#SOLIDARITY

My Dear Violence Victim,
I hope this letter finds you well. I also hope that after reading this letter you find a little solace in it that will keep you hanging on to that thread of hope still left inside of you.
Don’t worry how I got to know your situation. It is not a secret to hide any more. That was so brave of you in the first place to report a crime as heinous as that of rape. For that I say Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!
As for the hands that point at your innocent figure, as if reporting such crime was a crime in itself, do not bother. I want to use this medium to let you know that you have a lot of people supporting you on this, and at the same time totally disagree to such a crime as rape. I would have supported you a million times to report should it happen to you a million times without fear.

I wish to urge you to forget about those that call you all manner of names just to humiliate your actions, punish you or distract your agenda of naming and shaming. To those who point accusing fingers at you, never mind. I know there were people in position who could have acted to bring justice to bear on this issue but took no notice of it or did not take it into account. Rather, they worsened your situation, using their positions to further humiliate and taint your name. Compelling you to run against the flow. They were the people you were looking up to, to solve such case. On the contrary, as men, they thought meting out a punishment was rather wrong. As a result, none of them believed your story even after discovering the indelible evidence of lines marked by your teeth.

It was even more shocking for your colleague women to take delight in torturing you by their discriminatory behavior towards you. Like fire, your silence would have burnt you to hell. To quote Angelou, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”. Always report, report even if no action is taken. Someday, I am perfectly sure your voice would be heard by responsible people. People with courage to come out boldly to respond to your call without fear or favour.

Be bold.

Yours ever,
Sherry Sherry.