Have you ever been called a "slut"? If so, how did you feel? Whether you are sexually active or not the term can be hurtful and embarrassing. If you’re a parent of a teen, have you heard about "slut" shaming and the dire effects it can have on your impressionable teenager?

"Slut" shaming and sexual bullying is occurring every day in America. Many teens are experiencing these issues and feel uncomfortable reporting it to their parents or other adults. Emily Lindin, who founded of The UnSlut Project in April 2013, found herself in this exact situation when she was eleven. She began journaling about these incidents of "slut" shaming and sexual bullying she faced in school.

As Emily published her journal entries, she hoped that her words would reach teens experiencing the same thing bringing awareness about this prevalent issue. The UnSlut Project started as a small online personal submission and has now grown to incorporate the stories of girls, women, and men of many ages, backgrounds, and nationalities. Emily will be discussing the UnSlut Project and her upcoming video project “Slut: A Documentary Film” and her soon to be released book, “UnSlut: A Diary and A Memoir”.

Emily Lindin is the founder of The UnSlut Project, ​ an online community where survivors of sexual bullying and "slut" shaming can share their stories, and where girls who are currently suffering can find support and solidarity. The UnSlut Project was inspired by Emily’s own experience. When she was eleven years old, she was branded a “slut” by her classmates and was bullied at school, after school, and online. During all this, she kept a regular diary. Now a Harvard graduate pursuing her PhD in California, Emily started The UnSlut Project by blogging her own middle school diaries.

​The UnSlut Project's crowd-funded film, "Slut: A Documentary Film," is in post-production and Emily's book, "UnSlut: A Diary and A Memoir," will be published in December, 2015.

Emily has been featured sharing her story and speaking out against "slut" shaming on ABC with Katie Couric, CNN with Brooke Baldwin, The Doctors, Al Jazeera America, HLN, DNTO radio with Sook-Yin Lee, NPR with Lance Orozco of KCLU, Deutsche Welle radio, Radio Ireland, and in many magazines and blogs including The Telegraph, The New Statesman, This Magazine, The Huffington Post, and The Observer.

Stephen Kotev is a Washington D.C. based conflict resolution consultant offering mediation, negotiation and facilitation services, conflict coaching, training and somatic education to private and government clients. Helping people resolve problems and improve their performance is his passion and profession.

Stephen has dedicated his professional career to the practice and study of conflict resolution. His first exposure to conflict resolution began as a high school peer mediator over twenty years ago and his interest in the theory and practice of conflict resolution continues to this day. He holds a Master of Science degree from George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution and is certified in conflict coaching by Conflict Coaching Matters LLC.

Stephen is a black belt in the Japanese martial art of Aikido and has become a nationally recognized expert on how to maintain your performance under pressure. Since 2006, he has taught graduate and undergraduate students these somatic skills as an Adjunct Professor for George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Stephen is one of only two individuals to have been employed by both of the nation’s two largest Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) membership organizations – the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution and the Association for Conflict Resolution. He has also worked for the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management and the District of Columbia Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency as an ADR Specialist.

Stephen has conducted trainings to international and national audiences in, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Germany, Northern Ireland and across the United States.

Abigail Clark is a recent graduate of the University of Baltimore obtaining her master’s degree in negotiation and conflict management. Abigail earned her Bachelor’s degree in Human Services with a specialization in addictions from Stevenson University. She left undergrad with the hopes of becoming an addiction’s counselor, which led her to the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Shortly after that, she determined that social work was not for her. While researching different possibilities, she discovered UB’s Negotiation and Conflict Management program. After reading two-course descriptions, she was sold. Abigail continues to pursue her research in how men and women engage in conflict; more specifically, female to female conflict. Abigail recently became a Certified Scrum Master. Currently, she and her fiancé are fixing up their Baltimore City home or planning their upcoming September 2015 wedding!