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S1 E11: I Saw Blue Flowered Curtains with Dawn
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Dawn was born and raised in Milwaukee. She graduated from The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with a Masters degree in Sociology. She currently works for the United Way of Grater Milwaukee and Waukesha County as the Director of Research and Evaluation, where she also serves as the Sexual Violence facilitator for the Teen Pregnancy initiative. She serves on the board for the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual assault (WCASA). She is a current Commissioner and Chair of the City of Milwaukee on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, and she is the Founding Chair of the Board for LOTUS Legal Clinic. Dawn is also an Adjunct Professor at the Alverno College, alumni of the Voices and Faces writers’ workshop, and a member of the RAINN speakers’ bureau.
Dawn’s story is very different than a lot of individuals; it revolves around stranger rape. A very small percentage of people are raped by someone they do not know. A very small percentage of survivors decide to speak up and give their voice to other victims of abuse. Dawn is one of them. She said she is lucky because her situation only happened one time. But she carries that trauma with her every single day of her life. Listen to her story in this episode of Unspoken: Conversations with Candace.
Episode highlights:
05:00 – I share the story over and over again because I think there is power in voice and I have the opportunity and ability to be vocal about what happened to me, and not everybody has that. I do it for other survivors who maybe don’t have the opportunity to share what happened to them.
18:42 – This is where my advocacy journey begins, because the first responder that came to the house, the very first thing he said to me was: “Why are you wearing a robe and why did you drink a glass of water? You’ve now ruined evidence that might help us catch these guys”. And that’s where my first incidence of victim blaming happened.
24:50 – Anybody who’s ever had a rape kit on knows that it is so traumatizing. Very necessary; I support it 100%. They would not have caught these guys without it. But it’s very, very invasive. It is probably one of the worst things that a survivor has to go through.
39:52 – The most important advice that I can give you is: if somebody discloses with you that something happened to them, the first thing you should say to them is: “I’m so sorry that that happened to you. I believe you. You can trust me.” Then you can ask questions.
41:50 – Information about some organizations and resources that help survivors – LOTUS Legal Clinic, RAINN, WCASA, Denim Day.
Contact info:
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