Hope Fest

This morning I went to an event called Hope Fest in Lino Lakes. This is organized in support of the Alexandria House for victims and survivors of domestic violence. The 28 red figures represent women who have been murdered. The red figure in the middle here represents Natasha Waalen. She and I worked together along with her mother. She was violently murdered by her boyfriend and his brother. The two brothers tried to make it look like she had crashed her motorcycle but eventually the truth came out. I believe both murderers are walking around free after having served their sentences. I cried when they read her name out loud and her age. She was only 28 when she died. I can see no reason for her death. One woman spoke to us. She is a survivor of physical abuse and assault. She told us her husband got into trouble at his job by filming his coworkers in the bathroom. Her lawyer advised her to look at every file on their computer. While doing that she found that her husband gave her drugs without her knowledge and raped her while filming it. She turned the information over to the county for prosecution. Later she got a call from the attorney's office saying the case was going to be dropped. She learned that although it is against the law to rape a spouse, it is not against the law to rape a spouse who is incapacitated. She worked for two years and just recently the state legislature passed a law where it is against the law to rape a spouse who is incapacitated. Three other states are looking at changing their laws to model our state law. She was an inspiration. After that we took off walking together through the nice paths around the YMCA in Lino Lakes. Our speaker gave us good advice. She told us to have conversations about boundaries, about how our bodies are our own. She advised us to have these conversations with our family members often as opposed to just once. She advised us to speak up if we see something wrong. She said one person can make a difference. She is right. I was glad I was there to listen to her.