May is Sexual Assault Prevention Month. Additionally, Victims and Survivors of Crime Week begins today, May 28th. This is an important time to bring to the forefront of our minds and hearts the experiences of victims. In a world where sexual violence is increasingly being exposed, we must continue to believe the experiences of victims and to breathe life into new ways of doing the work of justice. It can be easy to view the #MeToo movement as something that is happening outside of our own communities but through movements like #ChurchToo and #SilenceIsNotSpiritual we can see clearly that these issues are impacting our communities and are closer to home than we may think. As a group of people with the burden on our hearts to support healing within the justice system through restorative approaches, we have power to be agents of change. This month, as we focus on the experiences of victims, it is important for each of us to remember the power we have to act as supports, to believe victims when they come forward and to try to make a difference.
*This article originally appeared as part of our May newsletter, for more information and resources please click through here.