Angela Rose
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Angela Rose

Chicago, Illinois, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2015

Chicago, Illinois, United States
Established on Jan, 2015
Solo Folk Singer/Songwriter

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"Angela Rose finds solace from trauma in music"

The attack survivor says putting her feelings to music can be can be therapeutic. Listen as Angela Rose performs her original song, "Remember Everything." - 48 Hours on CBS


"For 'Thriver' Angela Rose, Her Music is the Message"

Angela Rose doesn't see herself as a victim or even a survivor. Rather, she calls herself a "thriver."

It would be hard to argue with that assessment. Yes, she was sexually assaulted by repeat offender Robert Koppa nearly a decade ago.

But since then she has campaigned to change Illinois' sex offender laws, traveled the country promoting a victim empowerment organization she founded and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin.

On Saturday night, Rose, 26, will kick off her latest venture: Desert Rose Promotions. The company, she says, uses art and music to awaken social consciousness. It is hosting an event at Hog Head McDunna's in which she and another band will perform.

Rose said a big goal of her new production company is to foster community.

"Using art and music to bring people together is crucial," Rose said. "From my past, it was my community that rallied behind me."

Indeed, her family and friends helped her recover following the assault outside Woodfield Shopping Center in 1996. Rose was a 17-year-old Bloomingdale high school student at the time.

Koppa abducted her at knifepoint from a parking lot and later assaulted her. Koppa was on parole at the time for the 1980 murder of a 15-year-old Chicago girl. Rose and her family collected 5,000 signatures and helped persuade the Legislature to pass a law keeping dangerous sex offenders in jail even if their sentences have ended. Koppa is now serving a life sentence.

In Wisconsin, Rose formed PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment. The nonprofit aims "to shatter the silence of sexual violence," she said. It now has six chapters nationwide.

After spending seven years in Madison, Rose moved back to Chicago last year. Her day job is as a mortgage specialist because her non-profit and promotions company don't earn enough to pay the bills.

Promoting shows once a month

Rose started doing concerts as fund-raisers for PAVE and then a couple of years ago learned to play guitar.

Her song lyrics reflect her life experience: "The pain, the blame/The ache, the shame/It's a rough load to haul, a long road to pave/This is a part of me and it won't help me heal/If I keep it inside and pretend not to feel."

Rose will sing that song, "Transition," and others at a pre-party at Hog Head McDunna's new performance space, Next Door, at 1505 W. Fullerton. The pre-party runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Later, More Life Experience, a reggae/hip-hop band, will take the stage. Concert tickets are $7. A portion of the proceeds will benefit PAVE.

Rose will be promoting shows at least once a month at the venue. It is decorated with art by Kamelia Hristeva, a Bulgarian-born artist who takes on male-female stereotypes in her work and who will also be on hand Saturday night.

Hristeva, 23, of Albany Park, has her own nonprofit, Green Star Movement, which aims to "cultivate love, unity and peace through art," she said.

The Chicago-based More Life Experience also tries to raise social consciousness in its songs and take on issues including the war in Iraq and social injustice. The multi-racial group also deals with issues of racial harmony, said band member Egan Ammerman, 26, of Wrigleyville.

Rose believes the assault actually altered her for the better.

"It changed me in a positive way," she said. "It took a long time for me to be able to say that."
Angela Rose, who was attacked by Robert Koppa in 1996, now pushes for laws to keep sexual offenders locked up longer. Koppa was on parole at the time for the murder of a teenage girl.

John H. White



- Chicago Sun Times


"From Crime Victim To Victim Activism"

At 6 o'clock on a summer evening, the sun still bright and the parking lot still full, 17-year-old Angela Rose walked to her car from her job in a Chicago shopping mall.
Just as she went to put the key in the lock, she saw a shadow come up behind her and felt a knife at her throat. Harrowing hours later, she was dropped off at a nearby shopping center --the survivor of sexual assault by a repeat sex offender on parole.

Rose, now 22 and a junior at UW-Madison, is determined to make her experience count toward the good. She has formed a campus group to stop sexual violence called PAVE -- Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment. The first meeting last week drew about 60 interested students, the majority of them women.

"This is something I can do, to take what happened to me and try to stop it from happening to somebody else," said Rose, whose willingness to go public helped aid passage of an Illinois law to lock up sexually violent criminals until they're no longer deemed a threat.
Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan calls Rose courageous.

