Call three people you trust and tell them: "If anybody ever has or ever does sexually touch you against your will or without your consent, I am always going to be here for you. Always." That one conversation can shift whether a survivor feels safe enough to speak up.
So how do you help survivors come forward and be supported? How many in this room would hope if this crime ever happened to someone you love, that they didn't feel safe telling anyone else, they could at least come to you? If you'd want that, just say, want that. Want that. And here's all you do. I'm going to invite you to go home today. When you get home, call 3 people, sit down with 3 people, and have a conversation that goes like this. Now, this could be best friends. This could happen at school today. I know people that do it within an hour. It could be teammates. This could be partners. This could be cousins. This could be siblings, parents. Let's imagine it's a younger sibling. If anybody ever has or ever does sexually touch you against your will or without your consent, I am always going to be here for you. Always. How powerful are those words? We've had students leave the room within minutes, had survivors come forward in a school because it was the first time they felt safe, thanks to a peer in this room creating that safe space for them.
