THURSDAY OCTOBER 1ST, 2020: VIRTUAL ZOOM MEETING
#MeToo Meet Up: Working through the trauma of institutional betrayal
On Thursday, October 1st, the Purple Campaign hosted a virtual #MeToo Meet Up, featuring a conversation between advocate Haley VanderMeer, author and lawyer M. Reese Everson, and survivor advocate and founder of HealingHonestly.com, Alisa Zipursky. They discussed the impact of institutional betrayal, a term developed by Dr. Jennifer Freyd and Dr. Carly Smith, that refers to the failure of an institution to prevent or respond supportively to wrongdoings by individuals committed within that institution. Haley, Reese and Alisa talked about sexual harassment and assault through this framework, including how the failure of institutions to respond in a trauma-informed way can lead to re-traumatization for survivors, how institutional betrayal has shown up in each of their lives, and what it will take to end this kind of systematic oppression.
Check out these clips from the virtual Meet Up and read more about Alisa below.
About the Speaker
Alisa Zipursky (she/her) is a writer, speaker and survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Alisa is the founder of HealingHonestly.com, where she offers survivor-to-survivor emotional support for healing from childhood sexual abuse to a community of 100,000 readers. She’s been in publications such as Teen Vogue and TIME, and on NPR’s The Moth and the Oprah Winfrey Network. Alisa is known for her transparency and humor when talking about the difficult topics around sexual trauma (it’s funnier than you’d think). She travels around the country supporting survivors in their own communities and talking about the realities of being a young person healing from sexual violence.
THURSDAY June 25th, 2020: VIRTUAL ZOOM MEETING
#MeToo Meet Up: Strategies for finding healing and support
On June 25th we hosted our first virtual #MeToo Meet Up, featuring a conversation between advocate Anna Kain and author and lawyer M. Reese Everson. Anna and Reese shared strategies for finding healing and support amidst current events, drawing upon their personal experiences and Reese’s book “The B.A.B.E.’s Guide to Winning in the Workplace.”
Take a minute to watch part of the discussion and read more about Reese and her book below.
About the Author
M. Reese Everson is the founder of B.A.B.E.S. in the Workplace, where she works as a tireless advocate for young women, committed to helping them to find their voice and showing them how to walk in their purpose, uncompromised. While serving as Advocate in Chief, she travels the globe as a Women’s Rights Expert, Lifestyle Engineer, author, and speaker. Prior to launching B.A.B.E.S., M. Reese Everson used her entrepreneurial skills to create a thriving law practice in Chicago.
M. Reese Everson’s proven legal expertise propelled her to be chosen to serve as legislative staff to some of the most senior elected members of the United States Congress. It was there that she realized a need for young women who were seeking to make their mark on the world without compromising their morals and values. Now she has returned to her first love of serving through advocacy, and giving back to young women like herself. Since starting her organization to help women address workplace harassment and discrimination, Reese has written the B.AB.E.S. Guide book series to address financial issues for women.
About the Book
Her first book, the B.A.B.E.S.’ Guide to Winning in the Workplace, recounts her experiences of being sexually harassed along her career journey, tools for dealing with harassment and gender discrimination and how to escape it, while keeping your career intact.