*[Image of a field of purple lupines at dusk, with a single pine tree and the small silhouette of a person standing far in the background, blending in with the lupine blooms. Photo by Mia Mingus]*

CALL FOR STORIES

The Living Bridges Project is an anonymous story-collecting project documenting responses to child sexual abuse.

The goal of the Living Bridges Project (LBP) is to create a collection of responses to child sexual abuse (CSA). Through anonymous audio stories, LBP hopes to document the ways that everyday people have responded to child sexual abuse, in all kinds of ways. Hopefully these stories will inspire and support others in their responses to CSA and offer a resource of hope, creativity and possibility.

LBP will document all kinds of stories (they do not have to be "success stories"), and in particular LBP seeks to find stories of how people attempted to respond to child sexual abuse in ways that were generative instead of destructive, since these stories are harder to find. Even if the outcomes were not successful, LBP hopes to capture the often invisible and intentional work to break cycles of violence and abuse within individuals, families, and communities as well as the complex and challenging reality of what it means to respond to CSA in our lives.

These stories will be made available at LivingBridgesProject.com to serve as a resource for those responding to CSA in their own lives and as a tool for those of us organizing to end CSA.

WHO: LBP is looking for stories from survivors, bystanders/community members and people who have done CSA, (knowing that these groups are not mutually exclusive), from anywhere in the U.S. and of any background and identity.

All stories will be anonymous and recorded in person. Storytellers are welcome to choose not to have their voices on the recording, just let us know when you contact us. Storytellers are also welcome to share in pairs or with a support person present.

WHERE: LBP is based out of Oakland, CA, and can collect stories from anywhere in the U.S. Check-out our Map to view the places LBP has confirmed stories. Please share this Call for Stories so LBP can reach as many storytellers as possible.

STORIES: LBP is looking for all kinds of stories from the transformative to the spectacular failures; from large-scale interventions, to the small, everyday things we did to help each other stay safe, take accountability and heal. LBP is not only looking for success stories, but any attempted response, no matter how fruitful they were--or not. There is a lot to learn from the things that didn’t go well and those stories are incredibly important to share too. When it comes to CSA, the bar is set so low that even small successes mean a lot: survivors being supported by the people they disclosed the abuse to; offenders not denying the abuse they’ve done and/or seeking help; bystanders who acted in protective and supportive ways to stop the abuse; parents/guardians responding to CSA (real or perceived) in their child’s life that was generative, rather than destructive.

No matter how big or small, or how “successful” our efforts were, we can learn from these responses as a whole, as well as the different pieces and stages they involve (e.g. preparation, follow-up, confrontation, disclosure/breaking the silence, accountability, healing).

On average the recordings sessions are 1.5 hours, depending on how long the story is.

WHEN: LBP currently has funding until the end of 2017. LBP will work to collect as many stories as possible in this time, but please note that we have limited travel funds. LBP will continue after 2017 with or without funding.

CONTACT: If you are interested in sharing a story please contact LBP.

For more information, visit the LBP Frequently Asked Questions page.