I was asked if I could come up with a flyer asking people to speak at Take Back The Night, I was honored to be asked to do this, and at the same time wondering How am I to fit everything I want to say onto one flyer?? I like to try to explain everything. So I figured why not write out my reasons and ways that you can Speak/Share/Be a voice at Take Back The Night on here?
Here is a rough draft of a flyer I made and I'll go into detail after it
(remember I did say ROUGH draft, there are spelling errors and it's not clean and neat)
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safe environment: That's an understatement! Take Back The Night isn't only safe but also supportive. Everyone there is either a survivor, or someone supporting survivors. You won't ever get a better group of people to stand in front of and express yourself.
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Hope, Inspire, Encourage, Lift, these are all things that you will be giving other people in the crowd. Hope that life will get better, that there is help out there, and hope for a brighter future. You're going to Inspire others to share, and to get help. Encourage....it's the same thing as inspire, but more than that you're going to have a sense of encouragement after speaking out and sharing. And Lift...You will lift people up. Yes, your story could be dark and hard, but seeing that you survived and are taking a stand you will lift everyone up that there is hope.
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Heal and
Share That's what the night is about, healing through sharing. It's a very healing night.
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#SurvivorCommunity this is a night when survivors, victims, and those who support us get together.
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Yell. Cry. Whisper. Cheer. Talk. It doesn't matter how it comes out, let it out. Yell if you're mad, let the people at the end of town hear your strong voice taking a stand. Cry, let the tears roll, sob, because we know that it hurts, that the abuse you faced is painful and scary and how could that happen? Cry, you won't be the only one to do so! Cry and there will be other tears falling. Whisper, mumble, stutter... public speaking is a fear of many, you don't have to be perfect here, once you get started letting it out it comes easier. Cheer, you survived and fought to be the strong person you are today after being torn down, Cheer and let the world know that you are brave and strong after facing such darkness. Just talk, everyone there is listening to what you have to say.
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Sing. Poems. Art. Stories. Dance. I've seen people get up and tell their story and let their voice be heard in all these ways (except dance...I haven't seen that but dance is a form of expression and would be awesome!) You don't have to write something long like I do, I've seen people sing a song of healing, rap about their pain and anger and how they got out, read a poem they wrote about hurting themselves and getting help. There's not wrong way to share.
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Strength. This word has a double meaning. You are already
Strong! You've gone through hell, and here you are, sharing, and you have great strength to go through it all and to open up about it. Also you are giving others Strength. This ties right back into the hope, life, inspire part, you telling your story is giving a victim strength to get help, it's giving a person in the crowd strength to get up after you and tell their story, and it's giving someone the strength to talk next year.
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#youarenotalone You are telling your story so that others know that they are not alone. It's the worst thought and feeling to think that you are the only one who has been hurt in this way. We need to share our story so that more people share and no victim of abuse will feel like they are alone, we need to share so that they get our strength to seek help and pass on the word to others that we know how they feel.
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Let it out. Let emotion take over, and let it out.
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#TellMyStoryMyWay as I said above there is no wrong way of telling your story, do whatever you feel, and how you feel comfortable sharing.
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Unique. Each and every one of us is unique. We all have our own story to tell, some might be similar, like I'm not the only girl to be molested by her grandfather (I'm sure I'm not the only one who's biological father molested her either) but we are each unique. The process that we have healed, the way we have overcome the abuse, and the people we are, all of that is unique to us. The way we chose to express ourselves is unique. Don't feel that you have to fit into any mold, express your story your way!!
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Silent NO Longer and
I will Not be quiet both of these have the same message, I don't think I need to explain how I was told (and most victims) to not tell anyone what was happening, and that I wouldn't be socially accepted if I did tell. I'm here to say, that my voice will be heard! I was silent long enough, kept my secrets, and we shouldn't have to!
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I am Not ashamed, my abuser should be shamed. Victims often feel shamed of the abuse they went through (I know I did) but that's not right! We should not feel shame for what happened to us! Our abusers, they should be publicly shamed, and everyone should know who hurt them!
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#EndAbuse and
#RaiseAwareness this is our goal each year, we want to End abuse by raising awareness. You can help us do that!
BE A VOICE!! Take Back The Night happens nation wide, usually in April, find your local TBTN and find out how you can Be a Voice and share! Please join us and let's accomplish our goal #EndAbuse
I should also note that it's not just for survivors, but those who love(d) a victim. There are sadly those who have died. and if you want to share their story and your pain, I've seen people do that. Talk to someone about sharing.
***Update***
Final flyer made thought I'd share it:
