Thousands of stories from sexual assault survivors blanket the Mall
In the shadow of the Washington Monument, the messages were scrawled in Sharpie, stitched in yarn, written in paint. There were thousands of them, woven onto red quilts that stretched across the length of four football fields:
“I went into a movie theater expecting my first kiss . . . instead I was met with sexual assault.”
“I was 15. He abused me, emotionally and sexually. I saw him every day after I left him, for 2 years.”
“I was your wife, not your property.”
“My family still doesn’t know.”
Altogether, 3,000 individual stories from survivors of sexual violence blanketed the Mall on Friday afternoon as part of the Monument Quilt, an art tribute that will be on display through Sunday. The messages came from women, men and children across the United States and Mexico — stitched in churches and schools and homes. From the air, the 4-by-4-foot panels of quilts formed the words “YOU ARE NOT ALONE” and the gender-neutral translation in Spanish: “NO ESTÁS SOLX.”
The Monument Quilt, organized by the Baltimore-based activist collective FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, is the culmination of five years of gathering survivors’ stories. It began long before the #MeToo movement, before the Trump administration and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s nomination hearings, as a way to unite and elevate the stories of surv...
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director