Sexual Assault Advocate Panel

National Sexual Assault Advocate Appreciation Day, which is a day PAVE founded during Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2023, falls near the end of April every year. We created Advocate Appreciation Day to spotlight the hard work Sexual Assault Advocates do on a daily basis. On National Sexual Assault Advocate Appreciation Day 2024, we hosted a panel featuring real advocates from around the United States who shared their experiences as advocates. During this panel, you will learn more about the diverse experiences advocates have while supporting survivors at some of the most difficult points in their journey and gain a better understanding of the work they do.

Meet The Panelists

Zahara hussain (she/her/ella)

R.A.C.E.S – Urbana, Illinois

Hello everyone! I’m Zahara Hussain. I grew up in Surrey, Canada; and moved to California at the age of 8. I am the youngest of 9 and have a twin brother. Regardless to say, I’m a member of a large immigrant family. I recently moved to Illinois after 25 years as a Californian. The mid-west is growing on me, but very slowly! I jumped into the work of a bilingual legal and medical advocate at Rape Advocacy, Counseling, Education Services (R.A.C.E.S). I have only resided in the state of Illinois since October of 2023; I am learning and growing each day to be a better human, and a better advocate. I am constantly looking for new resources and making new connections. I was a preschool educator for the past 15 years in California, but decided I would try something new, and haven’t been told I am doing anything wrong yet. There is always room for improvement, and I am happy to be corrected and learn.

Rachel Pearce (she/her)

ARISE – New Castle, Pennsylvania

Rachel is the Director of Community Services at Arise, a dual sexual assault and domestic violence agency in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and has been with the agency for over 4 years. In her current role, she oversees the Advocacy and Education & Outreach Departments, in addition to managing the volunteer program at Arise. She holds an M.A. in Student Affairs and Higher Education from Slippery Rock University, is a fully trained sexual assault and domestic violence counselor in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and has completed NOVA’s Campus Advocacy Training.

Sarah E. Bariya (she/her)

Tri-valley Haven – Livermore, California

Sarah Edison Bariya has a JD degree and with over ten years of working with law firms and law related fields, she discovered her passion for advocating for the underserved population while working as CASA for the court system of the Eastern Panhandle area. She joined Tri-Valley Haven in 2015 where she has worked for the Homeless Services Department, Domestic Violence Services and she is now the Director of Sexual Assault Services with Tri-Valley Haven.