This post is an expansion of a post published at the website of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault. I was at a recent gathering of crisis workers when the topic of conversation switched to self-care. With enthusiasm, each of the attendees began to tell us their favorite activities. […]
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Sitting in front of the computer, I slowly and intentionally insert earbuds, click to start my favorite writing playlist, and open up Microsoft Word. I feel the tips of my fingers resting lightly on the keys, and notice the slight give of each printed square, glossy in the middle from […]
This post is part of a resource for flow arts and movement communities to address issues of consent and boundaries. You can access the full resource here. Gender, Sexual Violence, Power, and Control, Part Two: Gender, patriarchy, and sexual violence The movement to end sexual violence is inherently feminist. I say this […]
This post is part of a resource for flow arts and movement communities to address issues of consent and boundaries. You can access the full resource here. Gender, Sexual Violence, Power, and Control, Part One: Why we need to learn about broader trends in gender, sexual violence, power, and control Dance […]
This post is part of a resource for flow arts and movement communities to address issues of consent and boundaries. You can access the full resource here. Every movement community is different. This seems the most obvious place to start when considering how boundaries, violations, and safety factor into community […]
I was driving back from the mountains late at night, rain pelting the windshield. “Yeah, my friends are always asking me for sex advice. Sometimes I’m not sure what to say.” Like parent like kid, I think, noticing how they look like a new adult and their adorable toddler self […]
There’s this thing that happens to advocates when the world around us burns with injustice and fury and we shift into what we know, the holding-fighting, fierce-eyed, tender-hearted caring that pours out compassion and links lives with survivors, shedding trails of sweetness as it goes. It’s a professional skillset and […]
Recently, a friend made plans to come over to cowork a bit before a meeting. I had an hour to myself before my friend arrived, and I decided to take time for myself, time to soothe. I work full time in a field rife with vicarious trauma, and have spent […]
Over the summer, I started at a new job, which I’ve decided I can safely describe as a “dream job” – one to which I can bring my full self, and in which I can use all my gifts and strengths. Whereas my old job focused primarily on anti-sexual violence […]
Breathe. When the times and spaces where you normally find your breath are dripped and then drenched and then flooded with disclosures and no space is air space… open up space, small space, enough space, and breathe. Pace yourself. One foot in front of the other, each step only as […]
Seventy-two hours out of every week, I carry a hotline phone. While calls come in waves and some shifts are silent, my everyday and professional lives are peppered with reminders that evil doesn’t just pierce reality through acts of power, control, and violence – it seeps through in discrediting voices […]
This is a post I wrote for a lovely, locally-owned gift shop I used to work in, and the final product had inclusions from its incredible owners and compassionate staff. In the back of the gift shop was an art shrine, and community members regularly left prayers and offerings in […]