Voices & Faces: SEP. 2011 | Making a Vocal Impact

The Voices and Faces Project, recently named one of "America's Best Charities" by the board of directors of Independent Charities of America, has been recognized by the United States Department of Justice as part of the "new generation" of anti-violence leaders. We're working to change minds, hearts and social policy by helping survivors to tell their stories and by introducing those stories into the public square. We need your support to continue our work.

Sharing our stories at the invitation of the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice.
At the invitation of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) at the United States Department of Justice, Voices and Faces Project member Karen Carroll and founder Anne K. Ream recently traveled to Washington, DC to speak at a Sexual Violence Research Roundtable organized by OVW and the National Institute of Justice. Also in attendance were Lynn Rosenthal, White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, the Honorable Susan B. Carbon, Director, Office on Violence Against Women, and John Laub, Director of the National Institute of Justice. Sharing their stories and our new Voices and Faces Project documentary video, "Silence is the Enemy of Change," Anne and Karen spoke about the critical role that survivor testimony can play in the movement to end violence against women. "I was so honored to be invited to this meeting," notes Karen Carroll. "Being able to bring our Voices and Faces Project work to the attention of leaders at the US Department of Justice was exciting, and important. They really seemed to embrace our mission to bring the names, faces and stories of survivors forward in order to create change."

Oh, Canada! Our testimonial writing workshop heads north.
This spring, The Voices and Faces Project launched "The Stories We Tell," the country's first testimonial writing workshop for survivors of sexual violence, domestic violence and trafficking. The workshop was co-created by R. Clifton Spargo, an award-winning fiction writer and Arts Fellow at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and our Voices and Faces Project creative initiatives team, with generous support from Verizon Wireless. In August, the Marvin and Lillian Goldblatt Family Fund approached us about bringing our workshop series to Canada, and made an investment in "The Stories We Tell" that will move us toward that goal. Special thanks to Janet Goldblatt Holmes, a member of our Voices and Faces Project Canadian outreach team, for her engagement in the writing workshop, and her support of our efforts to bring it to Canada. Find out more about the Workshop.
To bring "The Stories We Tell" to YOUR community email us.

More music that moves: Our Voices and Faces Project benefit CD.
Our first benefit CD, The Voices and Faces Project, Volume One, features fantastic original tracks from Neko Case, Jessie Sykes, The New Pornographers, and Michelle Shocked, among others. Get your groove on for a good cause: 100% percent of the proceeds from the sale of this album benefit our work sharing the stories of survivors of sexual violence with the public. Listen to the Public Radio piece about the making of our Voices and Faces Project benefit CD, and the role that music can play in the fight to end sexual violence.

Introducing our Voices and Faces Project Lecture Series.
Members of our Voices and Faces Project Speakers Bureau have spoken in 25 US States and on three continents, sharing survivor stories from our documentary project and advocating for change. To see a list of currently available Voices and Faces Project lectures and multi-media presentations, visit our website. To arrange for a speaker for your next event, email us.

Our year-end benefit is scheduled for December 3rd, and now is the “perfect” time to get involved.
On December 3rd, The Voices and Faces Project and our allies at CAASE (the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation) will co-host "A Perfect Holiday," our third-annual year-end benefit, at Maxims. We have a great "winter in Paris" themed event in store— but we can't make it a true success without supporters like you. If you'd like to sponsor the event, or join our host committee, please email Molly Harris.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn: Was justice served, or deferred?
How do we make sense of the decision to drop charges in the case involving former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn case? How might the case have been handled differently? And why does it matter for all who are concerned with social justice? Former New York sex crimes prosecutor Roger Canaff, a member of our Voices and Faces Project advisory board and a partner in our CounterQuo initiative, weighs in with a thoughtful and reasoned perspective, one that we think is worth reading and considering.

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