From a student that attended my presentation… This brought tears to my eyes. The message continues long after I leave…. this is so empowering for me, particularly right now. I needed to hear the positive impact I have left in my wake.
This strengthens me up as I prepare for my meeting with the White House this Wednesday!
“Dear Catherine, No one wants to have this conversation, and therefore it is so easy to just.. not. To ignore, to hide…
What you do at Stop Trafficking Us, in yrou speeches and posts, is work that is painful and so important. One particular memory of our meeting still just punches my breath out. It is… really something to hear a survivor being so honest and raw …while others aren’t honest with themselves.
I find it sad that people who never have experienced anything similar to this level of trauma will ever understand what you truly are doing. I appreciate the long journey and daily struggle of facing the beast head on. It was a privilege to hear from you. You inspire….hope, strenght, courage, compassion…
You are being real, uncensored, and unapologetic for pointing out the stain that is right before our eyes, that touches pretty much everyone to some extent, 1:5 children, yet no one wants to see, never mind talk openly about!
I think whatever happens, Catherine, you will reach the people who have lived through what you have. And that is one of the most important things – hearing that someone actually understands – has been there – and is actively putting the ugly truth out there. Some one who has survived and now thrives… Not just someone who has some degree of understanding, but someone who, unfortunately, knows. And oh do I hope that this truth will smack the rest back to reality and reason!
I’m sorry that it falls onto people like yourself to relentlessly have to bring the issue up. I wish our society did more for the exploited, the survivors. After all you’ve been through, you’d hope society could take responsibility, take time to listen and educate, and help prevent future abuse. I wish that more people would stand up, listen up, and stand up for you. But …
Maybe this is weird, but if you happen to like rap music, there is this American artist named Angel Haze. She sings about some of her struggles from having grown up in a cult where sexual abuse occurred. She’s very raw and frank, she’s got quite the powerful voice. Some might be more triggering than other songs, like “Cleaning out my closet”, but maybe you’ll feel energized by her too?
Anyway, I wish you all the best! thank you for what you do… “