Student staff member and LL.M. student Noeisha is balancing school, work, family, and everything else in her life. You can read her first blog post here.
I had the pleasure of attending a Fear 2 Freedom event on campus this fall. Fear 2 Freedom is a global non-profit organization that focuses on aiding victims of sexual assault. The guest speaker was Rosemary Trible, the group’s founder. Ms. Trible shared with the Regent community about the background and purpose of Fear 2 Freedom. She touched many hearts the moment she shared her own personal story about being a victim of rape. Ms. Trible used her horrific experience as a catalyst to minister to victims of sexual assault.
One of the avenues in which Fear 2 Freedom makes a significant impact is through the preparation of kits (F2F kits) for victims of sexual assault. The kits are given to hospitals. After going through the PERK process (Physical Evidence Recovery Kit), victims of sexual assault leave the hospital in scrubs. Sexual assault victims’ clothing are kept as evidence. Accordingly, a F2F kit consists of toiletries, clothing, a resource card, a “You Matter 2” card, a teddy bear, and depending on the age of the victim, age appropriate items.
We watched a video of courageous victims of sexual assault share their own personal stories. The video included both male and female victims. It was inspiring that through participating in the Fear 2 Freedom program, the victims overcame obstacles and fears associated with sexual assault. The victims had awesome testimonies. On a side note, Ms. Trible mentioned that one of the victims in the video was getting married this fall.
At the end of the event, each attendee had the opportunity to prepare a F2F kit and enclose a personal handwritten message of encouragement. The kits that our group assembled were being provided to victims of trafficking. Attending the event was not only a blessing, but also a humbling experience.