UNLOCK THE SILENCE profile picture

UNLOCK THE SILENCE

There are no victims only SURVIVORS

About Me

Tori Amos for RAINN (Rape Abuse and Incest NAtional NetworkBelow is a letter written by Tori to inform people of the service that RAINN offers to anyone who needs it. Following it are some important links that provide further information.RAINN is a very serious organization, however, they of course are limited in many aspects. We urge you to get involved in whatever organization is available in your community to protect the sexual and civil rights of all individuals.Remember, the important thing is to get involved. Whether you are involved with RAINN, or your local women's or children's shelter, you are helping to pitch in.Sometimes I hear my voice...Dear Friends,For the last two years, I've sung "Me and a Gun" at every concert as a way of healing the place inside myself that has been hurt, enraged, and numbed by violence.For many years, I shut down that place inside myself that needed to rage, cry, ask questions, and basically just express herself.I made a conscious choice when I put "Me and a Gun" on the record not to stay a victim anymore. You see, I was still a victim in my own mind from an experience that had happened a long time ago: I was still torturing myself.Passion, joy, and love were not things I felt I could have or deserved anymore. I've been encouraged by wise ones, who taught me how to develop inner tools where I can understand these scared places in my being. It took me many years to make the decision to deal with this, but a bitter woman was what I was becoming and when I was young I always saw myself as a passionate woman.I would say, "Well, she's dead." and the wise ones said, "It's your choice, Tori, if you want to bring her back to life, you can. She's only been sleeping-alone, in a very dark corner. It's your choice and there is help out there."I recieved a letter from a 13-year old girl in Paris whose stepfather has been molesting her for years. She wrote: "If I had known a phone number which would have been able to help me, I certainly would have dialed it. So, we can't go one being blind and dumb: You don't have to put the message with the help phone number out now. Maybe you'll never do it, because of different reasons. You won't be to blame for it. But, I want you never to forget that every day someone loses their dignity."Healing takes courage and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.Love and Support,TORI AMOSRAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) You can call RAINN at 1-800-656-HOPE if you are suffering and would like help.If you would like to help them in any way, their e-mail address is [email protected]. They are very busy and it might be better for you to visit their information request page."Sometimes I hear my voice.. and it's been here" Tori Amos

My Interests

"""""

I'd like to meet:

Fiona Apple uses the story of her own harrowing rape to help others! SH: I read a post on the Internet from a young girl who had been victimized by someone and her position was like, "I can talk about this now because Fiona Apple can talk about what happened to her." Do you look at yourself as a role model for women and girls who've had this experience?FIONA: That's the only reason I ever brought the whole rape thing up. It's a terrible thing, but it happens to so many people. I mean, 80 percent of the people I've told have said right back to me, "That happened to me too." It's so common, and so ridiculous that it's a hard thing to talk about. It angers me so much because something like that happens to you and you carry it around for the rest of your life. No matter how much therapy you go through, no matter how much healing you go through, it's part of you. I just feel that it's such a tragedy that so many people have to bear the extra burden of having to keep it secret from everyone else. As if it's too icky a subject to burden other people with and everyone's going to think you're a victim forever. Then you've labeled yourself a victim, and you've been taken advantage of, and you're ruined, and you're soiled, and you're not pure, you know.If I'm in a position where people are looking up to me in any way, then it's absolutely my responsibility to be open and honest about this, because if I'm not, what does that say to people? It doesn't change a person -- well, it does change a person but it doesn't take anything away from you. It can only strengthen you. It has made me so angry in the past. Like I wanted to say it to somebody. I really wanted somebody to connect with, somebody to understand me, somebody to comfort me. But I felt like I couldn't say anything about because it was taboo to talk about.SH: What do you tell people who've gone through this?FIONA: What I believe that there is no evil, there is only weakness. And whoever has done this, to me or any one, is a person who could not handle his own pain. They went through something themselves, or has a sickness themselves, and they can't handle it so they push it on someone else.The man who raped me, I don't know his story. But obviously he has problems. He's a sick man. It's like when parents abuse their children because they can't handle things themselves. They have to make themselves feel powerful in such a cheap, disgusting way.The only thing I can say to people is to realize that it's nothing to do with you. It's no indication of your worth as a human being. It's just an indication of someone else's weakness. They take advantage of you because you're strong and pure and -- it's just so hard to understand and it's so hard to go through. But the thing to understand is that it's someone else's problem, not yours. "- Fiona Apple Fiona Apple After an assault, or rape, many feel so desperate, they consider suicide. Please hold on. Watch the above video, and please KNOW that you truly are not alone.IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS SUICIDAL, PLEASE DIAL THIS NUMBER. SOMEONE IS THERE WAITING TO TAKE YOUR CALL, 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK, SOMEONE WHO CARES. YOU REALLY ARE NOT ALONE. HOLD ON.

