You may have noticed that while this is April’s newsletter, it is no longer April. April was Child Abuse Awareness Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and these are important events for an organization like Prostasia, dedicated as we are to the prevention of both for survivors everywhere. As a survivor-led organization, it is also often a difficult month. Many of us spend April struggling through difficult reminders of our past, some of us even have triggering anniversaries to get through in April, and it can be a heavier weight than we anticipated to advocate for others as a way to protect others from experiencing what we did. We do it anyway because it can be empowering and because hearing that you are not alone as a survivor can make all the difference in the world.

The lives and narratives of sexual abuse survivors are riddled with complexities and unexpected hiccups on the road to recovery. One common comparison made in creative circles is to a form of pottery, kintsugi, where broken pieces of pottery are reformed using lacquer dusted with precious metals to create a beautiful and functional work of art. As survivors, our lives have often shattered in debilitating ways and we have carefully and intentionally pieced them back together to create something new and beautiful that works for us. This is not easy work, and sometimes unexpected maintenance can pop up in ways we were unprepared for. This can make our lives messy at times, and that messiness can become a barrier to access in the rest of the world who find it uncomfortable or unsettling to contend with where it comes from.

Sexual Assault, especially childhood sexual abuse, remains a fairly taboo thing to discuss, particularly in mixed or professional company where our needs as messy, complex survivors may be most visible. Without the ability to ask for the accommodations we need, we struggle, we drift, and we lose valuable ground to the messiness of our past.

So in honor of the messiness of sexual abuse survivors everywhere, thank you for your patience as this newsletter was produced. We hope that you enjoy the deeply genuine content we work so hard to bring you.

In Memorium

The recent history of sexual health and safety legislation is a fraught one. The last century of policy decisions have seen rapid change around issues like abortion, sexual health education, contraception, LGBTQIA+ marriage rights and other legal protections, and the legislation around sexual crimes. It is within living memory that citizens of the United States have been prosecuted for sodomy, as well as for practicing other fetish sexual behavior like BDSM between consenting adults. It is within living memory that citizens of the United States have been denied marriage license on the basis of having a same sex partner or a partner of a different race.

Crimes like lynching, fag-dragging, the targeting of abortion clinics and providers, and the Trans Panic “Defense” are historic forms of terrorism against marginalized communities. In addition to this, the GOP has a decades long history of multi-front legislative attacks against these same marginalized groups which are self-admittedly aimed at suppressing them from society. Most recently these attacks have included Florida’s HB1557, more commonly known as the Don’t Say Gay Bill (which riled a nation only to pass a majority Republican legislature), Texas Attorney General Abbott’s Guidance to investigate all instances of gender affirming care for trans youth as child abuse (with later instructions from some agencies to keep some investigations off-book), and even a six week abortion ban effective immediately in Oklahoma.

Most frightening of all to many advocates is a recently leaked Supreme Court draft opinion which contained language not only threatening Roe v Wade, but also undermining fundamental cases like Obergefell and Lawrence which uphold the right to privacy upon which many sexual and gender minority rights are now perilously resting. While these cases may seem less related to many, those of us who were involved in the fight for these rights at the time, and those who are actively involved in trying to eliminate these rights now understand the inextricable links. Without Roe, Obergefell, and Lawrence, there is a great deal of harm that could come to a great many communities very quickly.

Critically, the GOP has spent the last several decades packing the courts at the local, state, and federal level, so now that they feel their time has come to act, they have a great deal of political capital to spend. It should concern us then that they are acting so rapidly upon hearing of the leaked Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe with this additional challenge to Lawrence and Obergefell. Since the document leaked, many additional legislative proposals have been made targeting the sexual health and safety triad of abortion, same sex partnership rights, and transgender rights, overwhelming activists around the country with a flurry of legislative challenges and community crises that require immediate and significant confrontation. Should these proposals succeed and become rule of law, they will surely be challenged, but in the meantime they will put many people and families at risk. Additionally, this leaked Supreme Court opinion means that the Supreme Court can no longer be trusted to enforce the rights marginalized communities depend on. There is every chance that challenges will bring these laws before a politically motivated Supreme Court that chooses to uphold them, devastating communities for years to come.

While these challenges are not necessarily new, the circumstances are brutally difficult. People are exhausted after multiple successive years of political crisis, economic upheaval, and a pandemic that continues to claim lives even as the burden of responsibility for managing risk is shifted to individuals and off governments and companies. And yet the stakes are high too. Several states continue to have active but unenforced sodomy laws on the books, which could become enforcable immediately upon the overturn of Obergefell and Lawrence. Many more are preparing their legislation for anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQIA+ restrictions that can be triggered as soon as the Supreme Court opinion is fully released.

Hopes that the draft might change between now and the official release are low, as the court will likely perceive this as “bowing to political pressure” in a way that stands contrary to its mission. If the leaker was a whistleblower, their decision may have been a mis-step. If they were trying to lock in a perceived victory, they may have achieved their goal. All we can do is continue to advocate for what is right. Abortion and LGBTQIA+ rights are no longer unpopular issues, regardless of what the GOP would like us to believe. Those of us in favor of doing the right thing by these communities can be far louder and far more convincing than they can. Millions of people are counting on us to stand together, so it’s time to buckle down and get to it.

Passionate about researching effective resources for children? One of our open positions is for a researcher!

As a researcher, you are responsible for working with our activist team to identify opportunities for advocacy and effective policy and social change in support of Prostasia’s goals. A researcher should be inquisitive and have a good eye for detail when it comes to noticing gaps in existing research areas.

Read more and apply here. LGBTQ+, sex workers, and BIPOC encouraged to apply!