preference or boundaries. It
does not recognize age, gender,
social, ethnic, geographic, economic,
or race boundaries. No victim can be
classified as typical.
According to the Department of
Health and Human Services and the
Department of Justice, nearly 18
percent of women surveyed, 17.7
million, have been a victim of rape or
an attempted rape during their
lifetime. Going on further to report

that, Each year between 2 million and

4 million women are battered, 2,000 of
these battered women will die of their
injuries.
Renee Wolf, Licensed Clinical
Social Worker (LCSW) reports,
Practitioners are required to keep
themselves up to date on what to look
for, creating safety plans, and keeping
in mind that Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder may keep victims from
engaging in open discussion about
their traumatic experiences.
Practitioners are obligated to assist
victims by helping them create safety
plans and teaching de-escalation
practices. We also must be ready to
report domestic violence as a crime.
Safety plans are strategies
designed to provide victims with
alternatives to stay safe before,
during, and after the occurrence of an
incident says Mrs. Wolf. This starts
with education, and creating an
environment that is judgement free.
According to the Florida
Coalition Against Domestic Violence
(FCADV), In 2010, 113,378 crimes of
domestic violence were reported to
Florida law enforcement agencies
resulting in 67,810 arrests. During
fiscal year 2010-2011, Florida's
certified domestic violence centers
provided 477,489 nights of emergency
shelter to 15,789 survivors of
domestic violence and their children.
Advocates created 87,474 tailored
safety plans, provided a total of
484,950 hours of outreach and
counseling services, and answered
130,393 domestic violence hotline
calls from individual seeking
emergency services, information, and
safety planning assistance. It goes
on to report that due to the number of

unreported cases because of shame,

fear, or simply being prevented by the
abuser, we may never know the true
extent of abuse in our country and in
our state. (FCADV).
30 people from the ages of 1350 were asked, Do you think we can
prevent Domestic Violence?
Here are the results:

Results

yes

no

24 people out of 30 said that

there is a possible solution to end
Domestic Violence. 6 people out of 30
said that there is not a possible
solution.
The same 30 people were
asked, Has sexual assault or domestic
violence affected you?

Results

yes

no

8 out of 30 people said that

domestic violence or sexual assault
had affected them. 22 people out of
the 30 polled had not been affected by
domestic violence or sexual assault.

While these numbers are

promising, this was a small sample
size and does not take into account
accuracy because the sample size was
not anonymous reporting.
Domestic violence and sexual
assaults are crimes of power and
control reports Renee Wolf, LCSW.
This control includes and is not
limited to physical, psychological and
emotional abuse. With this in mind,
there appears to be barriers that will
be difficult to overcome despite the

need for an increase in education and

options for safety. Therefore, we must
continue to work towards lessening
the shame, and fear in victims.
However, the secret of abuse or
assault has to first be eliminated.
Teaching people early that it is
necessary to speak up, say something
now, not later.