Toxic masculinity is a definition of manhood that is based on the idea that men need to be dominant and violent. This version of manhood dictates that there is such a thing as a “real man” and that he is physically powerful, sexually aggressive, and shows his worth by dominating others. This “real man” suppresses his emotions, has a homophobic aversion to emotional connection and physical affection with other men, and rejects anything remotely “feminine” as weak and inferior. He views gender as a stark binary, women as sexual objects,…
There’s no doubt that technology is a double-edged sword. It can be a convenient and effective tool for expanding access to services. But unless digital systems are applied thoughtfully, interacting with them can quickly become frustrating and dehumanizing. Signs of Hope turned to technology during the pandemic to provide the community with a way to use our services while protecting everyone’s physical safety. The result is that our services became more accessible than they ever had been before for people who encountered barriers to visiting our center in person. Those…
After a legislative session that felt particularly demanding as it juggled the impact of the pandemic in addition to a regular slate of concerns, here are just a few pieces of legislation that passed which are relevant to our work here at Signs of Hope. AB30 This piece of legislation expanded the purpose of the Account for Aid for Victims of Domestic Violence. Previously, funds from this account could only be awarded to non-profit organizations that exclusively served victims of Domestic Violence. Now, organizations that serve victims of sexual violence…
The Atlanta shooting earlier this year resulted from an intersection of racism, sexism, and anti-sex-worker stigma that is not new to women of Asian descent. Historically in the US, racism and sexism have always intersected to create the hypersexualization of Women of Color. Sexualization is another way of saying sexual objectification, in which a person or group of people is treated as a sexual object instead of a person. When we talk about hypersexualization in this context, we are identifying the ways in which this dehumanizing objectification disproportionately affects Women…
In addition to one-on-one counseling and group support, Signs of Hope provides a variety of therapeutic modalities that can support the healing process. These include yoga, the holistic healing workshop series, and art therapy. Art therapy is used for survivors of all kinds of trauma, but why is it helpful? Art therapy provides survivors with a way to express themselves, process their emotions, and examine their experience of abuse or assault. Creating art allows survivors to express things that they’re not able to put into words. It can also create…
When abuse happens at a very young age, it can have a profound affect on a child’s development and behavior. As one of our colleagues at the Children’s Advocacy Center put it “these children have had a switch flipped on through no fault of their own, but it is very difficult to flip that switch back”. In the short term, parents and caregivers may see a variety of behavioral changes related to the trauma of sexual abuse. According to The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, “Very young children might engage…
Special Shout Out to our SA Hotline Volunteer of the Month: Susan T! Susan has been a volunteer with Signs of Hope for over 5 years. She shows her dedication to survivors of sexual violence by going above and beyond to help on the SA Phone Hotline. Susan covers around 20 hours a week volunteering on our hotline helping those in need. For reference, our volunteers on average volunteer 4 hours a week, which is already above the national volunteer average. Thank you Susan for everything that you’ve done and…
Big Thank You to our RISE Hotline Volunteer of the Month: Imani K! Imani is one of our interns and has been a rockstar in helping our anti-human trafficking team. She has been great in stepping in and taking additional shifts in office and is doing great work in participating in the RISE operational outreaches alongside law enforcement. For this, RISE would like to recognize her as the volunteer of the month!