If you are on social media or you’ve turned in to the news this week, perhaps you've seen or heard about the hashtag that’s spreading like wildfire, #MeToo. If, like me, you are a survivor of sexual assault, it can be both empowering and triggering to see SO…MANY…PEOPLE…raising their hands and saying “it happened to me, too.” And yet, I know that there are so many others who are survivors, who are ashamed, or afraid, or pressured to keep their victimization private.I have never spoken of it myself.When I was in elementary school, I had a friend who had a horse. No one else I knew had a horse so I loved going to visit her, and we would groom and ride her horse. She had an older brother who was super cool in my eyes, mostly because he paid attention to me and made me feel special. I didn’t know...

Over the last year, ACTS Sexual Assault Services has provided services to more than 500 individuals who are survivors of sexual assault and/or sexual abuse in Prince William County. Our team of empathetic specialists works with survivors to heal from their trauma through individual and group support, as well as by providing a 24 hour hotline, accompaniment to court appearances, law enforcement interviews and forensic exams. We are able to provide these services, free of charge, to our neighbors in need thanks in part to funding supported by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). ACTS Sexual Assault Services receives grant funding from two VAWA grants, V-STOP and SASP. These grants are intended to develop and strengthen the provision of direct services to women who are victims of sexual assault, and other violent crimes. The 2 grants total approximately $50,000, and we use the funds to help support 3 sexual assault specialists, a community educator,...