1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men will be victims of sexual abuse in their lifetime. By speaking out, The Voices and Faces Project hopes to change that, and show that sexual assault is a human rights issue that transcends all racial, social and economic boundaries.

In 2003 Anne Ream founded The Voices and Faces Project, a non-profit documentary initiative created to give voice and face to survivors of sexual violence. Anne, who is herself a rape survivor, has said that she is “finding the stories she wishes she heard after she was raped, and sharing them with other survivors.”

The Voices and Faces Project is giving voice and face to rape survivors, offering a sense of solidarity and possibility to those who have lived through abuse, while raising awareness of how this human rights and public health issue impacts victims, families and communities. In the first six months after the launch of www.voicesandfaces.org, the website received over four million visitors. Hundreds of survivors told their stories and revealed their identities for the first time. The organization's founder, Anne Ream (see bio below), and other survivors, are now available to bring their stories to your community.

For too long, survivors of rape and sexual abuse have been shamed into silence, and invisibility. Even today, the media regularly blots out survivor faces and names, a practice that protects but also further isolates those who have been raped and abused. Participants in The Voices and Faces Project are speaking truth to both power and perpetrator. They are sharing survivors' names, faces and stories in order to shift the national and international discourse on rape and abuse - a discourse in which victims are too often blamed, perpetrators too infrequently held accountable.

To do this The Voices and Faces Project has created a national network of sexual assault survivors willing to stand up and speak out about the rape and abuse they have endured. The organization's goal is to put names and faces on the epidemic of sexual assault, addressing the issue in not only personal but also political terms. The Voices and Faces Project was created for - and is largely funded and staffed by - survivors who have rejected the shame, invisibility and silence thrust upon them by the broader culture.

The Voices and Faces Project was a 2004 finalist for the prestigious Lange-Taylor prize for documentary excellence - recognition of the importance of raising awareness of the issue of sexual violence, and telling the stories of the women, children and men who are affected by it.

Project participants have:

• Shared their stories with the United Nations Global Report On Violence Against Children
• Consulted with the Congressional Commission investigating sexual assault in the military
• Lobbied for the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act
• Spoken to dozens of community groups, and appeared in local and national media regarding the social costs of sexual violence.

About Anne Ream, Founder and President

Anne is a Chicago-based activist and communications professional with a 15-year career in marketing. Much of her career was spent at Leo Burnett Worldwide, one of the country's largest communications agencies, where Anne served as a Senior Vice President and Group Creative Director. Anne is also Co-Founder and CCG (Chief Creative Girl) for Girl360, an educational book and tee-shirt line for young women.

Anne is the 2008 recipient of the "International Making a Difference for Women Award” from Soroptimist International, a non-governmental organization at the United Nations that works to insure women's rights, human rights, peace, and international goodwill.

For Anne Ream’s full bio & testimonials go to:
www.creativewell.com/ream.html