So, I’ve been a long time watcher of Law and Order: SVU, and after seeing Mariska Hargitay’s documentary I am Evidence I was inspired to write something… so I thought I would share that here with you.
I want to strongly stress that I am not a victim, and this is simply a poem I was inspired to write after hearing others experiences in the eye-opening documentary. However, if you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, I have included links at the bottom of this post for resources and helplines for both the UK and the USA.
I Am Evidence
To them, I am not a woman.
I am a temple, trashed by the careless actions of another.
Burnt. Bruised. Battered. Beaten. Branded.
I am a rite of passage, stolen in the blink of an eye,
another t-shirt torn,
another skirt ripped,
another “she was asking for it”,
as if the way I’m dressed offers an excuse for the violation of my body.
To them, I was a dreamer;
bursting at the seams at the possibility of life,
a garden full of flowers, blooming.
But now, I am a wasteland. A graveyard.
They don’t say it out loud, but they think it’s my fault,
that I’m a “whore” and other names they care to give me.
But I’m not.
This was not my fault.
This was nobody’s fault, except the man who raped me.
And they do not care. They’ll never care.
Until it happens to them.
To their mother, their aunt, their sister, their daughter…
To them, I am just a number.
A statistic.
I am another name on a list of names,
each one of them just like me.
I am a code on a box.
a witness for the prosecution,
another file on a stack of files,
another soul seeking justice that may never come,
another case discarded,
another kit untested.
To them,
I am evidence.
Some important links & information:
The Joyful Heart Foundation
United Kingdom:
Rape Crisis England and Wales
0800 801 9999
www.rapecrisis.org.uk
The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC)
0800 801 0331
www.napac.org.uk
SurvivorsUK Helpline Web Chat
Text: 020 3322 1860
Whatsapp: 07491 816 064
www.survivorsuk.org
Mothers of Sexually Abused Children (MOSAC)
0800 980 1958
www.mosac.org.uk
SupportLine
01708 765200
www.supportline.org.uk
Safeline
Male Helpline: 0808 800 5005
General Helpline: 0808 800 5008
Young People’s Helpline: 0808 800 5007
Text Helpline & Online Advisors: 07860 027573
www.safeline.org.uk
United States of America:
National Child Abuse Hotline:
1-800-422-4453
http://www.childhelp.org
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or 1-800-787-3224
www.thehotline.org
Rape, Abuse and Incest National Hotline
Rainn.org
1-800-656-HOPE
National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline:
1-866-331-9474
www.loveisrespect.org
National Suicide Prevention Line:
1-800-273-8255
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Safe Horizon Rape and Sexual Assault Hotline (New York):
212-227-3000 or 1-866-689-HELP (4357)
www.safehorizon.org
Peace Over Violence (California)
310-392-8381
www.peaceoverviolence.org
Statistics and Facts:
Sexual Assault:
- 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men are survivors of sexual violence.
- 60% of survivors are sexually assaulted by someone they know.
- An American is sexually assaulted every 92 seconds.
- 2 out of 3 sexual assaults are not reported to the police.
- For every 1,000 reported rapes, only 6 perpetrators will be incarcerated.
Domestic Violence:
- 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have suffered severe violence from an intimate partner.
- 3 women are killed by an intimate partner every day.
- 55% of female homicides were related to domestic violence.
- 93% of those 55% of female homicides, the killer was a current or former intimate partner.
- 57% of women and 17% of men who are domestic violence survivors have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Child Abuse and Neglect:
- Every year, U.S Child protective services referrals involve 7.2 million children.
- A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds.
- 4 to 5 U.S children die every day from abuse and neglect.
- 77% of child fatalities involve one parent.
- 75% of children who die of abuse and neglect are under the age of 3.
Source: Joyful Heart Foundation Infographic
Photo: IMDB
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