"Her efforts, including working with my office and offering dramatic testimony at hearings to explore ways of combating sexual assault, were instrumental in passage of strong new statutes providing tougher sentences for repeat sex offenders," Ryan wrote about her.
Rose's attacker, Robert Koppa, whose other convictions include rape and murder, is serving a life sentence without parole. His case, however, is on appeal.

Rose said that because she didn't know her assailant, her experience is unusual.

"The majority of the time, women know their attackers," she said, quoting an American Medical Association statistic that says more than 80 percent of sexual assaults are committed by an acquaintance of the victim.

On Tuesday, Rose, who is campus safety coordinator for the Associated Students of Madison, the student government, spoke at a press conference in which she raised one concern about a crackdown on high-risk drinking in campus-area bars.

"Directing students and other members of our community away from bars will lead to more drinking at house parties. Since these environments are typically not regulated, it increases the risk of sexual violence," she said.

In conjunction with ASM, one of PAVE's first projects is to put up posters in the bathrooms of Downtown bars that show alcohol's influence on sexual assaults. "It's going to reach students in high-risk situations," Rose said.

Rose -- who said she still bristles and steps aside when people walk too closely behind her -- said her activism has been therapeutic.
"What I want to remember isn't the attack, it's our fight for justice afterward," she said. - Wisconsin State Journal


"Bravery to Turn Tables on Terror"

Angela Rose may have been a victim of a sex crime four years ago, but her brave reaction in the months and years after that attack proves she is anything but helpless or powerless. Her story should inspire victims and others who are fed up with crime and want to fight back.

In a victim impact statement read in court Tuesday, Rose, now a senior marketing student at a Big Ten university, recalled her thoughts during the July 1996 attack. "I made a vow to myself that if I lived through this nightmare, whoever victimized me would never hurt anyone else." Rose not only lived to see her vow come true but, because of her lobbying efforts, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law allowing the state to keep sexual offenders locked up even after their sentences have ended.

Rose's attacker, Robert Koppa, 51, will have a long time to regret committing another crime that day in July 1996. Armed with a knife, Koppa accosted the 17-year-old Rose in the parking lot at a Schaumburg shopping mall. After forcing her into his car and driving to a wooded area, he forced Rose to change into three silk outfits and assaulted her. Because he is a convicted murderer with a history of violent and sexual attacks dating back 30 years, Koppa was sentenced under the state's "three strikes" law to life in prison with no chance for parole. Rose and her parents expressed welcome relief after waiting four years through Koppa's trial, conviction and sentencing.

- Chicago Sun Times


"Voices Against Violence"

PAVE (Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment) held its Chicago chapter kickoff event Sept. 13 at Loyola's Water Tower campus in Rubloff auditorium. PAVE, a nonprofit organization aims to shatter the silence about sexual violence.

Angela Rose, a survivor of sexual assault and founder of PAVE, began speaking and acting out against sexual violence at the age of 17 after being abducted and assaulted by a paroled kidnapper, rapist and murderer. Rose was a key participant in the passage of the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act in Illinois in 1998. Under the act, almost 200 sex offenders have been convicted as sexually violent persons.

Sexual assault is a hugely under-reported crime in this country and across the globe. The theme of the kickoff event was "Conquering Sexual Violence Locally and Globally," and speakers included sexual assault survivors Rose, Elizabeth Hendrix, founder of Invisible Conflicts Nathan Mustain, David Kanis, Ph.D., and Caroline Akweyo, a survivor of conflict in northern Uganda.

Rose and Hendrix were both assaulted in the Chicago area: Rose near Woodfield Mall and Hendrix in the Lakeview community. Both women, unlike many sexual assault victims, made their voices heard very quickly after being victimized. Rose has used her voice to promote raising awareness of a significantly under-reported and under-recognized crime in society. Currently there are seven chapters of PAVE and twice as many are budding across the country.

Hendrix fought off two sexual assaults within a matter of weeks. The first assault was in the elevator of her apartment building, in which she was able to fend off the assailant with some struggle. The second assault was around 2 a.m. on a Monday morning after being dropped off by a taxi after work. She was tackled to the ground, and she fought off the assailant using pepper spray that she carried with her.

Ever since her second assault, Hendrix recommends that girls carry pepper spray.

"It's a terrifying experience, and you don't wish this on anyone," Hendrix said. She emphasized the fact that it is not a victim's fault for being attacked. "There's no shame in being a victim."

Hendrix encourages anyone coming home late at night to be dropped off as close to the entrance of the building as possible and to ask the driver to watch until having entered the building. She also said to be prepared and know what to do in the case of an assault.

