Rewind Button Girl

Shatter the silence. Stop the violence.

Hey Warren Wilson students! Coming up next Tuesday, April 23rd is our campus’s annual Take Back the Night march and speak out. We’ll get started in the Ballfield Courtyard around 7:15 pm, so come on out and rally with us as we march around campus. The speak out is open to survivors and allies alike, so come along to show your support or share a message.

Also, be on the look out for information about other events leading up to that night, including a hike, a cake walk, t-shirt making, and so more! More information will be on the Inside Page and on posters around campus and in Glad.

Hope to see you there next Tuesday!

Another participant at this year’s Walk A Mile In Her Shoes in Asheville, NC. Only yes means yes.

A local serviceman participating in Our VOICE’s Walk A Mile In Her Shoes, an annual event to raise awareness about violence against women.

Sometimes I look back at old photographs and I miss that girl. Her look has the shine that only being 16 and in love will give a girl. She looks young and polished and skinner to boot.

I am still young though, still a teenager even, 19 for one more month, but boy does that 16-year-old girl seem miles away from who I am now.

The couple in those photographs have a secret shine in their eyes. They know that this night will be spent in each other’s arms, first on the dance floor at their junior prom and then in the back of his green Ford Explorer. I will never forget the way that one shaft of moonlight shone through the trees and into the car window at just the perfect angle so that I could see our bare shoulders touch as we clung to one another. I can remember telling myself, “remember this”; your life will not have many moments as picture perfect as this one. Even at the time it seemed more like something displayed on a movie scene—like that tender, pivotal moment in every chick flick.

I drift out of this memory and take a last look at those pictures and think, “I could be that girl again. What’s stopping me?” But then I realize there’s so much stopping me from being that girl…

…Because I can’t take back my first Halloween night at college when I neglected my commitment to that same boy and gave into the tempting, waiting arms of another

…Because I can’t take back the hurt and confusion that prevented me from forgiving myself even after he had long forgiven me for the mistake I’d made

…Because I can’t take back the selfish pride I had that kept me from admitting how much I missed him after that

…Because I can’t take back all the mistakes on both sides that led to our toxic breakdown

…Because I can’t take back my youthfully misguided decision to attend a party with that same boy and people who I thought were my friends

…Because I can’t take back how many drinks I had that night just over a year ago

…Because I can’t take back a night that I can’t even fully remember, spent in a drunken hysteria with that same boy who was supposed to be the one I could trust, a night that couldn’t have been more different than the night of our junior prom and every other night we’d spent together during our relationship

So I will take back tonight since I can’t go back and change the past. I can’t go back to the girl I once was, no matter how attractive she looks to me when I see her in those photographs in her zebra-striped mini dress, standing next to him, eyes shining.

That girl is beautiful, but she is gone. In her place is me, but I am beautiful too in my own way. Not because of the makeup and the dress and the hair though. Not because I have that unique glow of first love. I am beautiful because I am able to march with you tonight and stand in front of you now. I am beautiful because when I wanted to die the people that cared about me wouldn’t let that be an option, whether they realized or not that I thought it was. I am beautiful because the people around me are beautiful and the world is beautiful. So that really brings me to the point of what I want to say tonight. A good friend taught me something that I want to pass along to each of you tonight and it is this: “Despite all its sham drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.”

~Originally written December 18th, 2011 and shared with members of the Warren Wilson Community at Take Back the Night, April 23rd, 2012~

Common Questions

I didn’t resist physically – does that mean it isn’t rape?

People respond to an assault in different ways. Just because you didn’t resist physically doesn’t mean it wasn’t rape — in fact, many victims make the good judgment that physical resistance would cause the attacker to become more violent. Lack of consent can be express (saying “no”) or it can be implied from the circumstances (for example, if you were under the statutory age of consent, or if you had a mental defect, or if you were afraid to object because the perpetrator threatened you with serious physical injury).

I used to date the person who assaulted me – does that mean it isn’t rape?

Rape can occur when the offender and the victim have a pre-existing relationship (sometimes called “date rape” or “acquaintance rape”), or even when the offender is the victim’s spouse. It does not matter whether the other person is an ex-boyfriend or a complete stranger, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve had sex in the past. If it is nonconsensual this time, it is rape. (But be aware that a few states still have limitations on when spousal rape is a crime.)

I don’t remember the assault – does that mean it isn’t rape?

Just because you don’t remember being assaulted doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t happen and that it wasn’t rape. Memory loss can result from the ingestion of GHB and other “rape drugs” and from excessive alcohol consumption. That said, without clear memories or physical evidence, it may not be possible to pursue prosecution (talk to your local crisis center or local police for guidance).

I was asleep or unconscious when it happened – does that mean it isn’t rape?

Rape can happen when the victim was unconscious or asleep. If you were asleep or unconscious, then you didn’t give consent. And if you didn’t give consent, then it is rape.

I was drunk or he was drunk – does that mean it isn’t rape?

Alcohol and drugs are not an excuse – or an alibi. The key question is still: did you consent or not? Regardless of whether you were drunk or sober, if the sex is nonconsensual, it is rape. However, because each state has different definitions of “nonconsensual”, please contact your local center or local police if you have questions about this. (If you were so drunk or drugged that you passed out and were unable to consent, it was rape. Both people must be conscious and willing participants.)

I thought “no,” but didn’t say it. Is it still rape?

It depends on the circumstances. If you didn’t say no because you were legitimately scared for your life or safety, then it may be rape. Sometimes it isn’t safe to resist, physically or verbally — for example, when someone has a knife or gun to your head, or threatens you or your family if you say anything.

If you’ve been raped or sexually assaulted, or even if you aren’t sure, contact the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-HOPE) for free, confidential help, day or night.

(Source: pandys.org, via constantcontradiction)

chaiivee:

i loved you but i don’t like you anymore;
it’s like tearing a heart out from its inside
working outwards; i don’t understand
the idea of hating your hands and your
touch but you absolutely desecrated me,
do you get that? there are no safe havens
for me anywhere i turn and it’s all your
…

People are hearing you speak out. People are listening, supporting, caring, for you. You are not alone.