Make a difference

Personal Empowerment
  • Prioritize your healing journey — Your wellbeing comes first. Engage with therapy, support groups, or healing practices that work for you. Healing is a life-long process. Never give up.
  • Set healthy boundaries — Practice identifying and communicating your boundaries in relationships and social settings. Create your own safe environment.
  • Reclaim your narrative — Remember that your identity is not defined by your trauma; you are a whole person with a personal story that is still developing. 
  • Practice self-compassion — Be gentle with yourself through the process of healing and as you learn how to use your voice again.
  • Recognize your expertise — Your lived experience gives you valuable insight that others may not have.
Community Advocacy
  • Join or start a survivor support group — Connect with others who understand your experiences.
  • Monitor local offender release information — Learn about transparency processes in your area.
  • Attend local government meetings — Raise concerns about how offender releases are handled in your community.
  • Contact your representatives — Advocate for legislation that supports safe and transparent release protocols.
  • Support victim service organizations — Volunteer, donate, or participate in events that raise awareness.
  • Mentor other survivors — When you’re ready, provide support to those beginning their healing journey.
  • Work with allies — Collaborate with supportive friends, family members, and community members who can amplify your message.
Challenging Media & Cultural Messages
  • Develop media literacy skills — Learn to critically analyze how sexual violence and gender are portrayed in media.
  • Speak up about harmful portrayals — Contact companies that use sexualized imagery to sell products.
  • Support media that presents healthy relationships — Spend your time and money on content that portrays respect and consent.
  • Curate your social media — Follow accounts that promote body positivity and healthy relationships.
  • Share your perspective — Use social media to challenge harmful narratives (only if you feel comfortable doing so).
  • Engage with your children’s media — Have open conversations about the messages in the shows, games, and content they consume.
  • Question advertising tactics — Teach others to recognize when sex is being used to sell products or services.
Education & Awareness
  • Offer to speak at schools or community groups — Share your story if you feel comfortable (and only to the extent that feels safe).
  • Host community discussions — Create safe spaces to talk about cultural change.
  • Support comprehensive sex education — Advocate for education that includes consent, healthy relationships, and respect.
  • Correct misconceptions — Challenge myths and stereotypes about sexual violence when you hear them.
  • Highlight prevention strategies — Focus on how communities can prevent harm, not just respond to it.
Policy & Systemic Change
  • Learn about your state’s laws — Understand current legislation regarding offender registration, notification, and monitoring.
  • Identify gaps in the system — Note where transparency or safety could be improved in current processes.
  • Connect with advocacy organizations — Join forces with groups already working on policy change.
  • Attend hearings related to offender release — Be a visible presence advocating for survivor-centered approaches.
  • Contact lawmakers — Call, email, or meet with representatives to express your concerns and suggestions.
  • Participate in public comment periods — When new policies are proposed, submit your perspective.
  • Register to vote — Support candidates who prioritize transparency and survivor safety.
  • Run for local office — Consider representing your community to create change from within.
Creating Cultural Change in Daily Life
  • Practice and model consent in everyday interactions — Show others what respect looks like.
  • Challenge sexist language and jokes — Speak up when you hear comments that objectify or demean others.
  • Support businesses with ethical practices — Vote with your dollars by choosing companies that don’t exploit sexualized imagery.
  • Engage men and boys in conversations — Invite everyone to be part of the solution.
  • Share your values with the next generation — Have age-appropriate conversations about respect and boundaries.
  • Create art or written work — Express your experiences and vision for change through creative outlets.
Self-Care While Creating Change
  • Know your triggers — Be aware of what might be challenging for you when doing advocacy work.
  • Set sustainable limits — Choose advocacy activities that you can maintain without burnout.
  • Celebrate small victories — Acknowledge progress, no matter how incremental.
  • Connect with supportive people — Build a network of friends and allies who understand this work.
  • Take breaks when needed — Advocacy is a marathon, not a sprint.
  • Recognize that change takes time — Be patient with the process and with yourself.
  • Remember your “why” — Stay connected to your personal motivation for creating change.
Remember that any action, no matter how small, contributes to cultural change. You don’t need to take on everything at once. Choose the steps that resonate with you, align with your healing journey, and fit your current capacity.
Your voice matters. Your experience matters. And together, we can create a world that’s safer for everyone.
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