'Outing CSA' Campaign
As a culture, we tend to distance ourselves from childhood sexual abuse, because we cannot contemplate it. We want to deal with it only after an incident has occurred, if at all. So I decided that the first step was making visible the adult survivors of CSA. I wanted to show the faces of survivors; to make it real. And the social media campaign, Outing CSA, was born:
If you are out about being a survivor of CSA or are willing and able to come out, please consider submitting to Outing CSA. You are not required to give details of your trauma, name perpetrators or what form of CSA you endured. We are Outing CSA—outing the “secret.
The process of coming out as an adult survivor of CSA can be liberating, scary, intense, wonderful, and life-altering. Visibility alone will not liberate us; it will not address the challenges of healing, prevention, or justice for survivors. Not everyone has the privilege of coming out, but those who can, help broaden the scope of what the movement is, and how it grow.
In the past few years, there has been a significant cultural shift to break the silence around sexual assault. However, CSA remains a side topic within the larger movement of addressing sexual violence. There is much more work to be done.
Outing CSA created a first step in the journey to address, prevent, and heal from CSA.