Girl Rising

On June 6th we are going to Girl Rising. The film is being show at  Interquest Stadium 14 (Screen TBD) 11250 Rampart Hill View, Colorado Springs.

Get your tickets here. Hurry, they are going fast!

Bring Out Your Inner van Gogh

On Tuesday we are at Painting with a Twist!  Please bring your friends and family, we would love to have them join us. There class is limited to just fifty people, so please remember to sign up! 

RSVP here. 

We will see you on Tuesday! 

Response to Steubenville

There has been a lot of attention recently on the two high schoolers in Ohio charged with the rape. The boys, sentenced in juvenile court, could serve up to  (only) five years for their crime.

The rape was horrific and unimaginable, as the boys posted videos and bragged about their assault to others. The victim only learned she was raped because of their pompous behavior.

From the AP:

"The accuser said she believed she was assaulted when she later read text messages among friends, saw a photo of herself from that night and watched a YouTube video in which a student cracks jokes about the alleged rape just hours afterward. She said she suspected she had been drugged because she couldn't explain being as intoxicated as defense witnesses have said she was."        

What has really caught our attention, however, is the media’s response to this. In most of the TV interviews/stories/etc. it is the boys who are treated as the victims! More people are concerned that the boys’ “promising football careers” has ended then they are by the boys’ actions of drugging, raping and broadcasting their assault!

This incident highlights for us the need to address the deep and perverted rape culture in our society.

The boys chose to do what they did and it seems like most believe they should be immune to the actions because of their athletic potential. The media is not disgusted by their actions, by their lack of humanity, by their cruelty or lack of respect for their victim. What is a promising football career to all of that? Their actions should be seen as repugnant and disgraceful. They are in no way a victim here. 
 

The only victim is the 16-year-old girl they raped. Period.

 

Rape is never the survivor’s fault. It does not matter how much she drank, what she was wearing, where she was walking, who she trusted, etc. The simple reality is that rape is the assault of one person by another. We need to put the action on the perpetrators (the boys in this case), see them as responsible – the only reason this assault occurred! And look at the victim with nothing but compassion, understanding and support.

The media’s response to this event sickens us. We are encouraging people who hear remarks on this case that only focus on the boys and make no mention of the girl’s life that was forever changed as well – to stand up, to call or email those stations and ask why they are defending those who commit rape and leaving out those affected.

One such action is happening at Change.org where people are demanding CNN apologize for their extremely vile coverage that focused on the boys and their lack of a football career due to this sentence (as if it was being done to them and notbecause of their actions), while ignoring the reality that their actions have changed a girl’s life forever and she is the victim in this situation.

These are the conversations LTHF hopes to help facilitate around the community. Take time and help us get the word out about who the true victim in this situation is. Speak out against co-workers who don’t understand why the boys are being held accountable, who only see their football careers ending. Mention the girl! Ask how they feel about what the boys did. It starts with a small voice, but if we all speak together we can help launch a discussion on rape culture and hopefully create a space where victims are properly identified and perpetrators are held accountable for their decisions.

International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day. According to the UN, "It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national,ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women. (link)"

We take a day to celebrate the amazing achievements of women, to look at how far we have come and yet, how far we still have to go. For us, this is a day to stand up for the accomplishments that have been made for women in the area of abuse - being able to call on the police for help, the laws that help prosecute those who abuse, the protections for women getting out of abusive situations, the attention and advancements that are being made for those being sold. We stand with communities who chose to not accept the abuse of girls and women and take a stand! We also cry out for our sisters around the world who suffer under the kind of discrimination and silence that we in the U.S. have fought so hard to eradicate. It is a day of celebration, but it is also a day to call attention to the fact our work is far from over.

In our community, we will be attending Local Women Making an International Impact, a program being sponsored, in part, by our dear friends at Zonta.

We want to acknowledge women who are making an impact. 

