Perspectives on survivor speech

Participant 1: I think some victims may not have the courage to talk to a person face to face. She may prefer to writing something to disclose or chatting online. He/she may feel this way…

First of all, as we all know, this [sexual assault] is something that can damage the honor of that friend. What if her future boyfriend knows about this? What if her future husband know this,…

I think sharing experiences is also important because most of us really don’t know what to do.

Participant 1: It’s just that we are used to sexual assault. We don’t really talk about it back home, right? Participant 2: Right, like it happens but it’s not something that is talked about that…

Facilitator: Yeah, cause like, in Africa, if it happens, then it was your fault. Most times in Africa, they tell you [the person] raped you because, “I told you not to wear that short skirt.”…

We need to raise more awareness about problems like these, because I think in our culture, more than western culture, this type of stuff is slept upon. It’s not talked about enough, or it’s even…

In our culture, sexual assault is considered one of the taboo subjects. It is never talked about. Victims have to suffer through [it] alone, in silence, which makes it much harder. So, I think it…

A question I would have with the policy is the question of anonymity? ‘Cause, you know, like, another participant mentioned, she had a friend that eventually had to take back her complaint, or whatever, ’cause…

If [a friend disclosed sexual assault] I just think that you would have to understand the sensitivity that the situation entails […] and also understand whether or how proveable it is. Because, so many times,…

Culturally, we are very different in the sense that openness in terms of how much we talk about sexual contact or even sex in general – it is such a hush-hush topic. […] The first…