Sexual Assault Awareness Month

GLAAD is proud to be a partner of the It’s On Us campaign, an initiative aimed to address and bring awareness to sexual assault. It’s On Us is a pledge that holds others accountable for their behavior, encourages everyone to be respectful of a person’s right to consent or not, and to intervene before it happens. In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we are sharing the stories of survivors and highlighting the importance of breaking the silence.  

“Breaking the silence has made my experiences real for me. I’ve sent my words out into the world, told my story as I experienced it, and people listened. Some believed me and some did not. But the telling was ultimately more important than the being believed. At first I told my story because I needed to let it out, needed my experiences to be as real as possible in order to heal. But now I also tell my story because I hope I can help others. If breaking my silence inspires one other person to reclaim their body, their sexuality, validate their ‘yes’ as well as their 'no,’ and show them that they are not to blame, then I will keep breaking the silence until it is in shards at my feet.”

“Being a survivor used to mean living with a virus I would never get rid of. At least that’s how I’d felt for 2,555 days… I want to make one less survivor feel alone or devalued or not beautiful anymore. You’re still worthy of being loved and worthy of loving yourself and deserving of all that love. It’s a process– I’m still working through it, too. But it’s a process no one has to go through alone.”

“I think of the other people I know who are survivors, and I know too many, and I don’t count myself among them. I feel like I am the wrong kind of survivor. I’m dramatic and loud and I like attention. The first friends I told assumed I was spinning tales to make people pay attention to me. Really, I just wanted to fish the words out of my stomach. I was so tired of digesting acid. I had been tasting pennies at the back of my throat for years. It had just… been so long… But I think a lot of survivors feel similarly. And by loving other survivors deeply, I’ve begun to understand little ways that I can love myself.”

“I’m generally a quiet, silent, stoic person, and it’s only really recently that I’m beginning to realize that I have a voice and it’s important to use it. My inability to speak out about this speaks volumes about our society, and by using my voice, I can contribute to an ongoing discussion where we acknowledge this as a horrific reality and take steps towards prevention.”

“Being a survivor means so many things to me but maybe most importantly, it means being here to help prevent things like this from happening to other people.”

“For years I’ve pretended it never happened, tried not to give it any meaning. Even now, I don’t know how to think about what happened without dissociating myself from the memory. It’s empowering to tell my story because I wanted to, not because I was holding it in so much that I vomited it out.”

“I’m still here, I survived a terrible violation and will defy the person who did it by flourishing and living a worthwhile life.”

“I have a responsibility to prevent it from happening to others as much as I possibly can. It means that I’ve got more strength than I realize or feel like I have. It means I am a part of a supportive and loving community.”

“Being a survivor is getting yourself through the day. Sometimes it means feeling like left-overs from your experience. Sometimes it’s knowing that you are so much more than that.”