Welcome to the SpeakOut! Blog

Break the silence that surrounds sexual assault, sexual harassment, interpersonal violence, relationship abuse, stalking, hate crimes, and identity-based violence. Share your story here on our anonymous blog.

To speak about an experience with any form of interpersonal violence is difficult, but it is also empowering. Breaking the silence reduces shame and helps others to speak out about their own experiences.

End the shame. Be empowered. Speak Out!

Thank you for Speaking Out! We would love to get your permission to share your testimonial. If you would like to allow your testimonial to be used at a later Speak Out!, please let us know by making a comment or a note in your testimonial.

We are holding our spring Speak Out! on April 16th, 2018 from 7-9 pm in The Pit. For more information, check our Facebook page.

Because this blog features stories of interpersonal and sexual violence, we offer this *content warning* as a way of caution. We also ask that you do not reproduce any of the content below, as the authors of these personal stories are anonymous, and cannot give consent for their stories to appear anywhere other than this blog or at a Project Dinah-led SpeakOut event.

Friday, March 4, 2011

I've been trying to get through life for so long now as my past haunts me again and again. I'm not exactly sure how I've gotten to this point so far, but somehow I am. I've never shared any of my past with anyone so this is huge and extremely frightening at the same time. I am so thankful for this speak out blog and those who have created it. Even though it might take me a while to tell my whole past this is definitely a start. I know this is safe and I still have a great deal of hesitance with this, but hopefully this will help me to heal after so much. It began before I can fully remember, but I was really young. It went on and on. There was more than one person so many times. I was their property. The pain and torture I endured was their pleasure. I hate them all, but more than anything, I still don't understand why.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The beginning of my freshman year at UNC, I went to a party with my suitemates, without my new boyfriend. The party was fun, but when I was chatting with a friend from french and one of my suitemates, my friend's suitemate - completely drunk - kept saying really sexual things to me. It ended with him pinning me to the wall where we all were talking and started kissing me while grabbing my breasts.

My suitemate didn't do anything at all, but luckily my french friend stepped in. still, I felt so ashamed, I never told anyone until this year. I told my boyfriend (the same one I had when it happened) and he got REALLY mad at me for not telling him. It became a very long, drawn out fight between us, and although he admitted he was wrong and apologized profusely, it's taught me to not say anything. I don't want to be judged.

Girls: If you go to a frat party, only go with people you trust. I learned who my real friends were that night, and it wasn't my suitemate.