The creaking of chairs. It’s a visceral symphony etched into my bones...

The creaking of chairs. It’s a visceral symphony etched into my bones. April 1st, a date that reverberates in duality…my assault anniversary and the start of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. These moments intersect, by fate I’m sure, a collision of personal and collective reckoning. From U.S. college auditoriums to military bases, from crisis centers in foreign lands to the halls of justice…I’ve stood amid countless bodies rising and falling in those three questions, each silence louder than the last. In 2009, I was a 20-year-old student when violence tore through my life. But from that devastation, I chose to build something enduring. Working with the Department of Justice to teach trauma-informed practices, shaping military survivor advocacy, and standing in solidarity in crisis centers abroad. Across three continents and over 600 programs, I’ve witnessed the dichotomy of devastation and resilience. Today, as I stitched together just a few of the stages my body remembers, the pattern is heartbreakingly clear. Every time, when I ask who knows a survivor, it’s always too many. To every survivor standing or sitting behind a screen, I say this: You are irrevocably seen. You are believed, and you are worthy of healing. My work in April is advocacy. My work beyond April is helping survivors reclaim their bodies, relationships, and intrinsic worth. You are not fragmented. You are not broken. You are profoundly resilient, perhaps more than you’ve ever dared to believe. #sexualassaultawarenessmonth #saam #believesurvivors