I do not have a vagina.

But when I participated in last year’s “The Vagina Monologues,” the rest of the ensemble and I were dubbed “vagina warriors.”

Now I know a true “vagina warrior” when I see one. They’re the men and women who spend every day dealing with issues the show brings up — violence against women, rape and sexual abuse. The frank stories make the play hard to listen to at times, and it’s that much more difficult in real life.

Fortunately, some people are brave enough to deal with those issues on a regular basis. Courtney Avery is one of those people. She is the director of the Quetzal Center, a rape crisis facility serving the North Side of Chicago — one of the 34 centers that comprise the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

But although the center’s brick exterior is modest, the heroism inside is not. “The Vagina Monologues” supports charities, but the show doesn’t include anything about the therapists and advocates who do quiet, unglorious work. And maybe it should.

Quetzal’s six full-time staffers and dozen volunteers are camped on the front lines of the battle against sexual violence. They see victims at their most hurt and vulnerable and help them begin the difficult process of coping with what has happened to them.

The staff is available every hour of every day, making sure the victims get the proper medical care and that their rights are upheld. They’re more than an audience — they console and they are probably the only hope for some.

Avery, 38, has spent the last six years running the center because of her devotion to helping people. Rather than simply overseeing and directing, she often counsels victims herself on location.

“I had a young girl who was kidnapped and repeatedly sexually assaulted by more than one person,” she says. It was “a brutal sexual assault … I wasn’t prepared for it. You don’t expect to see someone who looks to be no more than 8 to 10 years old.”

“You kind of think you become immune,” she says. It’s more than just emotional discomfort — Avery and the center’s advocates face the risk of vicarious trauma syndrome. Advocates typically last two to three years on the job, she says, due to “burnout.” The repeated exposure to emotional pain often scars them too.

The facility also offers free therapy services for survivors of rape and incest, and has groups in both English and Spanish. Individual and group sessions help these victims try to move on with their lives, and begin the difficult journey from victim to survivor.

“The Vagina Monologues” has done a lot to make people think about women’s issues. But in the end, it’s just a play and raising awareness is only the first step.

Avery, who spends day after day working to help others, is a real hero. The progress that has been made toward reducing rape and helping its victims is due to women like Avery.

The real-world vagina warriors deserve more credit than actresses yelling “Cunt!”

Marley Seaman is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected].