“Not everyone has a chance to write a book, but we need a place to tell our story; A place where the microphone is ours.”

Samantha Lynn is a musician, member of the LGBTQ community, and survivor of sexual violence. "Music is how I talk about what happened. Every time I share my story in a performance, people come up to me after to say they’re survivors, too. It’s so healing to know you’re not alone."

Sandra Gonzalez is a proud mom, a member of the Latinx community, and a survivor of sexual violence. Sandra felt ashamed and embarrassed after the assault, and didn’t report because she didn’t want anyone to know what had happened to her. She was raised in a community that emphasized virginity before marriage, which caused Sandra to feel an additional layer of shame about what had happened to her. “I didn’t say anything back then—I was quiet and scared. I wish I could say that I’d reported it. That’s my main reason for telling my story now.” 

Val Hill has been sharing her story and supporting others as part of her healing journey. She was sexually assaulted by someone she considered a friend since childhood. “It wasn't a stranger in a back alley, it was someone I knew since I was 11 years old—someone I trusted. It’s made it hard to trust anyone again.”

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.”

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.”

Eileen was sexually and emotionally abused by her father starting at age two and sexually abused by her uncle starting at age four. “There was always that darkness inside me, but I didn’t know the root cause for all of it. The floodgates of my memory opened. I spent most of my 20s in a lot of pain and trying to find my way out.”

Isabella was a freshman in high school when she began dating a girl who controlled and sexually abused her. Now a senior in college, Isabella speaks out about what happened to her and wants others to understand queer sexual violence.