My First Speech

...I woke up the next morning (Saturday) with a smile on my face, remembering the incredible news of the verdict I received the day before. Although a little bit nervous about my speech I was excited to go to the event and share the good news. I wasn't going to participate in the march through the streets of Center City but join the event at the venue above the Visitors Center in Independence Park. If you aren't familiar with Philadelphia, it's a beautiful park where Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and Constitution Center are located. The hall was a flurry of activity with lots of people gathered around chatting excitedly, tables set up for the raffle and an art exhibit and stage for the dance performance. I walked in grinning from ear to ear and eagerly scanned the room for my counselor Laura. I saw her almost immediately and practically ran over to greet her. Practically the first words out of my mouth were "they found him guilty of rape!" She was so happy and we talked over each other. Oh and I started crying again those tears of happiness too. We walked around the room gathering other WOAR employees, counselors and the director to share the good news. As previously written in an earlier post the Jeffrey Marsalis case was well known by those working and volunteering at WOAR.

After sharing the good news Laura and I quickly discussed my speech and readiness to present it and the agenda for the days events. We parted as she had some other responsibilities so I walked around the large hall purchasing raffle tickets and snacks and chatting with other attendees. It was such a nice atmosphere. The time came to begin the dance performance and speeches and the presentation from the mayor dedicating April 20-25, 2009 Sexual Assault Awareness Week in Philadelphia which is a very big recognition.

I was sitting in the second row anxiously awaiting my turn to be introduced. A few other women spoke before me and gave very moving and emotional speeches so I had an idea of what to expect when I got up there. Then it was my turn to be introduced and Laura joined me at the podium. I began reading my speech from a printout and held onto that paper tightly. My speech was a timeline of events from meeting Marsalis on Match.com through the legal process and how I met Kathy outside court and was referred to Laura except I had an unexpected addition to the speech the night before which was the verdict. I started out somewhat strong in my delivery but quickly became emotional which increased throughout to the point where Laura began by holding my hand and by the time I reached the end of the speech with the verdict she was holding me up. Once the audience heard the verdict the room erupted in applause, gasps and cheers and finally they all stood up. It was way too much for me to handle emotionally that I fell into Laura's arms. The unexpected support from the room was so overwhelming to me that as I write this today I am getting chills. It also reminds me why I have dedicated myself to the cause of awareness for date rape, sexual assault and rape. Anyone who has ever been a sexual assault victim should get to experience that feeling of unconditional support.

Laura took me aside to tell me I did a great job and stayed with me until I was calm. I remained for the rest of the events and a few people approached to comment and congratulate me. A sexual assault and/or rape conviction is so difficult to obtain that it must be celebrated. The unfortunate obstacles include the victim reporting, the evidence being strong enough to prosecute, the victim choosing to prosecute and the jury making the correct verdict. It's a very long, very difficult road as I can tell you from personal experience.

I left the event that day feeling good about what I had accomplished and knowing somehow I wanted to continue to do what I did which was to speak out and share my story in the hopes of helping other victims and a year later I would be doing just that...