Victims of sexual violence testify

This hashtag was born in the United States this Monday, June 1 and has crossed the world. In France, since Wednesday June 3, many victims of sexual violence have testified to their experiences through #Iwas. Since then, more than 45,000 tweets have mentioned the hashtag, revealing strong, poignant testimonies that have touched the greatest number. Most of them are women who have lifted the veil on what they have suffered. They are mentioned, moreover, the age at which they were victims of this scourge, suggesting that most often their executioner was a member of their family or someone close to them.

This hashtag helped break the silence for some who had never mentioned this violence before. It will also allow those who remain silent to see that speaking, denouncing, being listened to is possible. Mass testimonies prove that this scourge does not concern only a minority part of the population, on the contrary. In 2016, a report by the National Institute for Demographic Studies indicates that 2,700 men have been victims of at least one rape in the past 12 months. A disturbing figure which lifts, once again, the veil on this subject so taboo.

Marlene Shiappa, Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men, welcomed the initiative of this hashtag by supporting all victims of sexual assault: "I salute the courage of all those who speak out against the sexual violence suffered at a younger age with #Iwas." can we read on his Twitter account before remembering that "Rape victims now have 30 years of age to file complaints."

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Video by Clemence chevallet