Music:

EVERY TWO AND A HALF MINUTESEvery two and a half minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.How'd we come up with that number? Here's the math. There are 525,600 minutes in a (non-leap) year (60x24x365). That makes 31,536,000 seconds per year.According to the US Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey, the country’s largest and most reliable crime study, there were an average of 200,780 sexual assaults each year in 2004-2005 (the most recent data available).So, 31,536,000 divided by 200,780 comes out to one sexual assault every 157 seconds—or about one every two and a half minutes.One more thing we should point out: Notice that we said one "sexual assault," not one "rape." What's the difference? Sexual assault is a broader category that the Justice Department uses to classify rape, attempted rape, and other violent felonies that fall short of rape (which it defines as "forced vaginal, anal or oral penetration").Of the estimated 200,780 annual violent sex crimes, 64,080 were completed rapes. So, if you want a figure that covers only rape and excludes attempted rape and sexual assault, divide 31,536,000 by 64,080. That comes out to one rape every 492 seconds or so, or about one rape every 8 minutes.Feel free to use these figures in your own materials. If you need a source, cite RAINN calculation based on USDOJ NCVS data.

Movies:

Rape-Related Post Traumatic Stress DisorderMany rape victims experience what is referred to as Rape-Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (also called Rape Trauma Syndrome). The four major symptoms of this are:Re-Experiencing the Trauma - Rape victims may experience recurrent nightmares about the rape, flashbacks or may have an inability to stop remembering the rape. Social Withdrawal - This symptom has been called 'psychic numbing' and involves not experiencing feelings of any kind. Avoidance Behaviors and Actions - Victims may desire to avoid any feelings or thoughts that might recall to mind events about the rape. Increased Physiological Arousal Characteristics - This symptom can be marked by an exaggerated startle response, hyper-vigilance, sleep disorders or difficulty concentrating.It is helpful to receive counseling and treatment after experiencing a sexual assault to start the healing process and avoid dealing with the trauma in unhealthy ways. According to The World Report on Violence and Health (WHO, 2002), in the absence of trauma counseling, negative psychological effects have been known to persist for at least a year following a rape. It is important to recognize and treat Rape-Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but it is also necessary to remember that all individuals, and therefore all victims of sexual assault, deal with trauma in unique ways. Some, especially children and young adults, move through an abnormal event in what seems to be a very normal way, but this does not mean they are not internally experiencing some of the effects.Other negative consequences of experiencing a sexual assault include the following increased tendencies -Victims of sexual assault are...Three times more likely to suffer from depression. Six times more likely to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Thirteen times more likely to abuse alcohol. Twenty-six times more likely to abuse drugs. Four times more likely to contemplate suicide. Dealing with such severe struggles on your own can often be too difficult to bear. That is why it is good for victims of sexual assault to receive treatment and counseling.

Television:

CLICK the above banner to visit RAINN'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE.There IS hope!

Books:

.. THE ABOVE VIDEO IS ABOUT SELF INJURY.SADLY, MANY SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT OR RAPE TURN TO SELF INJURY, AS A WAY TO COPE WITH THE TRAUMA THEY HAVE ENDURED.IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING WITH SELF INJURY, PLEASE CHECK OUT THIS MYSPACE PAGE I STARTED. IT'S A PAGE TO LET OTHERS KNOW THEY ARE NOT AONE.HTTP://WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SELFINJURYHOPEONE DAY AT A TIME...