When Women Speak

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any. "-Alice Walker

Rape is not a result of sexual desire. Rape is used as a tool to dehumanize, to cause one to submit, and to give the attacker a sense of superiority and power over the victim.  Rape is also used as a tool to silence, through shame and guilt. 

During the genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994, an estimated 800,000 people lost their lives and an estimated 250,000-500,000 women were raped during this three month massacre. 

 Survivors , activists, and lawyers  knew the  power that existed in their voices. They refused to give that power away. These Change Makers decided to no longer be manipulated by rapists,  so they took their attackers to court. 

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When women speak, culture changes.
When women speak, nations improve.
When women speak, dignity is restored. 

 In 1997 , for the first time ever, rape was successfully prosecuted as a war crime and an act of genocide.   This decision to prosecute rape as a war crime,  advanced the "world's legal treatment of rape and sexual violence," as reported by the New York Times and provided the first international definition of rape as "a physical invasion of a sexual nature, committed on a person under circumstances which are coercive." 

"The Uncondemned" is a film that documents this historic journey. It has gained global support, and has started many necessary conversations among those who have the power to change culture. 

You have the power to change culture.  If you don't know how, you can start by speaking, by becoming educated, and by giving charitably to the causes that you care about. 

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You also have the chance to become part of our global movement to end rape culture.  We definitely need your help to accomplish such a great feat. Any success that is lasting and pure is accomplished as a collective.  
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