Highlighting CSA at your events

Thank you for helping us #UndoTheTaboo around Child Sexual Abuse. It takes 7 times for a person to hear a new message before they start to pay attention to it. So every mention counts, big or small.

Our objective is to make talking about Child Sexual Abuse as routine and matter-of-fact as breast cancer awareness or teaching children to cross the street. We want it to be in the minds of every parent and caregiver in an easy, comfortable way that is prevention-focused. We also want every child to know what inappropriate touching, viewing and photography is, and that it’s okay and important to tell a safe adult if these things are happening to them or someone they know.

To accomplish this, we must begin with repeat public exposure to the topic of Child Sexual Abuse. Only familiarity can break the taboo around this subject so that we can begin educating parents and communities, and empowering kids, en mass.

Here’s where you come in.

Below are three basic focal points for helping us #UndoTheTaboo. You can focus on any or all of these points during your show (depending on how long your event is):

• Drive home the need for us as a society to become more informed about child sexual abuse,
• Share key child sexual abuse statistics and/or prevention tips, or
• Say that you are “a proud partner of The Fiona Project, a music and arts movement dedicated to child sexual abuse prevention and healing” and tell your audience why this is important to you.

“I still don’t know how to work these points into my set list”

First you need to be informed. Once you understand the basics of CSA, a few quick prevention strategies, and the challenges CSA survivors face, it will be much easier for you to figure out how to work the topic into your events.

#1 – One of the easiest ways to broach the subject of CSA is to use an intro to a specific song. For example:

• Plan a song that is empowering for survivors. In your intro, you could mention that you have recently partnered with The Fiona Project and you know how hard it is for survivors to recover from Child Sexual Abuse. Dedicate the song to the survivors in the world and their healing. Make the song your contribution just to say that you stand with them in their journey and that you care. Great songs for survivors talk about self-worth, healing from pain or betrayal, having faith, knowing they are not alone, mentioning their struggle, or something supportive saying that we stand by them or we believe them.
• Plan a song about the struggle of emotions, dark thoughts, pain of betrayal or something similar. In the intro to your song, share some CSA statistics and the affect CSA has on survivors over the course of their lives (drugs, PTSD, anxiety, promiscuity, physical illness, etc.). It’s a life-long healing process. Bolster the need for us all to become more aware, educated and responsible for protecting our children from sexual abuse, etc., so this doesn’t happen to them. Make a statement about how this song is for survivors and you are sorry that they have ever had to struggle with this.

#2 – Depending on the venue, it can be just as easy to simply state that you recently joined our moment and are a “proud partner of The Fiona Project, a music and arts movement dedicated to child sexual abuse prevention and healing”. Then drop a statistic or a prevention tip and mention that you are using your platform as an opportunity to help #UndoTheTaboo so that we collectively become aware and start protecting children from child sexual abuse.

As an example: We had a partner who played at the Times Square subway station as part of the Music Under NY program. All night, they just kept plugging us and dropping CSA statistics/prevention tips every 3-4 songs. They said they had a terrific response! People came and picked up several of the quarter-page hand-outs and several people stopped after their sets to thank them for supporting this cause and say how much that meant to them. Wow!

In our experience, the example above seems to be the rule not the exception. Someone will speak to you afterwards and thank you, even if all they can do is look you in the eye and nod. You will know why. Just speak from the heart and let the chips fall where they may.

As you add this message into more of your programs, you will quickly find what works best for you

It may take some effort to hone your spiel, but it’s worth it. Our mission is being achieved one mention at a time whenever CSA is brought into the awareness of our concert-goers. Never underestimate what your participation might mean to some of your fans. You might be surprised at the response you receive.

Thank you again for standing up for this important cause, and for helping us to #UndoTheTaboo together!

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