NI women come together to raise awareness of sexual violence
Women across Northern Ireland are showing solidarity with each other by sharing their experiences of Sexual Violence by taking part in the ‘Share your Story’ series.
It gives an anonymous account of physical and sexual harassment that are being made available on the Raise Your Voice website.
The stories include harrowing details of women being assaulted and groped by strangers while on a night out or in their own homes by a family friend.
The Raise Your Voice project is a collective initiative involving women’s groups such as the Women’s Support Network, the Women’s Research and Development Agency, Reclaim the Agenda and the NI Women’s Rural Network as well as LGBT groups such as Carafriend, Transgender NI and Here NI.
As part of the campaign one story will be shared every other day to coincide with the United Nations 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence with the hope that more women will have the confidence to come forward and give an account of their experiences.
It is an annual international campaign that begins on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until December 10, Human Rights Day.
One of two pieces uploaded this week tells of a young woman coming home from work and being sexually assaulted by a male friend of her housemate who had been drinking.
She would like to tell her abuser: "I will never be the same woman that I was before that happened and sometimes, I grieve for the person that you took away.
“I find it frustrating that you probably never give what you did a second thought whereas I think about it every day.
“I hate you.
“One day I hope that I won't hate you and I'll have closure and you won't cross my mind and most of all I hope you haven't done that to anyone else.
"I carry that with me every day."
A second piece charts the experience of another woman approached by three men in a crowded venue while on a night out enjoying one of her favourite bands.
She said: “If I could speak to the people who did this I would say: You might have thought it was banter or harmless fun, or even that I liked it, but I didn't.
“It scared me and stays with me nearly two decades later.
“The pack mentality is evil and can really destroy people, even people in your group.
"Women are not your playthings.”
Karen Sweeney who represents the Women’s Support Network on the Raise Your Voice project said the goal was to bring into sharp focus the ongoing nightmare faced by many women across the country.
She said: “Our aim is to give women a voice to tell their stories and help end the pandemic of sexual and physical violence.
We would like to thank those brave women who have come forward to share their experiences for showing others that they are not alone.”
The website will also include a series of online workshops looking at issues such as sexual harassment, consent, victim blaming and how the media report crimes of violence against women.
Louise Coyle from NI Women’s Rural Network added: “We want to expose this hidden nightmare of abuse to force the authorities to address an epidemic that is taking place day in day out in households across Northern Ireland.
"The only way we can solve this problem is by confronting misogyny at all levels, increasing public awareness and changing attitudes.”
To view the Share Your Story initiative go to: www.raiseyourvoice.community