Along with telling her story, Rose gave some shocking statistics about sexual assault. One out of four college females will be sexually assaulted, and nine out of 10 who are assaulted in college never report the crime. Additionally, nearly nine out of 10 women who are assaulted know and trust the assailant.

Mustain, founder of Invisible Conflicts, explained Invisible Conflicts, a Loyola student group, "recognizes the fact that there are conflicts ignored by the mainstream media and governments."

First, on the global front, Mustain expressed the significance of the issue of sexual assault in northern Uganda, specifically in IDP (internationally displaced) camps. In the camps, 54 percent of women experience sexual violence, and only 6 percent seek help. Uganda's neighboring country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, also experiences dire problems regarding sexual assault. Gang rape of women and girls as young as six years old, by both rebel forces and military soldiers (considered allies by the U.S. government), is prevalent in Uganda, as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On the local front, Mustain discussed his concern with the lack of male voice in the movement to eradicate sexual violence.

"We [men] must act today," Mustain said. "Stories of girls date raped are no different than women raped on mud floors of Congolese huts."

Mustain also expressed his concern with the attitude of young college men. He iterated that if a girl says no, it is rape; if alcohol is involved in persuasion, it is rape.

As Rose has stated, "consent is a 'yes,' not an absence of 'no'." Mustain strongly encourages men to become a part of the voice to end sexual assault, and they can do so by becoming involved with PAVE, or by visiting either www.mencanstoprape.com or www.todddennymvp.com.

David Kanis, Ph.D., a professor at Chicago State University who travels to northern Uganda to teach for two months of the year, spoke of the problems facing women in east Africa.

"The world doesn't care too much right now," Kanis said, referring to the sexual violence problem in eastern Africa. "Women come to me because I am an American, and they think I can help them."

Kanis stated that after approaching the American embassy about the issue, he was promptly informed that this is not America's concern.

Kanis, as well as PAVE, seemed to think differently. Kanis taught 10 young women during his last visit to Uganda; every one of his students had been raped.

Women are given to commanders of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) as wives when they hit puberty, and most commanders have many young wives. These women face harsh punishment for disobeying their husbands. If a woman complains, her lips are cut off. If a woman tells the location of the LRA is told to the government, her nose and ears are cut off.

Caroline Akweyo, a survivor of the sexual violence that occurs in northern Uganda, spoke of her experiences in facing the LRA and sexual assault. At the age of 6, Akweyo watched as her aunt was slaughtered with knives by LRA members. At the age of 17, she was abducted by the LRA for six months before escaping. Akweyo now serves as a voice for the women who do not speak up about the violence in northern Uganda.

"The best thing you can do is give people a mind of expressing themselves," she said. "It heals you emotionally."

From Angela Rose and Elizabeth Hendrix to Caroline Akweyo, the voice of female empowerment against sexual violence is raising both locally and globally.

To get involved in spreading sexual assault awareness, visit www.pavingtheway.net. For counseling services or simply to report sexual violence, call Chicago's Rape Crisis Hotline at 888-293-2080.
- The Phoenix


"CD aims to shatter silence, alert women to the threat of violence"

Angela Rose is a promoting a CD-ROM called "Sexual Violence: It Can Happen to You" for a good reason: It happened to her.

When she was 17, Rose was leaving her summer job at a mall when she was approached by a man who put a knife to her throat. He forced her into his car, bound her hands, taped her eyes shut and drove her to a forest preserve. There, he sexually assaulted her.

He was on parole at the time, a convicted murderer and rapist.

"I was catapulted into activism at a very young age because of this," Rose said.

She launched a petition drive to toughen the laws against repeat sexual offenders.

It worked, and Rose was energized.

In 2001, as a student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Rose started a non-profit called PAVE, short for Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (www.pavingtheway.net).

Its motto: Shatter the silence of sexual violence.

"We use social, educational and legislative tactics to raise awareness on the prevalence of rape and sexual assault," she said.

One of the educational methods used by the group is the new CD- ROM. It's a professionally produced series of interviews, testimonials, re-enactments and quizzes about some of the worst things that can happen to women: "stalking, unhealthy relationships, rape, and the entire experience of violence against women."

"This tool can help women gain an education through the privacy of their own computer," she said.

Rose has distributed thousands of the discs to universities and high schools around the country. Crisis hotlines use them to educate volunteers.

Sold for about $70 each, before volume discounts, PAVE keeps a third of the revenues generated. The balance goes to the organizations that helped fund the disc's production and to the company that created it, Interactive Character Development Inc.

