by Ahmed Chams
Rape is one of the most horrendous crimes anyone could commit against their fellow human. It leaves its victims with physical and emotional trauma that is extremely difficult to overcome. In this one on one interview with Serena Mann, a former Rape Crisis Center worker, she gives us her unique insight. Born and raised in Brampton, Ontario, she has occupied many different professions, including being a realtor, book author (Primary Colours: A Collection Of Short Stories) and yoga teacher. The ability for Mann to succeed in such a diverse array of occupations is also symptomatic of her success at a high intensity workplace like a crisis centre, as both areas require a large amount of versatility to perform well.
In the video below, Mann speaks about her most important moments working at the centre. In line with the versatile nature mentioned earlier, Mann describes the people she met there as each being unique in their experiences, with each person requiring different strategies when working with them, rather than a “one size fits all” approach. She also notes how the people at her centre were very much concerned with the way that the outside world perceived their experiences and how empathy and compassion are absolutely necessary in helping subside any judgement that otherwise would have been against them.
“The victims are more concerned with how other people are affected” says Mann. Indeed, the effects of rape are both immediate, for the victim, and also latent in that they affect the social conscious for time to come, creating fear with all those associated with the person in the sense that it could happen to them as well. Counselling these people was Mann’s way to helping alleviate the pain that these victims felt, and by this extension helping the people around them cope as well.
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