WHAT WE DO
Empowering Catholic academic communities to create safer campuses and combat rape culture.
Dinah’s Voice is a student-focused, survivor-driven organization whose mission is to provide prevention information and consent education to Catholic academic communities, develop resources for survivors as well as improve administrative responses to sexual violence crimes.
We do this by engaging with students, offering support for survivors, and helping the institution’s communty improve upon the safety and well-being of the student body with the implementation of positive policies. We also seek to provide resources compatible with Catholic theology to change a culture of sexual violence that is pervasive within academic environments.
STUDENT EMPOWERMENT
Students are our main focus and the very ones we want to empower to change the culture on their campuses, especially among their fellow peers.
ADMINISTRATIVE ENGAGEMENT
We want to help administrators create safer policies and protections for students in a manner that is compatible with Catholic theology.
COMMUNITY COOPERATION
An academic community includes the students, the staff, the local population, and the alumni. All these facets of the community should have a voice that is heard when it comes to improving campus safety and awareness.
CHURCH INVOLVEMENT
We want to help church leaders and organizers understand sexual violence and initiate conversations about it, in order to create a church culture where survivors feel safe coming forward.
CHANGING THE INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE
One step at a time
Institutional commitment to education and human dignity must be the starting point for any meaningful change to occur around the stigma of sexual violence in the survivors of these crimes.
EDUCATION
Students should be informed about their rights and options under Title IX and the Clery Act.
FAITH
Survivors have spiritual needs and should be welcomed by their pastors.
HUMAN DIGNITY
Victims of sexual violence should be treated with respect during investigations.
HUMAN SEXUALITY
Providing consent education does not contradict Catholic teachings on sexuality and should be provided.
IT’S NOT JUST A LEGAL MATTER
Basic Gospel values
Following legal directives and implementing proper response protocol to sexual violence, while extremely important, do not go far enough in promoting the Gospel values that Catholic institutions are founded on and espouse. We must collaborate to create communities that promote the flourishing of all and the protection of survivors of sexual violence. Silence in the face of these crimes will only wound.
INITIATIVE
Let people know that it’s ok to talk about it, it’s ok to report it, and it’s ok to come forward. Fear should never be a reason to not report.
PREVENTION
Provide students with the tools and resources they need to be aware of red flags in their relationships with others.
RESPECT DIGNITY
People are called to uphold the dignity of victims of sexual violence and support them charitably in the aftermath of an attack.
ADVOCACY FOR ALL
The Gospels call us to offer charity and aid to all those who need it. Communities should be encouraged to be advocates for safer campuses and students.
Latest Posts
Disastrous changes headed for Title IX protections of sexual violence survivors
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will soon publish a new draft of the Title IX rules which govern campus sexual assault cases. The rule changes have been made to provide further[…]
Read more
What we can learn from Native Americans about feminism and rape culture
The White Woman’s Envy History is written by the victors…and victors don’t like to laud the praises of the people they’ve crushed. As descendants of Western colonizers, we tend to[…]
Read more
We Can Be A Voice
I love Catholicism. I’ve studied it since I was five. It has grown with me. The longer I write, the more people I meet and the smaller this Catholic world[…]
Read more
Contact us
Reach out to Dinah’s Voice at info@dinahsvoice.org or use the form below