Blog Evaluation Trident University
23 June 2013

I am going to talk to you about a growing issue which is plaguing the United States it is eating away at the very heart of our great nation. When we hear about this topic it is primarily known as women’s issues that some good men help out with. This is not a women’s issue this is a man’s issue, when we as men start to turn a blind eye we are just as guilty as the person committing the crime. The issue I am talking about is sexual violence, when given this assignment I had already been following a blog called Project Unbreakable. You see about six months ago I became a sexual assault victim advocate and I am nationally registered with the National Organization for Victim Assistance, although I work with military personnel I am certified to work with the civilian population. This essay is not only to evaluate a blog website but to ensure that the brave women who share their stories openly are heard and not silenced.
First let’s look at the writer of this blog and when she started blogging, the blog was started October two thousand and eleven. The writer of this blog is Grace Brown she is now twenty years old and is a photographer and public speaker from Massachusetts. Ms. Brown does extensive work with survivors of sexual assault, capturing them in photos holding a quote from their attacker. Ms. Brown has currently photographed over four hundred survivors and has received over a thousand submissions. The Project Unbreakable blog has between 13,000 and 14,000 followers and TIME magazine has named her blog one of the top thirty tumblr blogs to follow. Her blog is dedicated to empowering survivors of sexual assault by allowing them to reclaim the words that had been used against them by their attackers.
As you search through the blog you can see each Project Unbreakable image is that of a survivor who has written out the words that had been used by his or her attacker piece of paper. While the words on each survivor’s paper may vary, each one exemplifies how a survivor can take back the words that had been disempowering to them. While these still shots in time cannot change what has happened, they can bring focus to the strength and healing for survivors of sexual assault. Scrolling through the website, you get a visual representation of how sexual assault affects people from all different walks of life. It seems to me that the author’s goal is to demonstrate how sexual assault can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race, or age. Within this blog the photos help to dispel stereotypes about who is affected by sexual assault and assure survivors that they are not alone. As you see there are not many men in the project I believe that the reason for this is there is still huge stigma behind male sexual assault. I know at least in the military there is, it’s unfortunate because there are more sexual assaults on males in the military then females. Now the percentage is higher due to the demographics but if you look at the numbers of male on male it does surpass the number of male on female. In the mind of a male we have this fear that if people know that we were assaulted then it makes us look like less of a man makes us look weak. A lot of males in the military also think that it makes them look gay but when someone sexual assaults someone it’s not about sex it’s about power and taking the power away from someone else.
Sticking to the military for just one more second the United States is facing an epidemic of sexual assaults in the military. The DOD estimates that there were twenty six thousand incidences in two thousand and twelve, up from nineteen thousand in two thousand and ten. Due to a culture heavy on retaliation and light on prosecution, only thirteen and a half percent of those were reported. Military service is one of our nation’s highest callings so why is it that we in the military are hurting each other at greater numbers than the enemy overseas. What will it take for us to realize that this very act tears down a unit’s morale and hinders us from completing our mission?
The design of this blog is nothing glamorise it is simple and pleasant. I feel that the author was trying to keep it basic insuring that the focus was directed to the survivors and not the web page itself. By using a simple header and easy toned writing the author helps to capture the true essence of each individual person. If Ms. Brown was to add color different types of images to include advertisements I think it would have taken away from the true meaning and purpose of the site and that is empowering the survivor. The blog is easy to navigate as you scroll down the home page you can read the words that were used during each attack but at the top of the page you can click on submissions. This will take you to where you can read the letter that accompanied the picture when sent by email all of these emails are a sad and terrifying story.
Now bringing it back to the first statement I said about this being a woman’s issues that some good men help out with. I don’t see these as woman’s issues I see them as men’s issues not saying this is not an issue for women but we as men have an obligation to act. You see when woman are victimized people are quick to judge her asking what was she wearing, why was she drinking and what was she doing out that late. Why is it that when this happens nobody is looking at the offender, why are the questions not geared towards him? Here’s why because in our society today we are focused on the victim but here is what needs to happen, we have to start looking at the bystander.
The bystander is the key you cannot tell me that while the victim was out at the bar drinking nobody saw her getting to drunk, and they didn’t see the guy that was feeding her the drinks. All it would have taken is one man or woman brave enough to stand up and say something. This is the problem with most men I am not saying all but most men and that is when in a group we tend to not challenge other men. Here is an example we are sitting around a table and someone say’s a dirty joke about a woman most men would laugh or say nothing. That is our problem, if we say or do nothing that is a form of consent but if we approach the problem head on and tell them directly that kind to talk is not welcome around here then we just stopped that kind of thinking. All it takes is good men to affect change that’s how our children learn by watching us, if a father isn’t good enough to teach his son how to respect woman then who will. I am sorry I feel I have gotten off topic but I am very passionate about this topic however I do feel that this website is a great website and should be viewed by everyone.

References:
Grace Brown. (October 2011) Project Unbreakable
http://projectunbreakable.tumblr.com/