Details on the disc are available on the company's Web site (www.interactivecharacterdevelopment.com).

Rose's purpose is singular: "I'm trying to get women who have been victims to talk about it and to help women understand that this can happen to them. One in four are sexually assaulted in their lifetimes."

She delivers more than 100 speeches per year to high school and college students to spread this message, and she hopes the CD-ROM will help get the word out.

- - -

Online directories offer assistance

Angela Rose recommends two Web sites as resources on sexual assault:

www.icasa.org. The Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault is a group of 33 Illinois-based sexual-assault crisis centers.

www.rainn.org. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network maintains a toll-free national sexual-abuse hot line. - Chicago Tribune


"Angela Rose in the Bahamas"

The cycle of abuse is going to continue if parents and gaurdians of the victims of these types of crimes do not speak up said an American sexual asssult activist.

Angela Rose, who was the keynote speaker at a forum on sexual assault held at the British Colonial Hilton on Monday highlighted that a lot of parents whose children report sexual abuse to them usually ignore their child's cry for help by turning them away. She exclaimed that many parents behave in this manner because they want to keep everything quiet and they do not know how to deal with the situation.

"The current statistics reported that generally 1 in 3 women will encounter sexual abuse before they are 18-years-old," she explained. "If we are going to shatter the silence of sexual violence we need to encourage men and women, especially men to speak up and to not take that anymore."

According to Ms Rose, who is a survivor of sexual assault she founded an organization called 'Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment' (PAVE), which is a multi-chapter organization that uses social, educational, and legislative tactics to raise awareness on sexual abuse, rape, and incest.

She expressed the view that sexual assault is a major issue that never gets enough attention from members of the public. However, she emphasized that there needs to be a change in the attitude of the public because sexual assault is not only a crime against a victim's body. But instead, is a crime that rips away at a victim's mind and soul.

Moreover, she noted that in order for the sexual assault and abuse cycle to be broken people must become brave and speak up about their ordeal no matter what, even if the aggressor is a family member.

"When people think of sexual assault they usually think of strangers. Strangers do commit sexual assault. However, that's not the norm. This type of assault is usually committed by someone the victim knows," she said.

Sidney Strachan, founder of 'No Excuse Bahamas' the organization that coordinated the forum said his organization's aim is to raise awareness about sexual violence and find ways to address violence and abuse. He exclaimed that the No Excuse Bahamas organization organized the event in an attempt to stop the cycle of sexual abuse and assault, by taking those issues from the back burner and placing them to the forefront.

"I am hoping that we are able to raise the type of awareness that would encourage people to come forward and speak out about abuse," he said.

2006 The Nassau Guardian. All rights reserved.

- The Nassau Guardian


"PAVE National Protests"

On Tuesday, July 17th, a national demonstration, dubbed, "CALL IT RAPE", is expected to be held in major cities across the U.S. in front of numerous community courthouses. Protestors will be carrying placards that say RAPE, SEXUAL ASSUALT KIT, VICTIM, and other words that Judge Jeffre Cheuvrant of Lancaster County, Nebraska District Court has banned from use in the courtroom in a sexual assault case.

And the protestors' mouths will be gagged with scarves and bandanas.

The alleged victim in the sexual assault case, Tory Bowen, has already endured one trial with the word ban in place. That trial ended in a hung jury. Judge Cheuvrant had gagged her again for the second trial, prohibiting her or the attorneys from using the words rape, sexual assault, sexual assault kit, along with other similar words and phrases.

But the words sex and sexual intercourse are just fine with the Judge.

He declared a mistrial on July 12th during jury selection for the second trial due to protests on July 9th and 11th in front of the Lancaster courthouse. The group PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment organized the protests. It is this group that is promoting the nation wide protests on July 17th.

The judge also cited Ms. Bowen as a reason for his declaring this mistrial, that she and her friends created a media frenzy with the intention of tainting the jury pool.(1)

Angela Rose, Executive Director of PAVE, states in the press release for the protest, "The irony of Judge Cheuvrant's order for the mistrial is that yet again he is trying to ban free speech. It was his unconstitutional ruling that led the people to the streets in protest in the first place. This is causing national outrage and we must be the voice for all who have been silenced by violence."

What Judge Cheuvrant, and others who may think he was constitutionally correct, don't quite understand is that if he had banned the word rape, citing it as a legal conclusion for the jury, the whole case may have gone unnoticed. But this Judge couldn't seem to help himself, and banned any word remotely suggestive of non-consensual sex, and the names of investigative tools that go with an investigation of a rape or sexual assault charge.

