Last week we reported the news that End Violence Against Women International -- EVAWI -- apparently had turned over a new leaf, making this pledge in a recent report: "Only with a thorough, professional, and unbiased investigation will those questions be answered."
It now looks like we were wrong. Because this morning, EVAWI announced it will continue to hold its bias-producing, wrongful-conviction-causing Start By Believing Day, on April 1. The full text of their announcement is below.
We're disappointed in you, EVAWI.
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EVERY RESPONSE MATTERS
It is hard to believe, but the 5th Annual Start by Believing Day is only 6 months away and planning is already well underway!
Next year’s celebration will take place on Wednesday, April 1st (no fooling!).
Looking Back to 2019
Based on the thousands of people who participated last year – and the millions they reached with Start by Believing – we can’t wait to see what 2020 brings.
Check out our recap video, to see just a few of the many activities that took place in communities across the country on Start by Believing Day in 2019.
Every Response Matters
We know that when sexual assault victims turn to us, every response matters. The responses of friends and family members matter. The responses of police officers, nurses, and advocates matter. Simply put, every response matters to a sexual assault victim because it can have a powerful impact on their healing process and pursuit of justice.
With this in mind, next year's theme is: Every Response Matters – Share Yours!
Please consider sharing your story – whether it is about a time when someone disclosed to you about their sexual assault, or you disclosed to someone else.
Start by Believing Impact
We particularly want to understand the impact of these responses. What happens to survivors when we Start by Believing? What happens when we don’t?
Also, as responding professionals, how does Start by Believing affect the way we do our jobs? Do we listen more carefully? Take more investigative steps? Document cases more thoroughly? Pursue cases more vigorously?
We want to hear your stories. Our plan is to use some of them for training, social media, and other purposes. Often times, we only identify a quote with the person’s professional discipline (e.g., police detective, victim advocate, SANE nurse, prosecutor), not their name. Sometimes we do use an individual’s name, if we have permission to do that. But you should be careful to not identify anyone other than yourself in your story. Make sure you don’t identify a survivor or divulge identifiable information such as a date or location of a sexual assault.
Also, if you aren’t comfortable with EVAWI using your story, we still want to hear from you! Just select the “opt out” option on the form and we will keep your story confidential.
How Can I Share My Story?
If you’re ready to share your story, just fill out this form and it will be submitted to us.
Then stay tuned! We will keep you posted on our plans for the 5th annual Start by Believing Day, and share some of the invaluable stories we receive.