Today marked another huge milestone for me in being invited to be a keynote speaker to share my story of sexual assault and my advocacy journey towards ending violence against women & girls at the United Nations Asia Pacific Intergovernmental Conference on the Beijing +25 Review.
The theme was "Rewriting the Narrative" and how we all have the duty and responsibility to take a stand against gender-based violence and rewrite the narrative of the future towards a more equal future. I shared the story of how I was sexually assaulted at age 17 at a Songkran party in the middle of the day, and how that sparked the beginning of my campaign against victim shaming and rape culture that is so ingrained in our society. I spoke about the outrage I felt that one morning of 2018 where I saw the newspaper article with the headline "Don't Dress Sexy" where local authorities were advising women to avoid dressing in revealing outfits as their one and only solution to curbing sexual harassment and assault cases during the upcoming Songkran festival and how I turned #DontTellMeHowToDress into a movement for gender equality. I shared the stories of the women and girls whose clothes are displayed at the exhibition created as part of the campaign to push back against the myth that it's because of what a woman was wearing or how she was behaving that is to blame for her attack... The story of the mother who was attacked by her own son, the university student gang raped by her "friends" and the 2 year old toddler assaulted by her next door neighbor. These are the stories of women and girls who have no platform to stand on, whose voices are not heard or have been silenced, who live in shame and fear of violence every single day of their lives. The same story of abuse, assault or sexual harassment that affects 1 in 2 women in the Asia-Pacific region.
Before we left the room, everyone filled out a pledge of commitment of what they will do to help end gender-based violence. Looking around the room, seeing all those powerful words was so moving. I pray that we are able to keep our promise and I invite you to think about what you can do in your own life that can help our cause.
It can be as simple as calling out sexual harassment when you hear it, not using language that objectifies women, or talking to your son about consent and respect. Every one of us has the power to make a difference and collectively write an new story... one of hope and healing, of empowerment, and of change.
Thank you UN Women for giving me the stage today. It was truly an honor.
