Bonded Book Club: Bastard Out Of Carolina Discussion

As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Bonded partnered with the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (SCCADVASA), to read Bastard Out of Carolina: A Novel by Dorothy Allison.

Sexual violence is a community-wide public health issue that affects every individual and family in South. In 2014, over 5,500 individuals accessed services for the first time at a Rape Crisis Center in South Carolina. Nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men report being raped during their lifetime. In addition, 45.9% of South Carolina women and 17.8% of men in our state report being victims of sexual violence or coercion other than rape.

Joining us for our discussion of the book is the Community Change Coordinator for SCCADVASA, Page Chilton. Page shares her professional expertise and insights about the book and the progress of intimate partner violence and sexual assault work in 2017. Together we examine a wide range of issues surrounding sexual assault, poverty, and abuse.

Bonded recognizes the difficult and graphic nature of this book and the subject matter of our discussion. However, we believe it is incredibly important to have thoughtful and meaningful conversations to raise awareness and bring light to some of the darkest realities the most vulnerable among us face.