Focus Areas

with an Anti-Oppressive Lens
PDF
June, 2019

The Adverse Childhood Experiences study (ACEs) is a longitudinal study; a research method in which the data was gathered about ACEs over a long period of time. This study also serves as an ongoing tool for measuring the relationship between early life trauma and later life health and wellbeing. This Advocacy Station explores the survey and research findings of the original Kaiser-CDC study.

We will also examine the ways in which the study has been useful to our understanding of early…

Topic
  • Child Sexual Abuse
Shared Language for Advocacy
WCSAP Webpage
April, 2019

Shared Language

Commercial sexual exploitation of children, or human trafficking, is when a commercial sex act is exchanged for something of value with a minor, and/or when force, fraud, or coercion are present. The legal and cultural language around what we refer to as “commercial sexual exploitation” has evolved over time. We’ve shifted the use of our language to match our current understanding of the power dynamics, legalities, and the lived experience of young people that…

Topic
  • Child Sexual Abuse
For Incarcerated Survivors
Webinar
March, 2019
Topic
  • Incarcerated Survivors
What is My Responsibility?
PDF
February, 2019

This Advocacy Station explores interpersonal strategies and individual approaches to compassion satisfaction and resilience building.

Topic
  • Trauma
A Recap
WCSAP Webpage
December, 2018

Confidentiality: a Core Value

Children and teens experience power disparity as they navigate a world created by adults, and this socialization is compounded in the powerlessness caused by sexual violence. As advocates practice confidentiality with child and teen survivors of sexual violence, we challenge the inherent power adults have over children and youth. Advocates can constantly check personal bias about children and teens, and avoid assumptions that we know what is best for…

Topic
  • Child Sexual Abuse
  • Confidentiality & Privilege
Addressing Faith Issues in Sexual and Domestic Violence
WCSAP Webpage
November, 2018

Faith communities can be both a place of healing and a place of pain for survivors. As is true with all institutions, there are structures and practices that can both protect and harm individuals.

It is important to emphasize that specific religions do not cause abuse to happen; rather we must examine the ways in which people play a part in creating an environment of silence within religious institutions. Silence becomes embedded in the organizational practices of institutions but…

Topic
  • Faith Communities
Adultism in Advocacy
WCSAP Webpage
November, 2018

Adultism: Power and Control

Power is not inherently good nor bad, but it is used to benefit or target individuals along a spectrum of accessibility. We can easily identify ways in which racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, etc., manifest in our society, and how they might intersect with each other. We can also see how individuals and groups of people who have less access to power, or who are targets of power, are more vulnerable to sexual violence. Sexual violence is indeed about…

Topic
  • Child Sexual Abuse
  • Anti-Oppression
Advocacy Considerations
WCSAP Webpage
November, 2018

Sexual assault often goes unreported and this can be especially true for assaults committed against men and boys. We know that sexual assault against men and boys is not new but rather has remained invisible as a result of the societal myths about men's sexuality and the cultural norms around masculinity. These influences can be extremely harmful to male survivors' healing.

Addressing the misconceptions and stereotypes that have served to silence male survivors, both within our…

Topic
  • Male Survivors
Considerations for Child Sexual Abuse Survivors
WCSAP Webpage
June, 2018

Therapists can be a critical component of a child's support system and healing process following abuse. However, many children are reluctant to participate in counseling because they don't want to talk about what happened or they may believe that going to therapy means something is wrong with them. While there are significant areas of overlap between a therapist and an advocate, it is because of their differences that they are both important members of a child's professional team after a…

Topic
  • Child Sexual Abuse
  • Therapy
WCSAP Webpage
March, 2018

For many survivors, coming forward and accessing resources also includes the pursuit of justice. However, personal feelings of justice do not always align with the traditional models of punishment-based responses that are seen as the only pathway to justice. In cases of child sexual abuse these models of justice can be even trickier to navigate due to the complicated contexts and relationships involved.

For these reasons, the framework of Transformative Justice can be helpful in…

Topic
  • Child Sexual Abuse
  • Legal Advocacy