Our 2022-23 Annual Report

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite books was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. My mother patiently read it to me every night until I knew it by heart. When the caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly, I was overjoyed every time. Just remembering how my mom would flap the pages of the book like a butterfly’s wings, animating the illustration and showing off the colors, makes me smile even now.

I get that same feeling when I think of this agency’s 2022-23 year. Not unlike Carle’s caterpillar, our agency went through a time of enormous transformation. In March of 2023, after 22 years as Foothills Alliance, we became First Light:  A 24/7 Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Resource Center. Now our name reflects what we’ve always been, a beacon of hope for survivors of sexual assault and child abuse in the Upstate.

While eating watermelons, cupcakes, cheese, and pears would certainly have been the easier route to transformation, our work was no less a labor of love. In 2022-23, the staff at First Light served more people than any year in our agency’s history, providing services to 1,637 primary and secondary survivors.

We conducted 423 forensic interviews and 74 forensic pediatric medical exams, helping law enforcement and DSS investigate cases of child abuse, neglect, sexual assault, and even homicide. Our staff and volunteers took 155 calls on our helpline, accompanied 67 individuals to the emergency room, and provided 4,933 minutes – the equivalent of over three days – of crisis intervention for individuals who were affected by interpersonal violence.

The best part is that, unlike the caterpillar, we did not labor alone. As we poured our time, expertise, and love into this community, so the community poured into us. We were honored to partner with the Anderson Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Anderson program which helped raise awareness and funds for our mission. Additionally, we had overwhelming support from our community at large, receiving generous gifts from individuals, local foundations, churches, and small businesses.

We hope you have delighted in our transformation as much as we have. Certainly, we could not have achieved it without your steadfast support. Even though we have transformed, we are like the caterpillar, still hungry. Hungry for the justice we can help bring to our children. Hungry for the healing we can give to our survivors. Hungry to achieve our vision of a trauma-informed community that empowers survivors of sexual assault and child abuse.

Until we achieve that vision, we’ll keep eating.

Why We Don’t Report

On April 25th, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Harvey Weinstein’s February 2020 convictions for one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree and one count of rape in the third degree.

The victims were Miriam Haley, whom Weinstein assaulted in 2006, and Jessica Mann, whom Weinstein assaulted in 2013. These two women – and the over 80 additional survivors who came forward in the wake of Weinstein’s arrest – endured a month-long trial. Jessica Mann in particular sat through a three-day-long cross-examination by Weinstein’s attorneys. In that cross-examination, Mann was forced to repeatedly recount the graphic details of her sexual assault while the defense attorney questioned her mental health.

To help prove their case, prosecutors asked the judge to allow testimony from four of Weinstein’s other victims, Annabella Sciorra, Lauren Young, Dawn Dunning, and Tarale Wulff. The judge permitted the evidence under a law that allows testimony about “prior bad acts” to show a pattern of Weinstein’s abusive behavior and to prove Weinstein’s intent.

The NY Court of Appeals ruled that it was an error for the trial judge to allow that testimony because Weinstein was not charged with Sciorra, Young, Dunning, or Wulff’s assaults. This, the Court of Appeals said, meant the jury was prejudiced against Weinstein and resulted in him receiving an unfair trial. As a result, the conviction was overturned. You can read the entire opinion, including the excellent dissenting opinions, here.

Prosecutors in this case are already preparing to retry Weinstein. In the meantime, Weinstein remains in jail on additional sexual assault convictions.

Many will say that the system failed the more than 80 women who came forward to show the world the dark truth behind the “casting couch” and Weinstein’s success. Really, though, the system worked exactly the way it was intended. Our justice system, set up by our Constitution, protects the rights of the accused first and foremost.

Because of that design, sometimes the legally and technically “correct” ruling is wrong. When that happens, we must remember that the ruling doesn't make Weinstein any less a predator. Nor does it lessen the bravery and tenacity of Annabella Sciorra, Miriam Haley, Jessica Mann, Lauren Young, Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff, and the many, many other women Weinstein victimized.

It can, however, have an unintended consequence. As it stands, out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, only 310 are reported to police. Compare that with 619 out of every 1,000 robberies that are reported. People are already unlikely to report sexual assaults for numerous reasons including fear of retaliation and fear that nothing will be done. When they see results like this, it can make them even more hesitant.

The women in this case spent years of their lives trying to get some semblance of justice for themselves and the many other women Weinstein assaulted over his long career. They relived their trauma on the witness stand in front of Weinstein and the national news media. They were repeatedly bullied and discredited – in the courtroom, in the media, and in their personal lives. And for their trouble, they have to do it all over again.

This is yet another in a long line of answers to the question: “Why didn’t you report?” If this is to be the outcome, my question is “Who would?”

This is not to say that you should not report your sexual assault. Regardless of the decision in this case, there is strength in your words and actions. In reporting your assault and speaking the truth, you can begin to reclaim your power, help prevent rapists from preying on future victims, and shed light on the true nature of your abuser. If you need help reporting, First Light is here. We believe you and are here to support you. If this case has been triggering or if you want to report your assault, our helpline is available 24/7 at 864-231-7273.

