‘That’s her there! her hubby’s inside!’
‘How can she stand by him?’ a neighbor cried!
‘I’d throw away the lock and key!’
‘That husband of hers should never be free!’

‘That woman can do so much better than him!’
‘I’d throw all his letters away in the bin!’
‘Just what can he offer now he’s locked away?’
‘A complete waste of space!’ she shouted that day.

‘That’s the one there! her boyfriend’s inside!
‘He’s scum of the earth!’ a neighbors implied!
‘If I was her, well I’d meet someone else!
‘Not wasting my life to be left on the shelf!

‘That woman’s been left to cope with the shame’
‘It was all over the papers! and gave out his name’
‘He’s useless! A criminal! Bring back the rope!’
‘He’ll do it again! for him there’s no hope!’

My comment:

That man you condemn has a child and a wife
A Mum and a Dad who has given him life!
What would you do if this happened to yours?
Deny all your love and close all the doors?

Do you honestly think I’d sink to a level
And just turn my back and deem him a devil?
Yes! He’s done wrong and is serving his time
And No! I do not agree with his crime.

‘That woman’ you point at, yes it is me
I was born with a name, as I’m human you see!
I’m innocent! just incase you’ve forgot
And love him whether you like it or not!

I’ve had the abuse, the comments and more
It’s nothing I haven’t heard all before
I mean no offense when I say this to you
I’m a victim as well- A forgotten one too.

Read more prison poetry here.

Raped beyond a Shadow of Doubt was inspired by the films THE FARM and SHADOWS OF DOUBT. Most people that watched the films had already made their minds up, innocent or guilty, but there were those who still had questions. I felt like it was up to me to answer them in the only way I knew how. That was to put it in black and white, but more than the films I wanted to give hope to someone who was struggling with finding peace and hope for their life. I hoped to give someone the strength to face another day.

Was it hard? Oh yeah it was hard. I had to go back and reopen all those old wounds. Some days I couldn’t put the pen down, and some days I couldn’t pick the pen up. It took me three years to write my book. I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t just about getting my story out, it was about helping someone. I replayed him raping me over and over in my head, long after I had laid the pen down. Was it worth it? If my story helps just one hurting person, then it was worth every sleepless night I spent writing.

Raped Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt can be bought here.

But in February everyone was talking about domestic violence after pictures of R&B star Rihanna’s bruised face surfaced on the internet.  Rihanna had gotten the bruises from her boyfriend, the wildly popular R&B star – Chris Brown.

This high profile incident of relationship abuse was met with a lot of discussion.  Shockingly hoards of teenage fans of Chris Brown pledged to support him. Many of these girls blamed Rihanna for Chris abusing her. An interesting New York Times article talks about this. Click here to read the article.

MTV sponsored a special on the Rihanna/Chris Brown case of domestic abuse and invited Juan Ramos, director of Safe Horizon’s Domestic Violence Accountability program to speak. (Safe Horizons is an organization that helps victims of domestic abuse.) In the interview Ramos emphasized that men who abuse their partners need to be held accountable.

Watch the MTV special here.

If you are a victim of Domestic Violence living in the NY area,  get in touch with Sanctuary for Families.  They’re there to help.

For help nation-wide contact Safe Horizons: 1-800-621-HOPE

Ryan Nixon lost his sister to a murder. Now he along with other family members of murder victims speak out against the death penalty. Ryan says:

My sister’s passing was tragic; it broke the hearts, and almost the bonds, of my family. I saw the hardest of men break down in tears. But, as there is always a silver lining to every cloud, instead of giving into the hatred in my heart, I opened it to allow forgiveness, love, and compassion to prevail.”

Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation is an organization of families of murder victims who are committed to reconciliation and ending capital punishment.  To learn more visit the MVFR website. 

An interesting conference to attend for advocates of victims’ rights is the National Victims Assistance Academy to be held August 2-7, 2009 in Louisville, Kentucky.  This academy will comprise of education and skill-based classroom trainings for those who assist victims and survivors of crime.  Apply to attend the conference and find out more about how to help crime victims by clicking here.

The National Organization for Victim Assistance has a 24 hour hotline.

For victim assistance call 1 800 TRY – NOVA.