Matt Sassano Releases New Single ‘Violated,’ Dedicated To Sexual Abuse Survivors

Top-charting Christian rock artist Matt Sassano with his latest foray into stigmatized subjects. “Violated” seeks to amplify and dignify the experiences of those who have survived sexual abuse and trafficking.

“I resonate with it as someone who hasn’t gone through that kind of abuse but really empathizes with any kind of abuse that people go through,” shares Matt Sassano, whose last single “Happy Family” uncovered his own experience of growing up in a home with domestic violence.

Always digging deep as a songwriter, Sassano was committed to doing the subject of human trafficking justice. He says, “I’ve been working with Mary Nikkel of The Exodus Road, who works with survivors directly. She educated me on a whole host of issues leading up to this release. Often when you think about trafficking, you get the Hollywood version in your mind: Liam Neeson and Taken, someone swept in a van and never heard from again. Although those cases do happen, it’s usually actually a friend or a family member or a loved one manipulating someone into slavery of some sort.”

To bring the song’s empowering tone to life, Matt Sassano collaborated with producer Josiah Prince (Disciple). “Violated” was mixed and mastered by Kevin Jackson, who Sassano worked closely with for “Happy Family.” With a strong team behind it, “Violated” is a worthy successor to Matt Sassano’s uninterrupted string of #1 tracks at rock radio, a list that has included “Fuel,” “Dear God” and “Not My Name.”

“Rather than focus on the victimization of these people, we wanted to focus on survivor stories,” Matt Sassano says earnestly. “Everything that we did was to honor their stories, from the artwork to the lyrics. It was all carefully crafted.”

According to the United Nations, “trafficking occurs when a trafficker uses force, fraud or coercion to control another person for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or soliciting labor or services against his/her will. Force, fraud, or coercion need not be present if the individual engaging in commercial sex is under 18 years of age.”

If you think that you or someone you love might be experiencing trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or chat live at humantraffickinghotline.org/en/chat. To learn more about trafficking and get involved in stopping it, visit theexodusroad.com.