Glossary of Terms

The Isabel community uses unique verbiage in order to serve as effective leaders. Here are some explanations of what we mean when we say certain things.

Pivot Leader: In the Isabel community, a Pivot Leader is someone who is changing the tone of the conversation surrounding mental health and sexual maltreatment. Pivot Leaders advocate for healthy survivor-supporter relationships by finding good messages and effective strategies in the existing culture to pivot around as we transition to the improved culture that we desire. Composer and Isabel creator Anna Westbrook was inspired to create the Pivot Leader term by her understanding of the pivot chords used to change keys within a song.

More about Pivot Chords: A key is a musical world where one particular note sounds acts as home-base.  When a song starts out in a certain key, it starts out with certain rules. There are certain notes and chords that do and do not belong in that key. But there are notes and chords that some keys have in common. When changing from one key to another, composers learn to pivot around a chord that both keys have in common. That chord is called the pivot chord.

More About Pivot Moments: Anna believes that a community culture is a lot like a musical key. There are certain rules within the community, certain behaviors that do or do not belong in that culture. Anna believes we are experiencing a cultural shift throughout modern society, but that we need to be more intentional about how we pivot into our new cultural expectations. For example, we are moving out of a culture that says disbelieves survivors and into a culture of acceptance and support. While we do so, we need to look for the ways in which the behaviors that the community culture we want matches the community culture we already have, so we can use those as pivot moments.

Complete this Pivot Leader Assessment to learn what you are doing right  and start a conversation on your unique position within the sexual maltreatment response community.

Sexual Maltreatment: In the Isabel community, Sexual Maltreatment is the umbrella term used to discuss everything from sexual harassment to human trafficking. Isabel creator Anna Westbrook coined this term term in order to create a more emotionally manageable space for survivors, those suffering from trauma, or those simply scared away by the terminology associated with advocacy. The term “sexual maltreatment” may be used to replace any or all of the following within the Isabel website, training materials, or live presentations. The intention is not to silence survivors or coddle supporters, but rather to limit the emotional distress that comes with advocacy within this difficult field. During live trainings, the Isabel team may choose to use one or more of the following words instead of maltreatment to create a more specified form of awareness. When quoting research, feedback or relevant data, the Isabel leadership team is committed to providing footnotes specifying which type of maltreatment the quote is referencing.

Trigger Warning: The following list contains intense language that may not be suitable or manageable for all audiences. Please take care of yourself and those around you as you continue to read.

Sexual maltreatment includes but is not limited to: sexual abuse, sexual assault, unwanted sexual attention, sexual mistreatment, sexual misconduct, rape, ravishment, violation, sexual slavery, forcible intercourse, sexual harassment, human trafficking, sexual molestation, forced sex, date rate, groping, carnal abuse, sex crimes, sexual offense, unlawful sexual intercourse, sexual exploitation, sexual impropriety, sexual intimidation, sexual victimization, inappropriate sexual behavior, inappropriate touching, offensive sexual advance, sexual pressure, suggestive comments, unprofessional behavior, and unwanted sexual advances.