Morrígan Reborn: Silence is the enemy

Jul 2, 2009

Silence is the enemy

To speak is to reveal. It is scary and almost overwhelming but silence is the enemy.

Silence allows people to pontificate on the rarity of rape.

Silence says that one in three is a lie.

Silence allows rapists to get away with it.

Silence permits the proliferation of rape jokes and triggering language.

No more. No more shame. No more self-blame. No more being regarded as a victim with no agency.

My first experience with rape was when I pulled a boy off my friend. We were 14. She was screaming no, and he was ignoring her.

My first rape was in 2000 when a man named Mohamed from Syria raped me in his apartment in Lavitt's Quay in Cork City. A friend, Carla, had introduced us. Carla subsequently doubted my story. I told him to stop, he didn't. I told him he was hurting me and he just kept on going. I tried to struggle but I was pinned down. Afterward he told me he was HIV+.

My second rape was in a back alley in Florence. My drink was spiked and I was unconscious. When I came to, in pain, a stranger's penis was in my anus. When he had finished, he left me bleeding on the ground behind a dumpster.

Silence Is The Enemy was started in June 2009 to draw more attention to the sexually abused around the globe and to encourage everyone to talk about it and act.

We have power and influence in our words, and we're able to speak for those who can not. We’re asking all of you—bloggers, writers, teachers and concerned citizens—to use whatever platform you have to call for an end to the rape and abuse of women and girls in Liberia and around the world. [source]