Secret Survivors: Using Theater to Break Taboos Surrounding Child Sexual Abuse Child sexual abuse affects at least 1 in 4 female-bodied and 1 in 6 male-bodied people. Yet due to social taboos, few survivors are able to share their stories publicly. Most never report their abuse to state authorities, and many never tell anyone.
Ping Chong & Co's "Undesirable Elements: Secret Survivors" uses theater, writing workshops, trainings and online media to encourage survivor healing and public awareness. The project features survivors telling their stories through dramatic narrative to: show that child sexual abuse is epidemic, represent the diverse ways it occurs, and discuss the reasons most survivors remain silent.
In this workshop, participants will view an excerpt of this work-in-progress. They will also complete writing exercises that were used in the script generating process, to understand how this work might be replicated in other cities. Finally, participants will discuss alternatives to state intervention in child sexual abuse cases, including viable models of community accountability, and learn how this theater production, with accompanying toolkits and workshops, can be used to engage communities in strategies to address child sexual abuse using a survivor-centered approach.
Sobrevivientes Secretos: usar teatro para romper tabús sobre el abuso sexual de niños Child sexual abuse affects at least 1 in 4 female-bodied and 1 in 6 male-bodied people. Yet due to social taboos, few survivors are able to share their stories publicly. Most never report their abuse to state authorities, and many never tell anyone.
Ping Chong & Co's "Undesirable Elements: Secret Survivors" uses theater, writing workshops, trainings and online media to encourage survivor healing and public awareness. The project features survivors telling their stories through dramatic narrative to: show that child sexual abuse is epidemic, represent the diverse ways it occurs, and discuss the reasons most survivors remain silent.
In this workshop, participants will view an excerpt of this work-in-progress. They will also complete writing exercises that were used in the script generating process, to understand how this work might be replicated in other cities. Finally, participants will discuss alternatives to state intervention in child sexual abuse cases, including viable models of community accountability, and learn how this theater production, with accompanying toolkits and workshops, can be used to engage communities in strategies to address child sexual abuse using a survivor-centered approach.
Ping Chong & Company was founded in 1975 by Obie Award winner Ping Chong to create and tour innovative works of theater and art that explore the intersection of race, history, culture, and technology in the modern world. Since 1992, the company has produced more than 40 works in the Undesirable Elements series, using community-specific, interview-based theater around the United States and abroad.
Secret Survivors is a new work in the Undesirable Elements series. Conceived in 2009 by Amita Swadhin, an educator, anti-violence activist, and incest survivor, the project currently features 5 survivors of child sexual abuse telling their stories through dramatic narrative.
Contact Information
Website:
http://www.undesirableelements.org/pages/secretsurvivors.html
47 Great Jones Street
New York ,
NY ,
10012