Going Viral! No More Bears

By: 
Rhonda Sciortino
Sandie Morgan

Sexual Assault Awareness month was in April, but we need to talk about it every month. It is important to the Foster Youth community for two reasons:

  1. Recognizing the issue and the pain it causes cannot be covered up. We must be an example to show them we can talk about it. Silence becomes a prison.

  2. Youth need to know they can be proactive! They can do something for themselves, for a friend, for their community.

One of my favorite new videos is a parody called “What if Bears Killed 1 in 5 People?” This 2 minute and 25 second video uses absurdity to communicate the message. Frankly, most of us won’t read an article entitled “1 in 5 People are Victims of Sexual Assault” and youth are even less likely to read something and pass it on to their community. They will watch a YouTube video. They will pass it on. We could see this video go viral.

So, here’s a quick conversation guide you can use with kids in your little world. (Yes, some of us need a script to start the conversation!)

  1. You: Hey, did you see the YouTube video that Jake Johnson from New Girl is in?

  2. 15 year old sitting on the sofa: (not looking up) No (no eye contact and no further response).

  3. You: It’s called “What if Bears Killed 1 in 5 People?” Hey, aren’t you going on that camping trip to Yosemite with the Foster Youth Camp program in June?

  4. 15 year old: Bears? (slows, pauses, returns to cell phone screen)

  5. You: Bears, yeah. What if they kill 1 in 5 people?

  6. 15 year old: (He’s a math whiz) That 7 people out of our group! (For those who are not math geniuses, that means his group has 35 kids in it.)

  7. You: uh. . .do you want the link?

  8. 15 year old (interrupting) I’ve got it. (Go back to line 4 – he was googling it before you could even ask and he found it while he was doing the math.)

  9. You: YouTube – or just google “What if Bears Killed 1 in 5 People?”

  10. 15 year old already has it running before you finish your sentence.

  11. 15 year old: Dude! No way! Laughing out loud and sending link to five friends.

  12. YOU: So, the bears are really eating people at the camp. . .

  13. 15 year old: ignoring you, suddenly quiets and is serious.

  14. You: Do you know someone among your friends that’s been the 1 in 5?

  15. 15 Year Old: whoa, Dude, that’s heavy. I dunno what to say to someone.

  16. You: Well, you could let them watch the video and ask if you can go with them to talk to a school counselor or their case manager. Here’s some tips I found when I googled it.

 

TIPS FOR BEING A GOOD FRIEND

  1. If it just happened, call your local hotline for assistance.

  2. If your friend just disclosed, it’s a sign he/she trusts you. Be trustworthy.

  3. Listen without comments. We all say stupid things when we don’t understand the situation. Think about this seemingly simple question: Was it late at night? You are just trying to make it easier to tell the story by engaging. The victim hears, “My friend thinks it was my fault and I should have known better than to walk the dog after dark even though it was only 7:30 in the evening.”

  4. Offer to go with them to tell someone who can help with resources for counseling and follow up to make sure they feel safe.

  5. Learn more about what to say and what not to say.

Here’s a good website that I liked: http://www.pandys.org/articles/tipsforfriends.html It even has a list of what NOT to say, but my favorite list is what you can say: What to say to a rape or sexual abuse survivor/

I'm sorry this happened to you.

It wasn't your fault.

You survived; obviously you did the right things.

Thank you for telling me.

I'm always here if you want to talk.

Can I do anything for you?

As a community, every day is a day to fight back against sexual assault. Step one is talking about it. 

Volume 6 Issue 11