Victim vs. Survivor

Given my slow post, you might think the CAVA Conference was a month long affair! The truth is I've just been a bad blogger. Sorry!

Anyhow, the conference was great! I met so many people! Many of the people I met were people I had only communicated with via email so putting faces to names was wonderful.

There were a lot of victim services professionals in attendance and many victims too. That word victim always rubs me. I mean yes, with crime, there are victims. But then there are survivors too. To be called a victim makes one sound weak. And I think so many so-called victims are anything but weak. Many are strong! Forever impacted by the crime, but definitely strong.

In my family's case, the true victim was my sister Sheryl. She has been forever silenced because she was murdered by Ralph Power. As part of the ripple from her murder, many point to all the other victims of this crime. But really we are all survivors of this crime. That's what I think.

Know what I mean?