Stephen Land
Stephen is a song writer, singer, performer and most of all a human who lives to help others. As a survivor who experienced being silenced after 14 years of childhood sexual abuse, he refuses to rest until he can ensure that no other child has to walk into their adulthood carrying the kind of pain he did. He has felt the effects of society’s lack of acknowledgement for sexual abuse as a men’s issue too, and believes he deserves, as all human do, to heal.
“I have finally lived more years alive without abuse than I have with abuse, and for me that’s a big thing.”
“I have to decide everyday if walking outside my front door is worth the triggers that I may face… and some day’s it’s not… I don’t get to choose the triggers that affect my mental health, and I don’t always get to choose how those triggers affect the way I react.”
“This world doesn’t make it easy for men. We are told be a man, be a tough guy; we’re told don’t be a sissy, don’t cry. But I am learning that it’s ok to live in those emotions and express those emotions and process them, and that is how we heal. We heal by speaking out and speaking up about our stories.”