Survivor Stories (pt. 15)

CW: Sexual violence

Every survivor has their own story, yet not every survivor feels heard. For a multitude of reasons, survivors fear speaking out. And even if they do speak out, that doesn’t mean someone will listen… or believe them. 

From the start of my work with PAVE, I emphasized my desire to highlight survivor stories. I desired to create a space for survivors to share their voices, one that perseveres even after my time at PAVE. 

The pieces below were submitted by survivors, some requesting to remain anonymous. Thank you to these survivors for your strength and vulnerability. We hear you. We believe you. We support you.

Compiled by Jessica Katz

Bad Friend by Alice B

On August 19th I went round to my friends university accommodation, we’d been friends for a year and did Camp America together, so we were quite close. On this night he’d told me that he didn’t feel safe being alone, and I’ve had to get him mental health support in the past because I was seriously concerned for his safety. It seemed like he just needed a friend so I went to his dorm as fast as I could, but when I got there he seemed perfectly fine. He got me into his room, got me on the bed and tried kissing me, I told him to stop but he didn’t. He then pushed me down and used his weight against me. He assaulted me that night. He later admitted that he got me there under false pretences and that it was a trap. He admitted to raping me, yet the police couldn’t do anything about it.