Beyond the Verdict: Why ATSA's Commitment to Prevention and Accountability Matters

A few weeks ago, while I was on vacation, I found myself sitting at a car dealership waiting for an oil change, when the Diddy verdict hit the news. I was outraged—not just by the verdict itself but also because of the glaring, persistent societal misperceptions about sexual harm that led to not guilty verdicts on the more serious charges. Again, a moment that should have highlighted the experience of survivors was reduced to a media spectacle.

Like I’m sure many of you did as well, I felt a deep frustration. As I sat there, I texted with one of ATSA’s Board members from that waiting room, and we found ourselves asking the same question: where is the public understanding of what sexual harm actually is? Where is the conversation about prevention, about power, about the possibility of change? As I drove away, one thought kept rising to the surface:

My very favorite thing about ATSA members is that they fundamentally believe in change.

ATSA members hold a core belief that those who cause sexual harm can take responsibility for their actions. They can grow, be accountable, and help create a safer future. We believe that punishment alone doesn't cut it—healing, accountability, and prevention all need to work together. This belief is what makes our field stand out.

 
And now, it’s time for ATSA to live that belief as an organization.

For too long, ATSA has been a strong voice within the professional community—but a quiet one in the public square. When stories like the Diddy case break, we know the public is paying attention. But too often, our expertise, our members' real-world experience, and our research-based understanding of sexual harm go unheard. Not because we don’t have something to say—but because we haven’t had the structure or strategy to say it boldly, clearly, and in real time.

That’s why our 2024–2027 Strategic Plan matters so much.

This plan isn’t just a roadmap for internal improvement—it’s a call to step forward. It lays out our commitment to:

• Strengthen and grow our professional community;
• Expand and modernize educational opportunities;
• Deepen our support for research and evidence-informed practice;
• Influence public policy with clarity, courage, and credibility;
• And critically, reshape how society understands those who cause sexual harm.

As part of this transformation, we’re shifting from a grassroots, volunteer-led model to a professionalized association with the infrastructure to lead. That kind of change comes with growing pains. We’ve had missteps—communications that didn’t land, transitions that felt unclear. But just as we support our clients through moments of uncertainty, we are holding ourselves to that same process.
We are learning. We are listening. And we are committed to transparency.

This is a crucial moment—conversations about sexual harm are happening, but they're missing the nuance that’s so badly needed. It demands that we speak up. That we advocate for an approach rooted in evidence and compassion. That we model the very thing we believe in: the power of meaningful, lasting change.

To our members: thank you. Your unwavering dedication to this work inspires the direction we’re taking. And as ATSA invests in the broader societal conversation, we do so with the fundamental belief that sexual violence can be prevented because of your work.

We are not just responding to change. We are becoming the change.