Karen Pence: YOUR SILENCE = COMPLICITY

In response to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement's recent practice of separating child and parent asylum seekers at the United States border, the grassroots group Art Therapists for Human Rights called for Karen Pence, a self-proclaimed advocate for the field of art therapy, to "immediately begin to advocate for the mental health of all children in need, including the children now impacted and traumatized by the separation from their families due to the policies of the current White House Administration."

Art Therapists for Human Rights
For Immediate Release
Published: 6/24/18

Karen Pence: YOUR SILENCE = COMPLICITY

Karen Pence, a member of the current White House Administration, has been notably silent on the separation of children from adylum-seeking families. Art Therapists for Human Rights (AT4HR), a grassroots community of art therapists and concerned individuals, believes that Karen Pence's silence is unacceptable, particularly because of her self-selected and very public role as an advocate for the field of art therapy, a profession that is dedicated to the value of mental health for all children, adults, families, and communities. Although the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) board has enthusiastically embraced Karen Pence's advocacy, Art Therapists for Human Rights do not recognize Karen Pence as an advocate for our profession. If Karen Pence believes she is an advocate for art therapy, she must also be an advocate for the mental health needs of all individuals, no matter what political issues are involved. AT4HR calls on Karen Pence to immediately begin to advocate for the mental health of all children in need, including the children now impacted and traumatized by the separation from their families due to the policies of the current White House Administration. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people."

Art by Emily Greene, LPC, ATR