If the defense lawyers had suggested Ms. Bowen not be allowed in the courtroom because it upset Mr. Safi, this Judge may have consented to that as well.

The "CALL IT RAPE" protests are scheduled to go on in spite of the mistrial called by the Judge. Most likely, the third trial will be moved to another venue, and Judge Cheuvrant will not be presiding. But the protestors will not let this judge, or others who may be contemplating similar constitutional trickery, forget that he or his kind will no longer silence victims of sexual violence.

More information about the organization PAVE can be found at www.pavingtheway.net - Associated Content


"Group tackles sex assault issues"

Joy Grainger is president of the Arizona chapter of PAVE, Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment, a group that deals with sexual assault issues.

I realize the public doesn't want to talk or think about sexual assault. Not talking or thinking about it, however, won't make it go away
or keep us safe. We need to bring this subject to light and not continue to bury our heads in the sand.

Sexual assault is the number one most unreported crime. Contrary to belief, there aren't any more falsely reported sexual assaults (approximately 2 percent
according to the FBI) than in any other crime. Sexual assault affects us all either directly or indirectly. It can strike all ages, sizes, gender and races. That is my reason for starting a chapter of PAVE here in the Valley. It stands for Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment. Our motto is "Shatter the silence of sexual violence."

Pave was started in 2001 by Angela Rose. Pave is a multi-chapter organization that uses social, educational, and legislative tactics. Pave aims to break the stereotypes and commonly believed myths about rape and sexual assault, as well as empower people to realize that there is no shame in being a survivor.

I have a passion for this because recently I was a victim of date rape. Popular belief would have us believe rape is perpetrated only by
strangers as in Angela's case but the truth be told approximately 80 percent of victims know their perpetrator. Sadly, sexual assault is a silent crime that plagues our society and many victims never tell a soul. I believe we all know survivors we just may not know it yet. Could it be your friend? your
neighbor? or your loved one?

The whole purpose is to shatter the silence of sexual violence. For the sake of our youth - let's stop this crime. In the Valley of the Sun with more than 5 million people I couldn't find an active current support group to join and that's just crazy. Survivors of this crime need to know they're not alone. Survivors need to not be ashamed of this. It is not a crime of passion, love or sex. It is a crime of control, power and abuse.

Now there is a place for survivors to come together and get their
power back. There are two places to join our Survivor Empowerment Support Group.

Monday's at the Red Mountain Police Substation 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., 4333 E University. Thursday's temporarily at The Best Western Mezona Inn

250 W. Main St., Mesa. We too can make a difference right here in Arizona. Pave is looking for
volunteers. Pave is a non-profit org. Our Web site is www.pave-arizona.com and the e-mail is

joy.pave.az@hotmail.com.

- Arizona Central


Discography

Angela produced a documentary "Transition to Survivor", her first single "Transition" is the theme song.

Visit:
www.ShatteringTheSilence.org

Photos

Bio

Angela Rose is a national leader in the movement to shatter the silence of sexual violence. Angela was empowered by a violent attack that happened when she was 17 years old. The summer after her senior year of high school, Angela was kidnapped at knifepoint from a shopping mall parking lot by a paroled child killer. Angela was re-traumatized in reporting the crime - the detective accused her of lying.

Instead of being silent, Angela Rose turned a suburban community into a group of proactive citizens. Working with others attacked by her perpetrator, Angela spearheaded the movement culminating with the passage of the 1998 Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act in Illinois. During this process, countless people confided in her that they had survived a sexual assault. Yet, the vast majority of them had been victimized by someone who they trusted but had never told anyone. Angela came to recognize how sexual violence plagues our society, yet the silence that cloaks these crimes feed this public health crisis.

Angela founded PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment in 2001 and it has since grown into a well-respected national nonprofit that uses education, social advocacy and healing tools to help survivors thrive. 

Angela's work and personal experiences have led her to become a highly-respected, engaging empowerment speaker and performer across the country. From audiences of 10 to 10,000+, Angela develops an intimate setting by interweaving open discussion on often-difficult subjects with music, poetry, art and film, fostering deep connections with the community. This blending of the harsh realities of assault and creative expression motivate individuals to turn tragedy into triumph and mobilize groups to create a world without violence.

PAVE has been featured on CNN, TODAY SHOW and in TIME. Angela Rose has been a guest on various daytime talk shows. Her story was featured in several teen magazines including CosmoGIRL and Girl's Life as well as newspapers across the country.

Band Members