The Choose Respect March is a statewide initiative to combat Alaska’s high rates of sexual assault and domestic violence. In Sitka, the march ended in speeches by student activists. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)
People in 170 communities across Alaska took to the streets today (3-26-15) for the Choose Respect March, a statewide effort to end domestic violence and sexual assault. In Sitka, about 150 participants from the Sitka School District and Mt. Edgecumbe High School gathered in Totem Square at noon and marched down Lincoln Street.
Julia Smith is the Prevention Director for Sitkans Against Family Violence. She said, “According to statewide statistics and the victimization survey, close to 60 percent of women have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault in their lifetime. And that same survey was conducted just here in Sitka in 2012 and that number is up at 47%.”
“I Choose Respect because…” is a new campaign by Sitkans Against Family Violence. Students wrote down their reason and posed for a photo. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)
“So I think what we’re hoping is that healthy relationships become the norm. That respect becomes the norm. And that talking about domestic violence is the norm. It’s not something to hide. It is something we as a community need to openly talk about and openly stand up against.”
Among the speakers were Sitka High junior Debbie Yearwood, who is involved in efforts to bring a male-focused program to Sitka, whereby athletic coaches lead weekly talks with their young male athletes about building healthy, non-violent relationships. Coaching Boys into Men was successfully implemented in Juneau four years ago.
In her speech, Mt. Edgecumbe junior Reba Dundas said, “According to futureswithoutviolence.org, 1 out of 3 Native American and Alaskan Native women will be raped. And this is just the number of those who are recorded. Mt. Edgecumbe has a large number of Alaskan Native students, where roughly 300 females students reside who are primarily Alaskan Native. So if you think about it, approximately 100 of my classmates – including myself – have the chance of being raped or had been raped. If this isn’t bad for you, I don’t know what is.”
“She was finally able to get/The one thing she truly needed/The word known as/Respect.” Carena Pettit dedicated a poem to her sister, a survivor of domestic abuse. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)
Carena Pettit, a student at Pacific High School, read a poem dedicated to her sister, a survivor of domestic abuse.
To listen to her poem, click the play button below.
Carena’s Poem
One name, that was the start
As subtle as it was, she took it to heart.
Every day it slowly got worse,
The words, the actions,
They all took their course.
They would chuckle, snicker, and laugh.
Invisible tags on her skin
They all had their own list for her
And she took it all in.
Walking up the stairs, she would look back.
She would plot and ponder if her fall on them would make her snap.
There was no apparent light for her
No one gave her respect.
A long list of bad names was all she could get.
She took the large plummet down, straight into the dark
No one gave support to her, except for one faint spark.
As she wallowed and gave in
They helped her up
Lifting her broken spirit
They demanded she didn’t give up.
These were the people who had known her
The ones who helped her get
What she really needed
The word called respect.
Once she saw it clearly
She grabbed and held it tight.
From then on, she would demand respect
She would put up a fight.
Weeks went by and she grew in power
Everyone around her gave respect every hour.
On her podium she stood
No longer afraid.
She now had respect with her
And that would never fade.
A survivor she is of respect-less oppression
But she put that behind her and lived away from it every session.
It started with a word.
It ended with a word.
There was nothing less that she deserved.
Now she can smile, laugh, be happy
Because she was finally able to get
The one thing she truly needed
The word known as
Respect.
Click here to see photos of this year’s Choose Respect March around the state.
