Post 8

My name is Stephanie and I am a thriving survivor of sexual abuse. My life is filled with joy and happiness despite my past. I am a full time university student with the goal of becoming a professional psychologist. My intent is in helping as many survivors of sexual violence as I can because there is nothing more beautiful then seeing a victim transform into a survivor. I stand up for survivors in every way that I can wether it's doing fundraisers for sexual assault centers, being a friend to other survivors, or petitioning to speak about it on the Dr. Phil Show. (You can join my fight to get on Dr. Phil here on my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=124324194260583&%3Bref=ts) Fighting this epidemic brings so much joy in my life.

I have many hero's in my life and every one of them brings me an immense amount of joy. One of these hero's is a woman named Mariska Hargitay, she was the first person to shine a light in the darkness that had become my life. During my depression all I could manage to do was watch tv, but this ended up being what saved me. I quickly got into the show Law & Order Special Victims Unit and this is how Mariska entered my life. She plays detective Olivia Benson on the show and for those who are unaware of what the show is about, she plays a detective who works on sexual assault/child abuse cases. I became engrossed in the show and I still am to this day. I became an extreme fan of Mariska's not only because of her character on the show but also because of her true character. Because of the show and the character she plays, the statistics of sexual violence and child abuse was thrown right in her face. She was appalled with what she was learning and quickly ran to action. She created the Joyful Heart Foundation who's mission is to heal, educate and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse and to shed light into the darkness that surrounds these issues. Joyful Heart has so much to offer from incredible healing retreats in Hawaii as well as local Urban retreats for survivors, they educate others on these topics, they spread awareness and they provide resources for those in need of help. A resent mission Mariska has taken on with the Joyful Heart Foundation is to eliminate the backlog of rape kits. In 2009 over 20,000 rape kits nationwide were never sent to crime labs to be tested and thousands more that were sent to crime labs sit there for years waiting to be tested. Mariska even met with members of Congress at the white house to urge efforts to reduce the rape kit backlog.

These are just some of the reason why this heroic woman brings me joy. It's because of her that you are reading these words that I write, it's because of her that I finally stood up and took my life back, it is because of her that I have all this passion burning in my soul. My ultimate goal in life is to work with Mariska in expanding the Joyful Heart Foundation to Canada. I will fight till I take my last breath to make this a reality and not just a dream. That is what brings joy to my life.

You can follow my blog at http://survivingvoice.blogspot.com/

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