Mike DomitrzPresident, Author, and Speaker on Respect, The Center for Respect, Inc. · Author & Speaker on Respect for Schools, Corporations, & the Military since 1990 (has reached

You have the skills to intervene!

25 Aug 2023 · 1 min

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In this spoken monologue, Mike Domitrz recounts the trauma of his sister’s rape and the profound realization that, while sexual assault cannot be undone, he can work to prevent future incidents. He describes his personal awakening at age 20, 33 years ago, when he began speaking out against sexual violence. Domitrz emphasizes that everyone possesses the ability to intervene and stop harm before it occurs, urging listeners not to wait for a personal tragedy to act, but to use their existing skill set today to make a difference.

Chapters

And it took me a long time to calm down because it bothered me that I couldn't reverse what happened to my sister. And you can't, you can't reverse sexual assault, right? It's like when somebody says, well, if I just touch someone and they don't like it, they can tell me to stop. Yeah, you can't reverse it. You already did it to them though. You can't reverse it. And so I sat there going, wait, I can't reverse what happened. And after months, I finally realized that I could do a lot to make sure this never happens to another human being. And that's when my life changed. I started speaking out. I was 20 years old. It was 33 years ago when I started speaking out. The sad part of my story is that it took my sister being raped for me to have this wake-up call. None of you need to wait for that kind of a phone call to do the right thing. You can all do the right thing today because it's who you are and you have the skill set to do it, unlike our generation did not. You now have the skill set to do that. Makes a big, big difference.