Gwinnett Man Murdered Wife In Front Of Teen SonOn November 16, 2015, Sheldon Sawyor shot his wife Vanessa Black 13 times. One of her daughters w

On November 16, 2015, Sheldon Sawyor shot his wife Vanessa Black 13 times. One of her daughters who had moved out, began to notice red flags some time ago.

When the daughter of Vanessa Black noticed her step-father Sheldon watching her shower she warned the family. The televised episode at least portrayed her mother and perhaps other siblings as skeptical.

I think of these girls and many other girls that I’ve worked with who were outcry witnesses who were brave enough to warn their families and friends about a male in their midst who was peeping at young girl’s nude bodies.

More often than not, these girls are not given the hero’s welcome that they deserve. Instead, they are met sharp with skepticism and chastisement. Facing the truth is uncomfortable.

We must be better human beings than this.

Girls deserve to be protected.

Girls deserve to be believed.

Girls deserve private spaces.

Girls like Vanessa are out here being more courageous than most. We have to rise up to meet them. We have to rise up to protect them.

Facing the truth is uncomfortable but living a lie promises to become unbearable.

As a society, we all lose when we do not listen to girls.

In families,

in congregations,

in schools

in nations

we ALL lose when we fail to listen to girls.