The Monument Quilt, a crowd-sourced collection of thousands of stitched-together stories from survivors of rape and abuse, will be displayed in Washington, DC from May 31 to June 2, 2019. Just this April, in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Good Vibrations partnered with Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR) in creating the well-attended, well-received “Sex Ed for Survivors” workshop series. In a significant opportunity for Good Vibrations to continue to show its support to survivors and the anti-violence movement, we have been invited to co-present this workshop series in DC alongside the Monument Quilt.

Education Director Andy Duran, who participated in the original workshop series, will be offering presentations and support onsite at the Mall in the Learning Tent, designed to provide information and resources to those attending the event. “We received several letters from the community after the Sex Ed for Survivors events, thanking us for hosting this incredible workshop series,” says Andy Duran. “I am truly honored to be invited to bring this work to such a significant, historic event.”

Good Vibrations Staff Sexologist Carol Queen PhD adds, “We are so happy that Educator Andy and his deep understanding and engaging, open demeanor will be part of the Monument Quilt’s powerful Washington DC visit.”

For the first time ever, The Monument Quilt, a public art project made by and for survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence, will be on national display as it blankets the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This event is the culmination of five years of local, national and international organizing. Survivors and supporters have created more than 3,000 quilt squares, each 4’ by 4’. Spanning 2,000 feet, or four football fields, the Monument Quilt will spell out NOT ALONE and NO ESTÁS SOLX (Spanish for “not alone”). More than 100,000 people are expected to attend the historic event, on the Mall between 10th and 15th Streets. This will be the only time the Monument Quilt, organized by FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, will be displayed in its entirety.

Just last week Good Vibrations released a short video entitled “Healing” which is the second episode of their joint social media campaign “My Sex Toy Gives Me Superpowers” with O.School. “I had received a lot of messages growing up around this idea of purity. Part of a woman’s worth is wrapped up in her virginity. It had a really strong impact on me as a survivor of sexual trauma…” begins the video’s narrator, telling her own story. The 60-second animated video takes you through a first-person, true recounting, illuminating the way a journey of self-pleasure opened the door to healing and self-acceptance.

“Any experience of sexual trauma can alter a person’s access to pleasure and bodily comfort. Empowering information can be crucial for healing–but so can understanding that one is not alone,” notes Good Vibrations’s Carol Queen.