To our allies in the fight against sexual assault, thank you. By providing counseling services, compassionate listening, and access to hundreds of resources, your gift to First Light has an immeasurable impact on the lives of our clients. Through your support of our agency, we can help make a difference outside of the justice system.

Taylor Swift and the Rise of Artificial Intelligence

In early February, nude photos of Taylor Swift were posted to X (formerly known as Twitter). The usual argument followed:  women shouldn’t take nude pictures of themselves, and, if they do, they shouldn’t share them in a way that could be hacked or leaked. The catch was that these weren’t actually pictures of Taylor Swift. Someone used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create these photos and then shared them as if they were the real thing.

Artificial intelligence is “the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings”. But AI doesn’t simply exist. It is created by humans. It has to have a large amount of material to analyze to “learn”. This source material is known as “training data” and is often obtained through a process called “data scraping”. Data scraping is exactly what it sounds like – the process of collecting data or information from a website. AI uses that data to give us results when we ask it a question or give it a prompt.

There is plenty of debate about how to use AI. As with all new technology, there are pros and cons. AI can be a helpful tool, from spotting fake news to saving the bees. People with intellectual property to protect, however, often see AI as theft. For those of us working with people who have been exploited online, we see a threat to the safety and privacy of our children and ourselves.

Take, for example, the nude images of Taylor Swift. There are plenty of photos of both Taylor Swift and nude women available online. So, an AI platform was able to easily find and combine those images to create something new when asked. Taylor Swift did not consensually take or share nude photos of herself. However, there are nude photos of “Taylor Swift” on the internet without her consent. And Taylor Swift is not the only victim here. The person whose body was used in these photos – without their consent – is also a victim.

This is known as online sexual abuse and includes any type of sexual harassment, exploitation, or abuse that takes place online. It can include sending unwanted nude photos or videos, performing sexual acts on a webcam without the consent of the viewer, sharing private images or videos without consent, or grooming children for abuse on or offline. Even though online sexual abuse doesn’t take place in person, that does not make the abuse any less harmful. Additionally, each time the images and videos are shared online, those people are revictimized.

Much like Taylor Swift, there are endless photos of children online. Unfortunately, the same is also true of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), what most of us know as child pornography. What AI did to create nude photos of Taylor Swift, it can also do to create images of children being sexually abused.

Since these artificially created images are made of something that already exists, the AI platforms that create CSAM images had to have been trained on photos of real children being abused. Although data scraping should differentiate between ethical and unethical sources of material, it often doesn’t. Governments around the world are already paying close attention to this new issue and attempting to hold AI creators accountable. In the meantime, though, children are being exploited every single day in a new and terrible way.

A photo of any child’s face can be added to the body of another to create a very realistic picture of a child being subjected to sexual abuse. And once those images are on the internet, they are unlikely to come down. The FBI has already warned of an increase in AI-generated sextortion schemes. A quick Google search will show arrests for possession of AI-generated CSAM were made in multiple countries in 2023, with convictions from Australia to Charlotte, NC.

We cannot stop AI or internet predators, but we can give them less material to work with. Learning and teaching internet safety is key. First Light strongly recommends exercising caution when posting photos of your children on social media. If your children are online, teaching them good habits can also help keep them safe. We’ve created a list of safety tips for you to share and use with your kids.

While we may not be able to stop online predators, we can do our best to keep our children’s images out of the hands of people who would use AI to manipulate them in harmful ways. If you would like to talk to someone about keeping your children safe online, please reach out to us. And if you or someone you know has experienced this type of abuse and you need to talk, our helpline is available 24/7 at 864.231.7273.

Words Matter

I recently applied for a Venmo account for First Light. When you fill out your agency information, it asks you to include keywords that describe your organization to help people find you. I typed out each of the words and hit submit. It said I had an obscene word. I took the word “rape” out and resubmitted. Lo and behold, it worked.

Last year on Giving Tuesday, Meta suspended our account for reasons that were never fully clear to us. We assumed it was because we were posting too much in a short time. In truth, it turns out we were “shadow banned” for multiple posts with “obscene” language.

If you’re on social media – particularly video-heavy sites like TikTok and Instagram – you may have noticed people self-censoring words in unusual ways. “Sex” has become “seggs”. “Kill” has become “unalive”. “Rape” has been replaced by “grape”, the grape emoji, or “SA” which is a shortened (and censored) way to say “sexual assault”. If you do a quick Google search, you’ll learn that these people are trying to “beat the algorithm”.

For social media purposes, an algorithm is a set of rules, signals, and data that govern the platform’s operations. Certain words are banned by the algorithm, but no comprehensive list of these words exists. It is a process of trial and error to determine which words the algorithm doesn’t like.

Social media platforms have been waging war against violent content for years, so it makes sense that those companies would choose to censor words with violent connotations. This is especially true of “rape” which has become a threat to some and a joke to others. On the other hand, this censorship is making a subject that has been traditionally deemed inappropriate to discuss even more difficult to discuss on what should be a widely reaching, easily accessible platform.

