In the Light

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a form of child abuse in which a child is abused for the sexual gratification of an adult or older adolescent. In addition to direct sexual contact, child sexual abuse also occurs when an adult exposes their genitals to a child, asks or pressures a child to engage in sexual activities, displays pornography to a child, or uses a child to produce child pornography.

The effects can last a lifetime: adult survivors often experience depression, low self-esteem; trust issues and flashbacks, years after the abuse has ended.

In the Light will use the photos and words of survivors to:

1. Provide hope: Many survivors that deal with the effects of child sex abuse often feel very alone, not realizing that there are other people that have experienced the same emotions. It isn’t often that you find images of survivors or many people speaking candidly about it. When the subject arises, most of the survivors that do speak about it remain anonymous. This is a direct result of the shame that is inflicted on most survivors.. Using images signals to others that it is ok to talk about it.

2. Break the silence: While CSA isn’t new, it is a relatively new public issue. Prior to the 1970s and 1980s, sexual abuse remained rather secretive and socially unspeakable. Many organizations work very hard to stop CSA. One of the ways to help this is to have more survivors talking about it.

Project Details

The project will result in a coffee table book featuring 75 – 100 profiles of adult survivors of CSA. There will be a black and white photograph of each survivor next to their story. The stories will be written from in-depth interviews with the survivors. The photographs will be taken at the time of the interview–before, during and after.

Survivors
Any person that has experienced child sex abuse is a survivor. They are survivors because they have used their strength to survive the childhood abuse. There are many different ways that people survive.

Stories
The stories will show different stages of the journey to survive. Recovery is different for every person. Realizing this, the stories we anticipate include: achievements, lessons learned, dealing with therapy, bonding with other survivors, family life, the first moment they felt like a survivor, advice for others, lessons in forgiveness and hope, etc.

Photographs
The photographs will be in black and white. We believe that black and white photographs help reveal more of a person’s identity. The photos will reflect happiness, pain, achievement, etc.

The Team

Tia B. Coachman
Tia is located in Brooklyn, New York. She is also a graduate student in the MBA Program at the University of Maryland University College. As a survivor, Tia intends to make this project a healing experience for herself and all others who are affected by it.

Amanda Sook Cowen
Amanda received her BFA in general fine arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). She recently moved from Chicago, IL to Washington DC. In Chicago, she set up visual art shows for the non-profit children’s organization Art Odyssey and later joined the Board of Directors as Secretary of Board. She moved to DC to further her education and career.

Shannon Evans
Shannon is a Washington, DC based photographer. She’s been shooting professionally for three years. Additionally, she  produced many profile articles (text and photos) for the World Bank Group. She volunteers for the Rape Abuse Incest National Network’s (RAINN) Online Hotline. Shannon is a survivor of child sex abuse.