Every year, our annual Walk for Change is an inspiring day of community, awareness, healing, and hope. Survivors, friends, family members, activists, and others who share BARCC’s mission come together to send a message: we are dedicated to ending sexual violence through healing and social change. Many survivors take part in this event and find it to be a powerful and moving experience. As such, we want everyone to know their options for protecting their privacy on the Walk for Change website.

First, we want to say that some survivors may want to identify themselves as such and share their experiences as part of the Walk for Change, and others do not. That choice is completely up to you, and you know best what is right for you. We honor every survivor’s journey and their decisions related to sharing their story or keeping it private.

• Keep in mind that your Walk for Change fundraising pages are not confidential and may be accessible to the public. You do have options when setting up your page to keep it more private (see below for information on those options).
• If you do want to identify as a survivor on your page, you might want to consider not identifying the offender or discussing details of the experience so as to focus your story on your own healing and empowerment.
• If you do want to share information about your experience and you also have privacy concerns, you can consider avoiding identifying details in favor of more general descriptions (for example, describe the offender as “a person I was dating” or “a stranger”; refer to the timing as “recently” or “in the past” versus “last Thursday” or a specific date).

Whether you choose to share your identity as a survivor or not, we’re so excited to have you—and your family, friends, coworkers, dogs, and others!

If you have any questions about Walk for Change registration or privacy options, please e-mail events [at] barcc.org or call 617-649-1260.