The Message that Started it All

On December 18th, I received the following message:

I saw your video and gotta say it shook me to the core not because its a race issue but the abuse of authority. I was raped by an officer in May.I had a rape kit done and over 40 injuries documented. My case will never see a court room. Why? Because the “good old boys club” prosecutor told my attorney that they would charge me until I went to prison if I didn’t drop my suit against the city. I was a registered nurse, college educated, married with children christian. Your video validates that things aren’t what we always see.. My attorney told me justice is seldom about the truth. Good Luck with your endeavors.. you have my support.

The sense of injustice was overwhelming.

Normally, I’m not that emotional. But this story really affected me. I showed my fiance the message. We sat in the studio and cried. I was so angry, I couldn’t think straight… not just at what happened, but that the people who did it would get away with it. I decided to fight back with the only weapon I had – music. They might think they got away with it, but we would tell the world what they did. And when they saw her standing there, facing them, defiant, they would know that they lost.

Part 1: The Song

The goals of the song are to:

Show survivors speaking out in their own voice
Encourage future survivors to speak out
Raise money to support survivors
Reduce incidents of sexual assault by raising awareness

The lyrics of the song will discuss issues and incidents related to sexual assault and the chorus will feature the actual voices of sexual assault survivors.

Part 2: The Video

The goals of the music video are to:

Portray survivors in a positive light
Provide a safe platform for them to raise their voice
Show future survivors that they are not alone
Redefine existing stereotypes

We will showcase survivors throughout the video by using video clips and still photos. And on the chorus, survivors will be shown singing / speaking their parts.

Part 3: The Campaign

Once the song and the video are completed, the hard part begins. That’s when we need to get the word out and tell people about this video.

It’s not just the people who are aware of the issue that need to see it… it’s all the people that perpetrate these crimes. They need to know that the entire world knows what they did, and that they will always bear the shame of their evil and cowardly deeds.

But before any of this can happen, we need your help!

Co-Star in this Video!

We need amazing survivors like you who would like to be featured during the chorus of the video. It’s a great opportunity to inspire others, and it’s a very simple process:

Download the beat and the lyrics
Record yourself performing the song
Upload your recording and send us the link
You will be added to the song and video

Share Your Message

If you would like to be in the video, but don’t want to try your hand at singing or rapping, don’t worry, we have the perfect thing for you. You can still make a huge impact by sharing your message with others. All you have to do is:

Write a message down on a piece of paper
Tag it #IAMBRAVE or #EndingSilenceNow
Take a picture or a video of yourself holding it
Send it to us and we will add it to the video

Spread the Word

If you are a survivor, please consider participating as a co-star or by sharing a message. If you know someone who might be interested in participating in this project, please tell them about it. And if you have any questions, please let us know.

Without you, this project won’t succeed. We need your help!

Yes! I want to be in the video for Tell the World

If you would like to participate, please send an email to Tell@RobHustle.com with the subject “Tell the World.” In the email, please let us know how you would like to participate, and we will follow up shortly with instructions. THANK YOU!!!

JoAnn Buttaro

Sexual Assault Activist and Volunteer RAINN Speaker

JoAnnSpeaksOut.com

I am a date rape survivor who has successfully completed counseling/treatment for PTSD and seen my attacker through two trials resulting in convictions for sexual assault and rape and him being sentenced to Life in prison. He is described as one of the worst date rapists in this country.

Since 2009 I have spoken about my story to victim advocacy training groups, on college campuses and Take Back the Night events in hopes that it can help others heal.

I have been interviewed and appeared in a one-hour ABC News special and an Investigation Discovery Channel documentary episode of “Very Bad Men”. Each focusing on my attacker and my experiences from the date rape through the counseling, trials and what’s on the other side of it.

I am a member of the RAINN Speakers Bureau and the UC Irvine Speakers Bureau which includes Orange County, CA and a Women’s Media Center SheSource expert.

My goal is to continue to speak out on social media and publicly wherever I am needed. This is a direct reaction to all the help and support that was provided to me. I also want to be a voice for others that, for whatever reason, can’t speak out.

Mike Pistorino

Motivational and Keynote Speaker

MikePistorino.us

Mike Pistorino is a thriving survivor of childhood sexual abuse who is using his voice to empower survivors everywhere and stop sexual violence. Growing up in the Bronx, Mike was neglected by family as a young boy and taken in by a neighbor, who raped him repeatedly for years. Trapped by the abuse and the rage it created within him, Mike turned to drugs, which led him to homelessness, crime, jail, and eventually federal prison. As an adult, he completed rehab and was finally able to get help for the sexual abuse he had suffered as a child.

Today, Mike is the vice president of a multi-million dollar distribution business in Cleveland, Ohio, an avid runner and marathoner, and a married father of three. He is an outspoken champion for survivors, an unapologetic activist for the prevention of child sexual abuse, and a prolific public speaker. With powerful, unparalleled honesty and enthusiasm, Mike shares his story with audiences nationally and internationally, inspiring all who hear him to be champions for change in their own lives and communities.

Mike is a member of RAINN’s Speaker’s Bureau, the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center’s Speaker’s Bureau, and is the inaugural speaker’s bureau member for Matthew Sandusky’s Peaceful Hearts Foundation. Mike’s story has been featured as part of the Bristlecone Project through 1in6.org, and by the Foundation for Survivors of Sexual Abuse. Mike serves on the board of directors of Reinventing the Cycle, a nonprofit organization in Cleveland dedicated to empowering children to recognize and stop sexual abuse. Mike’s unforgettable message has helped organizations raise thousands of dollars, has inspired new policies regarding sexual abuse prevention, and has motivated countless survivors to seek help.

A powerful model of strength, courage, and resilience, Mike is dedicated to speaking out and sharing his story so that no other child suffers like he did.

Debbie Roberts

Editor, Ending Silence Movement

Ending Silence

DEBBIE ROBERTS wrote and published her first full colour magazine at age eight, well actually she copied the unrecognizable words from an Encyclopaedia, drew the pictures with crayons and bound the book together with ribbon. Since then, her writing skills have improved somewhat, and she likes to think her artistic ability has as well. Debbie finally completed grade twelve at age thirty and earned diplomas in both article writing and horticulture.

Born in Burnaby BC, she has lived in Kelowna with her husband for the last 27 years. If she’s not volunteering for Elizabeth Fry or painting yet another landscape, you can find her sitting in the garden contemplating which weed to pull next.

#EndingSilenceNow

The main goal of #EndingSilenceNow Movement is to decrease the waiting lists (currently 8 months) for Adult Trauma Therapy and to eliminate the fees attached making therapy available to all who need it.

Shira Tarrant

Author, Professor, Social Critic

ShiraTarrant.com

Shira Tarrant, PhD is an unconventional feminist redefining gender justice. A nationally recognized expert on sexual politics and contemporary culture, her books include Men and Feminism (Seal Press); Fashion Talks: Undressing the Power of Style (SUNY Press); When Sex Became Gender (Routledge); Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex, and Power (Routledge), and the forthcoming New Views on Pornography (Praeger).

Shira Tarrant’s commentary has been featured on global media including the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, NBC, Forbes, KCAL 9 News, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Denver Post, Sydney Morning Herald, and on radio stations in Los Angeles, New York, Berkeley, and Houston. Shira Tarrant has published with AlterNet, Jezebel, the Ms. Magazine Blog, Bitch magazine, BUST magazine, Huffington Post, and other publications. When not writing, researching, or hiking the Los Angeles trails, you can find Dr. Tarrant in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at California State University, Long Beach where she is an associate professor.