Women are telling their stories

Thousands of women across the world are taking to social media to publicly say that they have been raped and never reported the crime.

In a show of solidarity and support, rape survivors mainly women and girls  are sharing their personal stories of rape. By doing it on social media, where most people use their real names and are easily identifiable, they are self-identifying as rape survivors.

It’s an incredibly powerful display that is also deeply saddening. Most of these survivors say they are sharing their stories for the first time, and could not come forward to the police.

What I see is  “The thing that’s interesting for us is that for a lot of women why they don’t report was more about social stigma than about fear of police or anything like that. The importance of this sort of activism is that it starts to shift that stigma and that shame."

Why is rape so under-reported?

Raise awareness about the reality of rape, but also shocking, as they show just how many people affected by sexual violence do not report the crime.

 In most cases it is the sense of shame and stigma that prevents women from coming forward but many people  also suggest that it is a lack of understanding and sensitivity on the police’s part.

One woman writes on Twitter: “Being raped was horrible. Trying to report it and then being made to feel it was my fault was worse.” Another tweets: “The police turned me away, saying I was too "young" to have it happen to me”, and one other woman shockingly posts: “I've been raped so many times I've lost count. The police and my university didn't believe me before, why would they now?”

The most common complaints are that police officers suggested the victim had drunk too much, or was “a jilted ex-girlfriend”, and a general lack of trust. It raises awareness over the reasons why rape survivors rarely report the crime, but more importantly, it shows that so many survivors do not go to the police. A 2012 Mumsnet survey suggested that 80 per cent of women do not report rape or sexual assault.

“It’s really, really difficult to report and it’s not something that every feels able to do,” “Survivors can feel a lot of pressure. Women feel it’s their responsibility to stop the perpetrator from doing it to someone else.”

If you have been affected by sexual violence, get in touch with the Rape Crisis.