Return to WOAR

...I had not been to the WOAR offices in a non-counseling capacity since a year earlier when we shot the final footage for the the ABC News special. That day the other victims and I met the prosecutor Joe Khan there to get video of us all meeting together to talk about the case. Now I was returning as a survivor and not a victim. I would be sharing my story of being drugged and date raped and the legal process that followed with those amazing people who will be victims advocates. Their responsibilities will be to serve in an on-call capacity to either work the rape crisis hotline or accompany a rape victim to the hospital. There the advocate will sit with the victim as they are interviewed by the police and while they receive an exam from a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurse who is specially trained to perform a rape kit. These will be used to gather evidence as the case is being investigated and once the attacker is arrested used by the prosecutor to submit during trial.

The advocates are angels on earth. They are trained to assess each individual situation and decide what help a victim will need if it's a call to the hotline. If they are accompanying a victim then they are someone who is simply a hand to hold, a shoulder to lean on and support for a victim who may be feeling alone. I continue to speak to advocates and honored when asked to do so.

The week before I was scheduled to speak that Saturday in June I worked on editing my speech so it would suit the needs of the volunteers training. I was going to tell them how I met my attacker on Match.com, what led the prosecutors office to me and my decision to move forward with charges, how I was lucky enough to find WOAR and my counselor Laura and the path it took me on to being the strong healthy person standing before them. I was more than ready when I got up that day and took that very familiar drive to Philadelphia and the WOAR offices. It was quite a large group of trainees and I noticed it was a very diverse group. The faces staring back at me were women and men of all ages and races. I stood up in front of them, gave my speech and made it through with only a few breaks to catch my breath and fight back some tears (similar to the emotions felt during my speech at Stockton). The group was at an advanced stage of their training and they had a lot of questions which I was more than happy to answer. I was there to help them which would ultimately translate to helping victims. 

I walked out of there feeling really good. I was doing exactly what I wanted which was giving back. It clearly was seen as valuable to their trainees because I was invited back for the next training held later in the year...