Emotional Flash Mob Unites Thousands of Sexual Abuse Victims

It was launched on Ukrainian Facebook under the hashtags #янебоюсьсказати (I am not afraid to say), by the Ukrainian social activist Anastasia Melnichenko.

Thousands of women in Ukraine and Russia have taken to social media to share their stories of sexual violence in an online flash mob.

Women and girls began posting their stories under the hashtags #янебоюсьсказати and #янебоюсьсказать (I am not afraid to say), following the example of Anastasia Melnichenko.

On her Facebook page Anastasia shared her story of how her relative molested her as a child and how many years later a young man who she was dating but later broke up, tied her naked to the bed, took pictures of her and promised to publish her photos on the web.

“We do not need to explain ourselves. We are not to blame, rapist is always guilty. I'm not afraid to talk and I do not feel guilty. Do men ever wonder what it is like to grow up in an atmosphere in which you are treated like meat? You did not do anything, but everyone feels entitled to fuck you and dispose of your body,” Melnichenko wrote on her page.

“I know they are unlikely to understand. I would not explain anything at all, but, unfortunately, it is half of humanity. Therefore, we, the women, must talk about our experience. It is important to make it visible. Please speak.”

Many of those taking part are trying to change perceptions of sexual violence, with many arguing that society still finds the victim at fault. Hence the flash mob aims at combating discrimination and sexual violence against women and men.

Within just a few days ‪#‎янебоюсьсказать‬ generated thousands of stories of abuse and rape. Many admitted that they still feel ashamed and afraid to talk about what happened. A significant part of stories used a tag associated with violence by older relatives.

Men also did not stay silent and shared their stories of molestation and rape. Such violence was faced by many people of different professions, ages, social status, but they usually prefer to keep silent about the incident.

​One of the main results of this flash mob is the abundant amount of material which can be used for scientific and public work on “violence”. Not all the stories are related to rape, but almost all of them talk about assault on their body and violation of personal boundaries.

​Around 70% of women in Russia have experienced one or another type of harassment, but only during a flash mob one begins to understand the real extent of the problem.

Based on the flash mob posts it can be seen that people who commit violence can be random passers-by and can be friends; they may be familiar, or can be friends of parents, teachers and even relatives.

​Violence is usually committed by means of persuasion, direct threats or by psychological pressure. Many have pointed out that in the event of a threat they cannot scream, fight back or move.  Others wrote about the physical inability to cry, feeling unable to move and a feeling of detachment.

The online flash mob posts also demonstrated that men are faced with violence too but almost never talk about it due to stigma attached to being labeled as homosexual and due to gender stereotypes.

Another important thing that flash mob did was make men realize their offences and some of them apologized for their actions saying that at the time they did not realize that they were being offensive.

​Overall, # #янебоюсьсказать (I am not afraid to say) received a huge resonance. A number of prominent Russian women have also joined the flash mob to tell their stories, including singers Victoria Deineko and Anita Tsoi; actress Evelina Bledans; and journalist and business woman Alyona Vladimirskaya.