About Survivor Stories
I’m a great believer in the power of the story. While statistics can be shocking, they don’t change people’s minds or make them care as much as hearing real stories about rape and sexual violence.
As a journalist with a passion for helping my local rape crisis centre, it occurred to me that my background in writing, interviewing and editing could be a useful skill for helping survivors of sexual violence to tell their stories.
My ambition for the project is to create an archive of stories from all over the world, from all ages, genders, sexualities and races. This website is for anyone who needs it. It’s an archive of the interviews of survivors of sexual violence. [Transcribed and edited with full consent of survivors.]
I hope that Survivor Stories will:
Help the survivors I speak to gain control of their own narrative, empowering them through their ability to speak out.
Help survivors looking for the experiences of other people. I know that many survivors look online for other similar stories, to feel reassured that their experience is valid or their response is ‘normal’.
Help survivors find new ways of dealing with their pain, taking advice from survivors who have found tools and techniques that work for them.
Provide an archive of stories that will build a strong, evidential argument against all preconceptions about rape and sexual violence, eg victim blaming.
Make me (and any other journalists who read the archive) better informed about the myriad of experiences, and able to write better articles around the topic.
The project is currently entirely self-funded.
Want to share your story?
PLEASE NOTE I’M CURRENTLY UNABLE TO ARRANGE INTERVIEWS AT PRESENT (DUE TO HIGH DEMAND)
I try to keep it a very informal process, covering whatever you’re happy to talk about, and getting an overview of your life as a whole. What really interests me is how survivors have moved forward, so we don’t need to talk about the act of violence at all if you’d prefer.
Interviews can be conducted in any way that suits – in person (if you’re near enough for it to be realistic – I’m self-funded at the moment), via Skype, over the phone or by email.
If you change your mind at any point, that’s completely fine, and I give all interviewees copy approval, so I won’t share anything without your consent. If you change your mind at a later date, I will take it down, no questions asked. I’m happy for you to be named or anonymous.
Whatever you say to me, please know I will listen without judgement, and I will believe you.
If you’d like to know more, please email survivor.stories@aol.com
About Lizzy Dening
Lizzy Dening is a British journalist who has written about health, lifestyle and feminism for publications including The Guardian, Grazia, the Huffington Post, Marie Claire, Elle and the Independent.
I’m passionate about using my writing to help survivors of sexual violence, and since 2016 have volunteered at Peterborough Rape Crisis Care Group, where I am Vice Chair of their board of trustees.