DA’s Photo Exhibit to Receive National Exposure

DA’s Photo Exhibit to Receive National Exposure

BOSTON, Jan. 15, 2016— Members of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office will present an online training seminar focused on the office’s groundbreaking photo exhibit, “Now You See: A Celebration of Courageous Kids,” recognizing the courage of child abuse survivors and encouraging others to speak, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

The upcoming training webinar, hosted by the National Criminal Justice Training Center, will take place from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 20.  Conley’s director of youth safety and outreach and forensic interviewer, Jacquelyn Lamont, who created the photo exhibit, will lead the webinar alongside Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Keeley, chief of the DA’s Human Trafficking Unit, who prosecuted several of the cases featured in the project.

Inspired by a single survivor’s story, “Now You See: A Celebration of Courageous Kids” aims to celebrate the bravery of survivors of child physical and sexual abuse.  Each image in the growing collection depicts the eyes of a survivor of child sexual or physical abuse and their caretakers or family members, along with the person’s own words of encouragement and strength to other children and families who have suffered abuse.  More than 100 survivors and caretakers have taken part in the project, including survivors of child exploitation and human trafficking.

The webinar aims to educate prosecutors, advocates, and others who work with young victims about the challenges that children face during the course of their abuser’s prosecution and to encourage other law enforcement agencies to create similar initiatives celebrating the bravery of survivors who come forward.  Lamont was asked to present on the project after a representative of the National Criminal Justice Training Center viewed it at an event in Boston last July.

The photo exhibit, which Lamont created with the assistance of graphic designer Mattie DiCola of Conley’s Multimedia Unit, is currently on display at the Connolly Branch of the Boston Public Library in Jamaica Plain through Feb. 29.  An informational event discussing the project and the prevalence and signs of child abuse will take place Feb. 22 at 6:00 p.m.  The current exhibit and event are being sponsored by Violence Transformed.

“Our criminal justice system is, by design, centered on the person accused of a crime rather than on the victim. ‘Now You See’ helps us shift our focus to these victims, who have found the courage to speak up in order to hold their abusers accountable,” Conley said.  “These children and adult survivors deserve recognition for their bravery and resilience.”

More information on “Now You See” and a selection of photos from the exhibit can be found here:http://www.suffolkdistrictattorney.com/now-you-see/