“Trust yourself. Know that you can. You are capable. You are stronger than you think.”

Tiana St. Clair is a singer, activist, backpacker, rockclimber, and a survivor of sexual violence.

After being raped by a friend, Tiana reached out to her family members to disclose her experience. Her cousin offered love and support and immediately guided Tiana to contact the police and the hospital. She told Tiana that what she experienced was not okay, and Tiana felt fortunate to have this support.

Desarae Garcia is a social worker, mother, podcast creator, storyteller, and survivor of child sexual abuse. “I’m a huge advocate for people to be trauma informed. If someone tells you they’ve been abused, believe them. If it’s too much for you to handle, find someone else who can help.”

Georgeta Rae is a musician, activist, and community leader. She experienced sexual assault during her first year of college. She started speaking at events on campus and working with the college president on the issue. Georgeta has become an outspoken advocate for improving sexual assault prevention and response efforts on her campus. “If I help others, I feel better. I heal. If I know that at least one other person won’t have to go through the same pain I went through, I feel that I am saving myself through saving them.”

Christy Hinnant is an activist, veteran, and the current Mrs. Universal, the all-around winner of a national pageant competition. She is also a survivor of sexual assault. “I felt vulnerable that this thing had happened to me and I didn’t want it to show through to anyone. I didn’t want pity; I didn’t want them to think I was lesser. I tried never to ask for help and to show a strong exterior.”

Hannah Rad was sexually assaulted by an acquaintance on her college campus during her first year. She didn’t want to tell anyone about what happened because she felt ashamed. “Being gay does not justify terrible things happening to you. Owning who you are and everything that makes you YOU is the first step in healing. You don’t need to be ashamed of what happened to you.”

Tarhata Brazsal experienced rape and intimate partner violence from her high school boyfriend. After the relationship ended, Tarhata told her sister and cousin about what had happened. “Everyone was trying to make me do what they thought would help me. People were trying to force me to act in a certain way, but my sister didn’t. Because of that, she truly gave me my voice back.”

Ethan Levine was sexually assaulted in high school by a friend of someone he was casually dating. “In the immediate aftermath of the first assault, my focus was on whether it was real and whether I was right about what had happened. I got hung up on the fact that what happened to me didn’t fit the definition of rape I had grown up hearing.”

Natalie Kish was drugged and raped by an acquaintance at her off-campus apartment. Though Natalie is glad she quickly sought legal and medical attention, it felt overwhelming to share what happened to her with so many people right away.

Katie Clark was drugged and raped by strangers during a graduate research trip in the Dominican Republic. This was unfortunately not the first time she experienced sexual violence. “The way we address this as a society is to make it very clear that we condemn this behavior.”