Shana Chaikin Talks about Sexual Abuse Advocacy

On April 2nd, students and faculty members heard Shana Chaikin, a survivor of sexual assault at the age of 16, speak about her advocacy work for CONNSACS (Connecticut Sexual Assault Crime Services). Connecticut is currently one of several states that has recognized the importance of working with both the offenders and the victims and has developed a full range of comprehensive programs and services addressing both the immediate and long-term needs for survivors of sexual assault.

Shana began her discussion with a moving description of her own assault and the long and difficult journey of her own healing, including some of the complex issues that she has personally confronted over the past 15 years. Her commitment to advocacy work began over 9 years ago when Shana became involved with SAVVI (Sexual Assault Victims Volunteer Initiative), a not-for-profit advocacy agency affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital. She became an advocate for women who had come to the emergency room for treatment right after their assaults. From there, Shana went on to become a spokesperson for SAVVI, training others to become advocates for sexually abused women. She now sits on the board of SAVVI and facilitates school-based workshops that raise awareness and consciousness for young adolescents. Her current work with CONNSACS involves working directly with the victims, but also acting as the ‘voice’ of the victims with the perpetrators in groups and court proceedings. Shana described some of the professional confidentiality conflicts that she confronts regularly as well as the transference and counter-transference issues that occur for her. She is a strong advocate for supervision and agency support for workers who are confronting ethically challenging issues in the workplace. Wurzweiler hopes to welcome back Shana Chaikin at a future date.