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Fiona was randomly and violently sexually assaulted at the age of seven; Helen was sexually abused by her father, and later her stepfather. Both are sick and tired of sleepless nights and living in fear, and have turned to the Sycamore Tree Project in an attempt to move on.
The Sycamore Tree Project is a faith based, restorative justice program, where victims visit unrelated offenders in prison over a period of months to discuss crime and its ongoing effect on victims. Victims are given a platform to describe their pain, fear and loss. Offenders are encouraged to share their stories, to accept responsibility for their crime and to consider ways in which they might make restitution to their particular victims.
Sycamore Tree was produced by Kirsti Melville of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.
Sycamore Tree was produced by Kirsti Melville of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries
Links:
Sycamore Tree Project
This is a project where unrelated victims of crimes and their offenders attend short but intense sessions that allows the participants a chance to vent their anger and frustration, which eventually leads to a path of healing and reconciliation.
Prison Entrepreneurship Program
PEP transforms lives of former inmates by instilling entrepreneurial passion, education and mentoring to aid them after they are released from jail.
Crime-victim programs face big cuts
New Jersey would face up to a 75 percent cut in crime-victim programs funding.
Books:
 Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and how They Heal
by: Belleruth Naparstek, Robert C. Scaer 2005
If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic event, this book from psychotherapist, Belleruth Naparstek, should be a guide to treating these attacks.
 Voice That Has Spoken from within: A Survivor's Feelings Expressed through Poetry
by: Marie Waldrep 2005
As a child, Marie Waldrep was a victim of sexual assault. She put her true feelings during those incidents on paper which, as an adult, she compiled for the world to see and for other sexual assault victims to know that there are not alone.
 Healing Sex: A Mind-Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma
by: Staci Haines, Felice Newman 2007
After a sexual trauma, most victims find it hard to enjoy sexual pleasures. "Healing Sex" teaches women how to comply to their own sexual desire and overcome their fears.
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