The taboo existed long before social media came along. Out of every 1000 sexual assaults, only 310 are reported to law enforcement. 50 of those reports will lead to an arrest and only 28 will lead to a felony conviction. This statistic is always startling and indicative of so many things that are wrong with the way our current system is built. But more importantly, it shows that we are already wary of talking about this topic.

But it isn’t just the taboo of the rape and sexual assault. It’s also the taboo of certain body parts. Nearly every child (and adult!) has a nickname for their private parts. Well-meaning parents across the world have been helping children nickname their body parts for decades. And yes, these names can be cute and creative! But these nicknames are doing a disservice to our children.

Our laws in South Carolina are written in such a way that knowing the difference between something being “in” your body versus something being “on” your body can be the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor. If a child doesn’t have words  – doesn’t even understand that something can go “in” their body that way – then the State cannot pursue the maximum punishment for the offender. If we can give our children the appropriate words to describe their bodies, we give them a leg up in our current system. Because being able to prove that there was something inserted into a child’s body – however slight that insertion might be – can be the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor in South Carolina.

We don’t need code words and veiled innuendos when talking about rape or sexual assault. We certainly don’t need them when we’re talking about body parts. Because if we are going to make meaningful progress in sexual assault prevention and victim advocacy, we cannot be afraid to say the words that go along with it.

Want to learn how to talk to your children about their bodies? Give us a call or visit our Community Education page to learn more!

Acronyms and Awareness

When I started working at First Light, I joked that I needed a cheat sheet for the many, many acronyms that came with the job. For our agency alone, there’s the CAC (Child Advocacy Center) and STC (Sexual Trauma Center), VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) and VAWA (Violence Against Women Act), and TF-CBT (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to name a very few.

These are acronyms that are important to our work every day, and they can be confusing for anyone unfamiliar with their meaning. People like those who work at First Light speak in this shorthand that becomes a second language. But in April, one acronym stands above the rest:  SAAM.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and this year marks the 23rd nationally recognized SAAM! The first SAAM was coordinated by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center in 2001 drawing on years of advocacy and prevention work done across the country in the month of April. The purpose of SAAM is to raise awareness about the prevalence of sexual violence in our society and to educate people about how it can be prevented.

If you follow First Light on social media, you’ve very likely seen our posts about SAAM each April. Each year, SCCADVASA (South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault) chooses a theme for SAAM. This year’s theme is “It’s Your Move”. This campaign focuses on individual actions and choices to help prevent sexual violence. Each week in April, First Light and SCCADVASA will be using our social media platforms to educate our followers on different ways YOU can make a difference!

This week – April 1-7 – asks you to #ChooseRespect. Respect is the foundation of all healthy relationships. For example, as a society, we focus largely on what women should or shouldn’t have done to prevent their own sexual assault. But by asking men in particular to choose respect, this campaign reminds us that asking for consent, regardless of your relationship status, is a sign of respect for your partner. You can participate in SAAM this week by having an open and honest conversation with your friends and relatives about respecting boundaries and understanding consent.

Next week – April 8-14 – keep the conversation going with the hashtag #TalkAboutIt! If you’ve been reading this newsletter this year, you’ll remember that words matter. Age-appropriate conversations with your children about their bodies, consent, boundaries, and, when they’re ready, sex, help them understand healthy relationships and will help them protect themselves. Need some help with this conversation? There are many wonderful age-appropriate resources here.

April 15-21 will ask you to know your yeses and nos. My niece turns two today (Happy Birthday, darling girl!), and “no” is a favorite word. Every time she says it with conviction, it makes me proud! She is clearly expressing what she does and does not want, and as long as she isn’t hurting herself or someone else, I’m more than happy to respect her “no”. Children, particularly female children, tend to lose that strong “no” as they get older to help themselves fit in or to make other people happy. This SAAM, help set the children in your care up for success by talking with them about how to identify and communicate their boundaries. 

Finally, April 22-30, SAAM reminds you not to stand by. Beyond respecting boundaries, bystander intervention is the first line of defense in preventing sexual assault. During a First Light event, before most of my staff knew my husband, I had no less than three of my employees pull me to the side and ask if the man who’d been talking to me all night was bothering me. That is bystander intervention. It wasn’t forceful or overbearing – it was a simple question to check on my safety.

Bystander intervention can also look like holding people accountable for inappropriate jokes and language. Casual jokes at the expense of women and historically marginalized groups help create the societal norm that it is okay to disrespect the people in those groups. Disrespect can breed violence, particularly sexual violence. So, if you hear a joke that isn’t funny or a comment that makes you uncomfortable – speak up! In short, if you see something, say something.

The final week in April, we’ll also celebrate Denim Day! Join First Light for this international day of awareness by wearing your denim on April 24th and posting a photo with #DenimDay2024.

Beyond this year’s theme, you can participate in SAAM by supporting First Light. Sign up to sponsor or play in the inaugural First Light Classic on Friday, May 3rd. Make a donation – large or small – to help us keep providing free direct services to those impacted by sexual assault and child abuse. Follow us on social media and share our posts. There are so many ways you can help us help others this April (and beyond!).

Happy SAAM, everyone!