Called to Action, Making Change
***Content Warning: The following article includes information about sexual assault.
Human Rights Program (HRP): Where are you currently working and how long have you been working there? What type of projects do you work on?
Sarah Super (SS): I've been at the Battered Women's Justice Project for almost two months, where I work as a Training Specialist and train law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and advocates nationwide to improve the civil and criminal response to intimate partner violence. I also lead Break the Silence, a non-profit I started to support survivors of sexual violence by organizing for social change to dismantle rape culture. Currently, we are working to build a Memorial to Survivors of Sexual Violence. It will be the first of its kind in the United States, a public symbol of solidarity with survivors, and a precedent for community-based healing. To learn more and support the project, visit: www.survivorsmemorial.org
HRP: How do you see your academic experiences playing out in your life today? Were there particular courses/experiences that motivated you and/or prepared you for the work you are currently doing?
SS: The education I received at the University of Minnesota has been the foundation for all my professional work. As an undergrad, I was a sociology and American studies double major with a social justice minor. I studied social movements and systems of privilege and oppression. In grad school, I studied adult learning theory, human rights, and holistic healing. My goal was to understand the somatic impact of human rights abuses and the role of body-based healing in human rights work with the intention to use adult education for advancing human rights and healing.
HRP: What have been some of the biggest learning moments and takeaways for you both in your academics and your work?
SS: I am so grateful for the interdisciplinary approach I took to becoming an advocate for social justice and human rights. My education has equipped me with knowledge and skills in organizing and educating people from a trauma-informed, victim-centered, and intersectional lens. Most importantly, my education has dramatically impacted my experience as a rape survivor and equipped me with the language to talk about it in a way that called the community to act. My education instilled in me the belief that I have an ethical obligation to be involved in human rights work (and that it is an honor to do so). Being raped taught me, firsthand, the power and the impact we all have in each others' lives; how we respond to oppression and injustice is either hurtful or healing. Silence is not a neutral response.
