#IAmNotAfraidToSayIt: Alena Kavardakova

What You Need To Know:

✓ People from Ukraine and other countries share personal stories about sexual assault with the hashtag #ЯНеБоюсьСказати (#IAmNotAfraidToSayIt)

✓ Ukrainian activist and journalist Nastya Melnychenko, who published a post encouraging people to speak out, launched the movement.

✓ The  flashmob  reached other countries, such as Russia, USA, and Canada. 

#ЯНеБоюсьСказати is an initiative launched by Ukrainian activist and journalist Nastya Melnychenko. She published a post encouraging people to speak out about domestic violence or sexual assault. The movement has not been disappointing: both men and women, Ukrainians, Russians, Americans, and people from other countries have shared their stories in public.

Hromadske talked to some people who shared their experience. They’re convinced that society must know about it.

Alena Kavardakova was 11 when two boys raped her.

“The most disgusting thing about it is that then I was thinking about my clothes. I was afraid boys would tear my clothes and my parents would swear at me,” she said.

It wasn’t the only time men assaulted her. She told Hromadske how she lived through it and what helped her to stay strong. It’s the story of a brave woman that stopped being a victim.