HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — A survivor of domestic and child sexual violence is heading a movement for people to lead healed, healthy and happy lives.
Saadia White is using her voice to encourage others, as she, along with three other women, share their stories following abuse in Survivors of a Generation Unheard: Stories of a Generational Survivors.
“The group of ladies that worked with me on this book, this anthology, a compilation of all of our stories, it was a sisterhood that was formed,” White said. “I want to continue to build upon that sisterhood. I want us to be able to speak together on panels, and be able to lobby together. There’s not only women, but there are also men, generational survivors as well. It’s high time that we allow them to also empower their voices to come forth.”
The book includes a ‘tell your story’ section after each chapter.
“A generational survivor is me,” White said. “That child who witnessed domestic abuse, that child who was a product of that abuse, who was molested by her mother’s abuser, a generational survivor is any child who’s growing up in a home witnessing abuse. Sometimes that abuse spills over to the child, and oftentimes they carry it with them generationally because they don’t receive the help that they need and they either end up the victim or the perpetrator.
“I don’t want there to be any more generation of survivors. I want us to break that cycle. A generational survivor is also the person that I’ve become — the advocate in me, the person who was breaking the cycle, the person who has resilient through the adversities that took place in her life.”
She writes about her early childhood trauma, including witnessing her mother severely beaten and the same person sexually assaulted her at 7-years-old. Later in life, she found herself in an abusive relationship.
“I didn’t realize how badly the verbal abuse affected me until I started counseling,” White said. “… I tried to take my own life, so for me, that was it,” said White. “But here I am and I stand for justice.”
White shared her story in front of Peninsula advocates and survivors during the Day of Unity earlier this month. In September, she traveled for the Survivors Speak DC march on Washington D.C.
“We were chanting, ‘When survivors speak, change happens,'” she said. “It was a movement, the momentum of that march. Everyone is coming together. The diversity that was there, all ethnicities. I wish that we didn’t have to chant, ‘What do we want? Healing.’ That should be automatic for us. We shouldn’t have to do this. But we do. This is a necessary movement.”
White is a survivor of child sexual abuse and was part of the ‘Walk in their Shoes’ in Hampton during sexual assault awareness month.
“It is a community issue,” White said. “It’s a societal issue. When I was a child, I didn’t have anyone to save me. There was a crack in the system.”
Through her nonprofit, Amazing Amazon Inc., she organized a youth-led group called ‘Off the Streets & Onto the Set’ to inspire the next generation.
“It’s about our youth because they’re not heard enough,” White said. “Oftentimes, they’re not invited to the table. OTS is giving them a space and a platform to be that, to create their own table each create their own table and they need to know how to positively use their platforms for good.”
White is hopeful more men will come forward for the next book as she continues her movement to address sexual and domestic violence.
“I had to realize, I matter, our stories matter,” White said. “We’re not just survivors anymore. We are thriving.”
To learn more about the Generational Survivors, click here.
If you or you know someone who may be a victim of domestic violence or child abuse, click here for a list of local and national resources.