CREATING JUSTICE THROUGH SPEAKING
Kathleen Hoy Foley
Played out on the world stage, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford detailed graphic facts of the sexual violence she was subjected to as a teenager by a drunken Brett Kavanaugh. Dr. Ford’s testimony was riveting and painful to hear as listeners absorbed the profound level of her silenced agony. Her anguished story generated inescapable flashbacks of personal horror for countless victims of sexual violence, myself included.
Retaliation did not take long. The power mongers–the most powerful men in this country, perhaps the world–descended upon this one lone woman with all the artillery in their war chest and annihilated her like a wounded bird under their jackboots. Powerful men wield powerful weapons: explosive fury. Ridicule and mockery. Brutal accusations of a corrupted memory. Allegations of conspiracy aimed to strip a powerful man of his privilege to ascend to the throne of power.
Sexual assault is committed in the shadows by the powerful against the vulnerable, the powerless, and the subjugated. It is tremendously difficult for a victim to produce corroborating evidence. Social, religious and familial justice is simply not available to the vulnerable, the powerless, or the subjugated. The shielded crime of sexual assault will always come to rest at the feet of the willfully blind. The trump card carried by all aggressors is the comforting knowledge that most victims of sexual violence will never be believed.
Social, religious and familial justice may not be available to victims of sexual violence, but speaking is. Through speaking we can create our own justice. Speaking is educating. Education empowers.
We can teach following our intuition over blindly following the commands of the powerful. We can show how to develop courage and how to utilize anger and frustration as tools for truth, evolution, and empowerment instead of allowing our frustration to immobilize us into helplessness.
Speaking truth–no matter the consequences–empowers us with courage to live fully in the light of our integrity and move with confidence toward clarity. Speaking empowers our children with the might of their own truth and to speak without shame no matter the details. Speaking is the path to creating justice.
Thank you, Dr. Ford.
(Excerpt)
Woman In Hiding: A True Tale of Backdoor Abuse, Dark Secrets & Other Evil Deeds
By Kathleen Hoy Foley
To every victim of sexual abuse–past and present:
Your story is vitally important.
Your voice of truth is beautiful.
Each time you speak you grow stronger.
Each time you speak you chase away more of the darkness
where broken girls, dispirited women, and terrified children hide.
Each time you speak you ease the burden and illuminate the way for another victim.
Each time you speak, the shame of sexual violation is lessened.
Each time you speak you help another abuse victim fine her voice.
Kathleen Hoy Foley
Played out on the world stage, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford detailed graphic facts of the sexual violence she was subjected to as a teenager by a drunken Brett Kavanaugh. Dr. Ford’s testimony was riveting and painful to hear as listeners absorbed the profound level of her silenced agony. Her anguished story generated inescapable flashbacks of personal horror for countless victims of sexual violence, myself included.
Retaliation did not take long. The power mongers–the most powerful men in this country, perhaps the world–descended upon this one lone woman with all the artillery in their war chest and annihilated her like a wounded bird under their jackboots. Powerful men wield powerful weapons: explosive fury. Ridicule and mockery. Brutal accusations of a corrupted memory. Allegations of conspiracy aimed to strip a powerful man of his privilege to ascend to the throne of power.
Sexual assault is committed in the shadows by the powerful against the vulnerable, the powerless, and the subjugated. It is tremendously difficult for a victim to produce corroborating evidence. Social, religious and familial justice is simply not available to the vulnerable, the powerless, or the subjugated. The shielded crime of sexual assault will always come to rest at the feet of the willfully blind. The trump card carried by all aggressors is the comforting knowledge that most victims of sexual violence will never be believed.
Social, religious and familial justice may not be available to victims of sexual violence, but speaking is. Through speaking we can create our own justice. Speaking is educating. Education empowers.
We can teach following our intuition over blindly following the commands of the powerful. We can show how to develop courage and how to utilize anger and frustration as tools for truth, evolution, and empowerment instead of allowing our frustration to immobilize us into helplessness.
Speaking truth–no matter the consequences–empowers us with courage to live fully in the light of our integrity and move with confidence toward clarity. Speaking empowers our children with the might of their own truth and to speak without shame no matter the details. Speaking is the path to creating justice.
Thank you, Dr. Ford.
(Excerpt)
Woman In Hiding: A True Tale of Backdoor Abuse, Dark Secrets & Other Evil Deeds
By Kathleen Hoy Foley
To every victim of sexual abuse–past and present:
Your story is vitally important.
Your voice of truth is beautiful.
Each time you speak you grow stronger.
Each time you speak you chase away more of the darkness
where broken girls, dispirited women, and terrified children hide.
Each time you speak you ease the burden and illuminate the way for another victim.
Each time you speak, the shame of sexual violation is lessened.
Each time you speak you help another abuse victim fine her voice.
