By Airzola Cleaves, STAR Staff Attorney “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” While someone may generally agree with this concept, it can be admittedly difficult to do. Picture this for a moment, you are sitting in your car at a red light and you see a person holding a sign. The sign may include… Read More

by Angela Lore There’s a common saying people use when looking back at a difficult time in their life – “all’s well that ends well.” For me, I find that this expression rings true due to my courage, support from STAR, and my unwavering desire to find out the truth about what happened to me… Read More

Yesterday, USA Today published a report detailing LSU’s mishandling of various sexual assault complaints that resulted in a lack of accountability for repeat offenders of sexual assault and dating violence within LSU’s athletic and fraternity systems. STAR echoes the concerns raised by students featured in the article and we want to respond to these allegations by providing additional… Read More

By Alix Tarnowsky, Greater New Orleans Regional Director This election cycle, Louisiana voters are pulling the lever for more than just their preferred presidential candidate. For many in Louisiana, they are also voting for a number of local officials. It can be easy to gloss over down-ballot candidates; however, it’s important that we recognize that… Read More

By Samantha Sheppard and Alix Tarnowsky. Voting yes on Amendment 1 would require survivors who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest to carry the pregnancy to term in Louisiana.  Pregnancy as a result of rape is a public health issue where sexual violence and reproductive health connect. According to the Centers for… Read More

By Emmie Saux (they/them), STAR Medical Advocate, New Orleans Since 1994, we celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month in October. The founder selected October to commemorate the first two marches on Washington for LGBT+ rights and to coincide with National Coming Out Day, which is on October 11th. As so many individuals are taking to the streets… Read More

By Rebecca Marchiafava, STAR Vice President  Over the last six months, STAR has deepened our reckoning with racism. To reaffirm our commitment to facing racism, one of the questions we have to ask and answer as an organization is, “Why should a sexual assault center work to address racism?” Below are some thoughts on the… Read More

By Racheal Hebert, LCSW, BACS, STAR President & CEO September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Research has shown that survivors of sexual trauma are at an increased risk of suicide attempts and death by suicide. By learning more about the connection between experiences of sexual assault and suicide, we can learn to identify warning signs… Read More

My name is Sarah Dai and I am a Serve Louisiana AmeriCorps member. I have proudly served at STAR for the past two years, building capacity on the prevention education team. My role as the Community Engagement Coordinator has been to engage college students on campus and engage STAR’s audiences online. During my time, I… Read More