Page 4 - Break the Silence 2020 Program

A MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR
Dear Friends and Community Partners
Welcome to the 3rd annual Break the Silence Speaker Series event, benefiting Our VOICE, Buncombe County’s sexual assault crisis and prevention center. Sexual violence, including sexual harassment, is one of the most underreported crimes in our nation. Though there is much to overcome, a shift is occurring.
This is a pivotal moment in our country’s history and for the anti-sexual violence movement. The #MeToo Movement shattered the silence that often shrouds sexual violence. It showed us that no community is immune and, according to the statistics, someone we know, someone we love, has been impacted.
Understanding that sexual violence is a crime about power and control, Time’s Up believes that by changing culture, companies, and laws we can “create a society free of gender-based discrimination in the workplace and beyond.” This is a solution-based, action-oriented next step from #MeToo, believing that everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender, or income level has the right to be safe on the job and an equal opportunity
for economic success and security.
While Time’s Up was formed in 2018, we are already seeing an impact. A recent CBS News poll indicated that “[t]wenty-nine percent of working women say they’re more likely to report sexual harassment in the workplace than they were before #MeToo and Time’s Up.”
Our VOICE is proud to be a driving force
here in Asheville, helping make a difference
through our prevention education,
outreach, and advocacy programs. We are proud to stand beside and advocate for survivors of sexual violence and human trafficking on their journey toward healing. However, we cannot do it alone and certainly not without your support. Thank you for joining us today and standing in solidarity with survivors, and in our call for communities to be free of sexual violence.
With our deepest gratitude,
Angélica Wind
Executive Director, Our VOICE