Enough Silence, Creating Sacred Space for Survivors of Sexual Assault through Restorative Justice
by Cheryl Miller
In Enough Silence, Cheryl Miller draws on more than two decades of working with survivors of abuse to create the composite character of Clara. Her story represents countless real people in our faith communities living with a personal history of sexual trauma. Clara’s story illustrates how restorative justice practices—implemented with care—can transform the lives of survivors. These practices include
• holding offenders accountable,
• lending direct voice to survivors, offenders, and members of the community,
• taking into account all those with stakes in incidents of sexual abuse,
• clarifying the organization’s values, and
• establishing a safe and structured environment for survivors.
She also offers a road map for implementing victim-offender dialogue, surrogate dialogue, circles, and more.
Enough Silence issues a call to pastors, clergy, nonprofit professionals, and other leaders to dismantle patriarchal systems that perpetuate rape culture. By embracing restorative justice practices, faith communities can imitate Christ in ministering to survivors and those who love them.
About Cheryl
Cheryl Miller owns Cheryl Miller Consulting, LLC, providing transformative training in several areas: nonprofit leadership, economic development, conflict management, and restorative justice.
Beautifully Raw and Practical
Enough Silence is INCREDIBLE. If you have any interest in disrupting the way the church treats people who need help the most, evaluating and disrupting any organization's culture, learning more about positively impacting people who have experienced sexual violence, or restorative justice this book was written for you. Miller does a beautiful job of tastefully, never graphically, sharing raw themes of sexual violence, suicide, and the freedom reached through restorative justice. She does this through an engaging novel format embedded in descriptions of practical tools.
