Okay, so Philadelphia Weekly is one of the 2 free weekly newspapers that pretty much everyone reads in Philly. In June, they announced that they would be doing a special issue on sexual abuse and they asked for people to tell their stories:

Joel and I both received a lot of positive feedback about our willingness to talk openly about what we were facing. The problem is that too often, survivors are paralyzed by a culture that silences, shames and blames them.

Philadelphia Weekly is dedicated to fighting against this. Which is why we need to hear from you—the survivor, the loved one, the advocate. We need you to tell your story, in your own words. To do so would help bring to light the one thing that’s missing from the national conversation: the reality of what it’s like to heal from the devastating effects of sexual abuse.

Contributors can disclose whatever details they choose about the abuse, but you should be prepared to write honestly about your experiences with healing. We encourage you to share the good and the bad because the primary goal of this project is to make it clear what it takes to get better.

And we’re looking for a diverse group of contributors—diverse in age, race, sexual orientation and socioeconomic background—in order to convey how universal this problem is. Joel comes from a white, working-class family in Delaware County. I am a multi-racial first-generation American. We will both be sharing our stories.

Essays and questions should be sent to: [email protected]

The deadline for submissions is: Friday, September 21

TL;DR: if you were the victim of sexual abuse, and are willing to share your story, please type it up and email it to [email protected] before 9/21/12.