About
Violence UnSilenced was created by Maggie in February of 2009 to shed light within the blogging community on domestic violence and sexual abuse/assault by giving survivors a voice. Violence UnSilenced has been featured on a Madison, Wisconsin CBS affiliate, iVillage, BlogHer, Momocrats, and mentioned in the HuffPo. Alltop created a new domestic violence channel after learning about VU, and Violence UnSilenced is currently a 2010 Bloggies finalist for Best Community Blog. There has been a 3-5 month waiting list for submissions since day one.
You do not need to have a blog to submit your story to Violence UnSilenced. Anyone with a personal story of abuse can be published on VU, but it this site is not just for survivors. VU is widely supported by the rest of the blogosphere, as evidenced by the Take the Pledge page, and by all the people who comment and retweet links every week. Even if you are not a survivor, there is so much you can do to support those who are.
MISSION STATEMENT
One of the last hurdles to eradicating abuse is the culture of silence and shame that exists yet today. You very likely have people in your life that are being abused, you just don’t realize it. Victims are led to believe they are alone, that no one will believe them, and that people will think less of them. Every situation is complicated and unique, and there is no stereotype. Every single survivor of abuse is different from his or her comrades, and by sharing stories here we can educate ourselves as to just how pervasive domestic violence and sexual abuse/assault is, and how it crosses all cultural, racial, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic lines. This is our society’s collective issue, not simply a problem of those directly impacted. There are 70 million blogs out there, and one in four women will experience abuse in her lifetime. We who are active in the blogosphere have a responsibility to listen to our friends and to spread the word, so that we can strip abusers of this critical power. I also believe very, very strongly in the cathartic power of writing.
SAFETY
Maggie is not a therapist nor an expert in any sense of the word. This site is not intended to take the place of a true domestic violence advocacy website, such as the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
If you need help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
Please make sure it is safe for you to be here. Take note of the pink “quick escape” buttons on the right hand sidebar at the top, middle, and bottom of the page. Clicking these buttons will instantly take you to a blank Google page, but you will still need to erase your browsing history. Even this is not a complete fix; Computer, cell, and handheld device use can be remotely monitored and is impossible to completely clear or hide. If you are in danger, please use a safer computer, call your local hotline, and/or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
SUBMIT OR SUPPORT
If you would like to share your personal story to an audience that pledges to listen, please email maggie [at] violenceunsilenced [dot] com. If you are a blogger who believes you are untouched by abuse, please take the pledge, visit regularly, and leave supportive comments.
COMMENTS
Please show survivors your support by leaving a comment following each post. I know that sometimes you may be struck speechless, or you may feel that you are repeating yourself on each post — but for each of these survivors, their one post is everything. They will continue to check it, they will circulate it among trusted loved ones, they will link to it now and in the future. They need to know you are listening to them. That their bravery has not been for nothing. Even if it feels as small as, “Thank you for speaking out,” believe me, it won’t feel small to them.
Keep in mind that this is a safe space, and I moderate all comments. If this was your average run-of-the-mill personal blog all comments would be allowed freely, but because of the delicate nature of the subject matter and because the contributors are often writing from extraordinarily vulnerable places, any comment deemed non-supportive or judgmental will be deleted. This is not an open forum or a site structured for healthy debate. Rather, this is a safe place for survivors to speak out in hopes of enlightening their fellow bloggers and trusted loved ones.
If you have had a previous comment approved your comments will go through immediately, but still may be subject to removal. Please help maintain a dignified and safe space for the brave post authors.
Thank you for your visit.
HISTORY
I am a writer and freelance journalist based in Madison, Wisconsin. After my experience researching, writing and publishing a 6,000 word piece in Madison Magazine profiling seven survivors of domestic violence, I was utterly changed. I started talking on my personal blog, Okay, Fine, Dammit, about abuse, and the response from readers was instant and intimate. With their support (including help in naming the site, spreading the word then and now, taking the pledge and submitting stories), I was able to launch Violence UnSilenced in February 2009. From day one there has been a several-month wait list. I may be the one behind the curtain, but Violence UnSilenced is a true community effort. It simply would not exist without you.
For further history, the following posts appeared on Okay, Fine, Dammit leading up to the launch.
The Hidden Quiet Post About Nothing and Everything
