Support Groups For Sexual Assault Survivors
Donation protected
As survivors ourselves at Leda Health, we understand every survivor of sexual assault has different needs-- especially during this very isolating moment in time due to the pandemic. Thus, we have launched virtual support groups for survivors that meet twice a week, for eight weeks with sexologists and music, yoga, movement, drama, poetry and art specialists. We have put a specific emphasis on providing support to womxn of color given the elevated rates with which they experience assault and their inaccessibility to healing resources.
These groups were formed to both offer survivors support and provide them with the ability to choose what their healing looks like.
Money received goes directly to paying our facilitators and purchasing supplies the survivors need for sessions such as art therapy and mask therapy. In the fall, we aim to launch the groups on a larger scale and bring in about 50 survivors of varying genders, sexualities, and ages.
The sexology sessions have been centered around topics that the survivors themselves have chosen. They have discussed sexual health, bodily responses during assault, their experiences with sexuality as womxn of color, what justice means to them, and what reclaiming sexuality looks like. In the future, we have plans on holding sessions to explore healing through poetry, exotic movement, psychoeducation and meditation.
Here are some words from the survivors themselves:
“I look forward to the hours I get to spend in these sessions — whether it’s pushing myself to do yoga, thinking of movements & sounds to express how I’m feeling, or just having a safe space to speak about how I’m doing. I never expected these sessions to have the impact they’ve had, but I’m forever grateful to continue to see it through & give other survivors the opportunity to have this experience.”
“I was drowning. This group was the hand that pulled me out of the ocean to get a breath of fresh air.”
“Finding this group broke me out of the toxic cycle I was in with myself, and made me feel more than just a survivor, but a hero as well.”
According to the data we have collected, rates for feeling anxious, irritated, depressed, and frightened decreased. 84% of the survivors felt strongly that they were treated respectfully by the facilitator. Furthermore, 87.4% of participants said that what they learned from the session could make positive changes in their lives.
The current system does not work to help survivors — especially not those of marginalized identities and backgrounds. We are going to change that. Our goal is to get these survivors to a place where, as our lovely drama therapist Tamra Patterson Calamese likes to say: they are not just surviving, but thriving.
#SmallBusinessRelief
These groups were formed to both offer survivors support and provide them with the ability to choose what their healing looks like.
Money received goes directly to paying our facilitators and purchasing supplies the survivors need for sessions such as art therapy and mask therapy. In the fall, we aim to launch the groups on a larger scale and bring in about 50 survivors of varying genders, sexualities, and ages.
The sexology sessions have been centered around topics that the survivors themselves have chosen. They have discussed sexual health, bodily responses during assault, their experiences with sexuality as womxn of color, what justice means to them, and what reclaiming sexuality looks like. In the future, we have plans on holding sessions to explore healing through poetry, exotic movement, psychoeducation and meditation.
Here are some words from the survivors themselves:
“I look forward to the hours I get to spend in these sessions — whether it’s pushing myself to do yoga, thinking of movements & sounds to express how I’m feeling, or just having a safe space to speak about how I’m doing. I never expected these sessions to have the impact they’ve had, but I’m forever grateful to continue to see it through & give other survivors the opportunity to have this experience.”
“I was drowning. This group was the hand that pulled me out of the ocean to get a breath of fresh air.”
“Finding this group broke me out of the toxic cycle I was in with myself, and made me feel more than just a survivor, but a hero as well.”
According to the data we have collected, rates for feeling anxious, irritated, depressed, and frightened decreased. 84% of the survivors felt strongly that they were treated respectfully by the facilitator. Furthermore, 87.4% of participants said that what they learned from the session could make positive changes in their lives.
The current system does not work to help survivors — especially not those of marginalized identities and backgrounds. We are going to change that. Our goal is to get these survivors to a place where, as our lovely drama therapist Tamra Patterson Calamese likes to say: they are not just surviving, but thriving.
#SmallBusinessRelief
Co-organizers (2)
Jaelynn Ortiz
Organizer
New York, NY
Liesel Vaidya
Beneficiary
Madison Campbell
Co-organizer