The first of my stories took place in Rome in 1995, when I was 17 and away for a class trip with my school in France. It was our last night in Rome, and I decided to go for a walk. About half way through my walk, a man stopped me to talk. The ensuing interaction, which you can read about in more detail in 'Traffic', involved two men pursuing me on foot and in a car for what I can only guess was an attempt to abduct me - whether to rape me, or for sex trafficking or for some other purpose - I will fortunately never know. As I was running away from my would-be abductors, I happened to run into my classmates who had decided to go for a walk, prompting the men pursuing me to abandon their chase. I tried to explain to my classmates what has happened, but I had a hard time processing what I had just experienced. I never reported what happened that night to the police, and in the years that followed, I found myself second-guessing that this had actually taken place. It seemed like it was out of a movie. To this day, I have no proof that any of this happened.
It was at this point that I realized that I was part of the problem - because I was one of the people who tolerated his actions - "I should give him the benefit of the doubt" and "I don't want to lose him as a reference" and "he's had a stressful week" and "he drank too much" and "he's hurt because I rejected him" and "maybe I gave him mixed signals" and "maybe I over-reacted." But the fact is that I said no over and over again and he would not stop. He has one objective in mind and nothing I said mattered.
I doubt even today that he could admit that he has done anything wrong, much less take responsibility for his actions. I would not tolerate this behavior from anyone else, and I know that by treating him as a friend, I enable and normalize his behavior and open myself up to this or worse again. I now see that I need cut him out of my life and I am quite frankly embarrassed that it took me this long to come to this conclusion.
There are many reasons for how I ended up here, but I think what it comes down to is that I like to be believe in the goodness of the people I call my friends, and believe that they will respect my wishes. I need a lot of proof to the contrary before I believe otherwise. I got it in spades this time. It was a stark reminder that patriarchy is still alive and well and breathing even at home and even among my "friends" today.
My visit to CSW this year reminded me how painful these experiences can be for survivors, especially when they are forced to suffer in silence, with no chance of justice. It reminded me how these traumas can affect not only your quality of life, including physical and mental health, but also the lives of those you love. It reminded me of women who must cope with unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, not to mention stigma and rejection from families and communities. How violence - or even the threat of it - can affect your ability to do your job, engage with colleagues, or enjoy a day off. It reminded me that survivors become mistrustful, including of male-dominated security institutions and justice systems that prioritize evidence and all too often re-victimize survivors. It reminded me that violations can happen anywhere - at home, in a bar, at work, at church, or on sports teams; it can happen during peace or conflict; at home or during displacement; in repressive regimes and democracies; in peacekeeping operations and at police stations; and anywhere that unchecked power exists. And above all, it reminded me how very important it is for women to become leaders in shaping the policies and decisions that will help secure our future.
As both a gender equality advocate and someone who has escaped violence relatively unscathed, I believe that I have a duty to remind us all that this fight, which all too often lives in the shadows, is far from over. We ALL have a role to play in interrogating why violence occurs, how we enable it and what role we can play in preventing it. So that maybe one day, we will all be able to experience our own understanding of what it means to live in peace.