The Good, Bad, & Ugly of Trying to Get Supporters for A Walk For A Change

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If you follow my blog, you know that I was raped by my roommate, this year, 2016 on (the early morning of) February 14th.

Trying to cope with this has been and continues to be a major struggle for me. When I am better, I fully intend to be an advocate. And I’m not just talking about helping other rape victims, I am also talking about changing laws!

But for now, I can barely function on a daily basis. When I saw that BARCC (Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, they have been and are continuing to help me) was having a walk on April 10th to raise money, I immediately wanted to be apart of it. That was /is something that I CAN do right now to help others. So I will be walking with one of my dog’s on April 10th.

Now, before I say anything, I want to say that I currently have a lot of people who are supporting me (not for the walk, I mean in general ) . And for that I am greafull and feel extremely fortunate.

Now, I am not big on social media. I have never done anything to raise money before (except when I was a little girl selling girl scout cookies ). This cause means so much to me. I am extremely passionate about it. On Facebook, there are only 1-3 people that I don’t personally know. Everyone else is from high school, college, previous jobs, family, or friends.

I thought that since. ..well, no one supports rape, that I would be able to get some sponsors. Well, I only got a few (and I am eternally grateful for them!!!) Additionally, for my first and second post, I received very. ..very few likes. Now, I know this might sound so high schoolish, but I normally would never take something like that personally. First, let me say, that I am also eternally grateful for! I know that some people cannot give money, but just liking the cause ment so much to me, and made me so happy.

But of all my friends and family (not direct family, they are ALL already supportive and have made that known) that support was few and far between. And I am not just talking about the sponsoring me for the walk.

Last week, my brother’s fiancé suggested that I say that BARCC directly helps me with my rape. Initially I didn’t want to. But the 10th of April is coming up and I really want to reach my goal. So I did.

The result, no likes, no response, no supporters (and of course, anyone who previously did any of those, in person, online, or supported my walk, this does not apply to ). The thing that upsets me the most is that it was one thing before I disclosed that I was raped and that BARCC was helping me. Now that I have and nothing. …this makes me think that these people don’t care about rape. And if people who personally know me (family and friends ) don’t care, then how in the hell are we supposed to get society to care enough to change the laws and make the consequences of rape more strict, and make it easier to convict rapists. Look at the statistics, a very small percentage of rapists go to trial, and even less are convinced.

And all those who are worried about false accusations and non rapists going to jail. …that is 2% which is the exact same for ALL other crimes, so why can’t we change the laws on rape?

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I am sad and disheartened. But at the same time grateful for the family and friends who are supporting me through this awful time. I’m normally not very good at keeping in touch with people. I have health problems. I am sick a lot and when I make plans, I have to cancel a lot. I have lost close friends over this. Going through what I am going through now, I am never EVER going to forget who is here for me, and I am always going to make an effort to stay in touch. I feel very special.

As for the rest, especially my “family ” (again, I am NOT talking about my immediate family ) just because we share the same blood. ..doesn’t mean s*#@! If I ever saw a post like I posted from a family member, I would send them a message. And of course, I am talking about active FB people.