• The mother working to provide the best life possible for her kids. Whether it is in or out of the home, we celebrate the woman who is giving her all to her kids, who laugh, cry, play and clean-up after the little ones who bring her so much joy. 
• The mother whose children are out of the home, who is getting back into the workforce, trying to forge her own way and make a name for herself.
• The woman who continues to give through mentorship, volunteering, etc. helping to shape the lives of younger women. 
• The female CEO, Executive, Board Member, etc. The process of women becoming equal in the workplace has been a struggle, and while still not finished, there is nothing women can't do! We have made it into executive offices, the military, Congress, and every realm in between. 
• The military member serving her family, sacrificing time with them, putting herself in harm's way, defending our freedom and increasing the freedom of others. We also celebrate the moms who have to hold down a home while their spouse serves. Their sacrifice is no less demanding, and we celebrate the woman who keeps things going while their loved ones serve far away.
• The woman dreamers, givers, lovers and fighters. Women who give, dream, push and inspire us to keep going, keep giving, keep trying, keep loving. Without these women we would be lost, without them LTHF would just be a great idea but because of them we put it into action. 

Take some time to celebrate the amazing women in your life. Take a moment to tell them, to thank them and to tell others about the advancements of the women you admire that have done so much for you.

One Billion Rising

Advocacy Day: Today there are one billion rising to end violence against women!

Human trafficking is a form of violence.

While many today will be rising to fight domestic violence and sexual assault, we want to include human trafficking in the dance as well.

It is the violation of women and children's freedom of choice. It is rape for money. It is exploitation.

Let's stand & DANCE and say enough is enough for those who are being raped and sold and used for the benefit and pleasure of another.

What Sarah Can Show Us

Did you know that human trafficking happened in the Bible? 

Actually, it happened a lot more than you might think...

Take, for example, Sarah. Sarah was the wife of Abraham. Abraham and Sarah left everything behind to travel to Canaan. The story of God’s relationship with them is extraordinary, but not without its humanness and failure.

Abraham prostitutes his wife not once but twice. Both times out of fear. 

The first time was when they entered Egypt. Sarah was apparently very beautiful (the Bible tells us so in Genesis 12:11). Abraham feared that he would be killed by someone who wanted his very lovely wife, and so tells Sarah, “Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you. (Gen. 12:13).” He did not say, ‘say you are my sister so we do not become separated’ or ‘say you are my sister so that we may both live.’ Instead he asks Sarah to lie so he may be treated well and have his life spared. 

After they enter Egypt, Abraham hands his wife over to Pharaoh. Abraham was indeed treated well and his wife was taken into Pharaoh’s palace.

The second time, in Genesis 20, was when Abraham and Sarah moved to Gerar. The king of Gerar found Sarah very lovely and once again Abraham handed his wife off to another man to save himself. 

We don’t know what happened to Sarah in Pharaoh’s palace. The Bible does not say how long she was there. In Gerar, we know nothing transpired between her and the king and that Sarah was returned to Abraham the next day after God spoke to the king in a dream.

Twice Sarah was handed over to another man by her husband. Fear can be as much of a coercive measure as force. Abraham chose to rely on his wife’s beauty to save (and further) himself instead of trusting God’s hand in His life. 

But the story does not end there. In a sad twist of irony, Sarah herself became a trafficker in the life of her servant, Hagar. 

Sarah herself choses to force Hagar to lie with her husband in order to produce a child. This may have been “culturally acceptable” during that period, but culture often departs from what God says is good and right. The outcome of Sarah’s trafficking of Hagar produced pain and suffering for literally everyone concerned (Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and both of their children).   

The Bible rarely minces words about sin and human failure. With the story of Sarah and Abraham, we can cover up the parts of their story that make us uncomfortable, or we can use it as a teachable moment in our own quests to become people after God’s own heart, bringing His justice and righteousness to our fallen world.

Notice that God chose Abraham to be the father of a great nation. Abraham, a man who handed over his wife to other men, agreed to pressure to produce a child from another woman, and banished his firstborn to keep peace among his warring women. And God chose Sarah to be the mother of that nation. Sarah, a woman who was trafficked and who trafficked another person to bypass His plan. In spite of their deep failures, faithlessness and sin, God redeemed Abraham and Sarah. He is not daunted nor deterred by the mistakes people make.

God has an amazing way of bringing glory through deep pain, rejection and pride. Sarah’s story is tragic and yet inspiring. The betrayal she experienced by her husband, her pain at being barren, the toll of living a nomadic life, and her use of Hagar as a poor substitute for the failure of her faith, create a story of a complete person who we can relate to - someone who is imperfect and yet used by God for big and mighty things. When we look at Sarah in the entirety of who she is, we see the power of God’s grace and mercy. We see what can become of a life that is marred by such pain. We see how, in the end, the redemption of God works through pain to produce faith, courage, and strength.