From: Nita and Shaunna, Ultraviolet

The stories we’ve heard from over 1,000 rape survivors this week are harrowing. It takes real courage to speak out, especially in the face of shameful and dangerous comments from so many elected officials.
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Dear Readers,

In the past week, we’ve heard from thousands of rape survivors telling their personal stories.1 The stories are deeply emotional and disturbing, and many of the women have had horrible feelings triggered by statements from Akin and others over the last several days—feelings of fear, anger, and shame.

“The GOP is ingraining the shaming of survivors of rape in their party platform and in their messaging and that is unacceptable…I chose to keep my daughter, and she has brought me great joy. I chose, and as a survivor, I will never condemn the choice of any survivor to choose differently.” –Cindy, from Maryland

Because of their bravery—many of them shared their stories about rape for the first time—we were able to produce a compelling video,2 and talk to the media about why so many women are disgusted with the comments coming from far too many politicians over the last week. Because of their bravery we were able to tell politicians that rape is not a political game.

It takes an enormous courage to stand up and speak out in the face of such reprehensible comments—comments that are not just offensive but downright dangerous. Yet over 1,000 women and men wrote in about their experiences or those of people close to them. Their courage and their stories blew us away.

Let’s show these courageous survivors our support and appreciation. We’ve created a thank you card that we’ll deliver to every person who shared the story with us.

As a society, we should be doing everything we can to help survivors of rape heal, not making them feel ashamed or scared. It’s hard to believe sometimes that, in 2012, people in leadership positions could be so cruel and so dangerously uninformed. But it is true, and the women and men who shared stories with UltraViolet are true champions in the fight to change it.

“The GOP should be standing up for the dignity of women who have been raped. Every woman who experiences rape is already devastated. We do not deserve the added degradation of hateful speech. I have lived in shame and silence for over 40 years, but the statements last week from men who would presume to lead our country have moved me to speak out so that no other women will takes their lies to heart.” –Sherry

“I was mugged and raped at gun point in Brooklyn NY. I became pregnant and, thank heaven, was able to receive an abortion. Women have a right to power over their own bodies and no one should have a say on how we handle our own lives.” –Carol

“When I was 20, I was drugged and gang-raped at a party; I am now 66. Fortunately, I didn’t get pregnant because the only way I could have terminated the pregnancy would have been going to some back-alley quack and risked the very possible chance of dying from the procedure…Men have an arrogant, cavalier attitude toward victims of sex crimes. If I had had to give birth to a child caused by being raped, it would have been cruel to both me and the child, as the child would be a daily reminder of being raped.” –Lauren

For Cindy, Sherry, Carol , Lauren and the countless other survivors out there, THANK YOU. Our society does so much to make life even harder for survivors of rape and incest—yet these women still stood strong and spoke out. That’s courage and that deserves a gigantic thank you. Can you sign the card today?

Sign the thank you card.
http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/tystories/?akid=169.6000.GleTwj&rd=1&t=4

Thank you so much, for getting involved.

–Nita, Shaunna and Kat, the UltraViolet team.

Sources:

1. “Dear Todd Akin: Messages from Women,” UltraViolet, August 29, 2012

2. “Why do Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want to take away our right to personal health care decisions?” UltraViolet, August 29, 2012