OPINION: Healing from child abuse and neglect starts with sharing stories

If you have experienced child abuse or neglect, you are not alone. Unfortunately, this reality is shared by too many Alaskans. Yet, for survivors, the silence and stigma surrounding childhood trauma can be incredibly isolating.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. For many years, the Alaska Children’s Trust has heard from Alaskans that they are ready for a change. Many survivors are ready to share their stories and have their voices heard. Our new storytelling website, www.storiesact.org, provides a safe space for Alaskans impacted by child abuse and neglect to share their experiences and for others to hear directly from individuals with lived experience about how we can all promote healing and prevent future harm for the next generation.

This resource was created for survivors, by survivors. It exists because of the efforts of a brave advisory group of Alaskans with lived experience of child abuse and neglect who came together to create a safe space to build common ground, break the silence and envision a future in which speaking openly about these experiences was not taboo.

While trauma can make it feel like others can’t be trusted and that the world isn’t safe, storytelling promotes connection and healing. By providing Alaskans with a platform to anonymously share their stories, we hope to empower survivors to break the silence surrounding child abuse and neglect and promote healing for themselves and others. As project participant put it, “Being transparent about child abuse and neglect brings it out of darkness. Darkness is where that pain lives. Sharing my story is an open rejection of shame, guilt, and other toxic ideas that keep us bound in our everyday lives to trauma. It’s common to have our identity tied to that trauma. But I think that though it is a part of my story, and it is within my identity, it doesn’t have to direct my life and my future and how I want to move forward.”

Sharing survivor stories is one of the best tools we have to end child abuse and neglect. By uplifting survivors’ lived experiences, we can add a human element and context to data about child maltreatment in Alaska, increase awareness about the impacts of abuse and neglect, and build support for efforts to strengthen family wellbeing in Alaska.

We encourage every Alaskan to visit www.storiesact.org to anonymously share your story or to simply learn from others’ experiences. We welcome written and artistic submissions from all Alaskans with lived experience of child abuse and neglect – whether you’re a survivor yourself, a survivor’s loved one, or have been otherwise impacted by this issue – your story is valuable. Your voice needs to be heard and we are ready to listen.

Kaila Pfister is the director of community engagement at the Alaska Children’s Trust (ACT), the lead statewide agency that addresses the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Since its conception, ACT has led the way in building awareness, providing education and bringing communities together statewide to prevent child abuse and neglect through supporting upstream efforts.

Eliza Posner is the director of strategy at ACT, where she focuses on primary prevention initiatives to stop child abuse and neglect before it occurs. She is committed to amplifying the voices of those with lived experience and driving meaningful change through collaboration in her work. Eliza loves partnering with groups across Alaska to advance culturally relevant initiatives that help children, youth and families thrive.

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