[Conté llenguatge explícit i descripcions de violència sexual. S'aconsella la discreció de l'espectador]
[This talk contains graphic language and descriptions of sexual violence Viewer discretion is advised]
Tom Stranger: El 1996, quan tenia 18 anys, vaig tenir l'oportunitat de formar part d'un programa d'intercanvi internacional Irònicament soc un australià que prefereix un clima fred així que estava emocionat i trist quan vaig pujar a l'avió cap a Islàndia, després d'haver dit adéu als meus pares i germans. Vaig ser acollit a casa d'una família islandesa molt amable que em va portar a fer excursionisme, i em va ajudar a entendre la llengua islandesa. Em va costar una mica superar el període inicial d'enyorança. Feia snowboard després de classe i dormia molt. Dues hores de classe de química en una llengua que no comprens massa poden ser un bon sedant.
Tom Stranger: In 1996, when I was 18 years old, I had the golden opportunity to go on an international exchange program. Ironically I'm an Australian who prefers proper icy cold weather, so I was both excited and tearful when I got on a plane to Iceland, after just having farewelled my parents and brothers goodbye. I was welcomed into the home of a beautiful Icelandic family who took me hiking, and helped me get a grasp of the melodic Icelandic language. I struggled a bit with the initial period of homesickness. I snowboarded after school, and I slept a lot. Two hours of chemistry class in a language that you don't yet fully understand can be a pretty good sedative.
(Riure)
(Laughter)
El professor em va recomanar l'obra de teatre de l'escola, perquè fos socialment més actiu. Resulta que al final no vaig participar a l'obra, però em va dur a conèixer la Thordis. Vam compartir un romanç adolescent; ens trobàvem a l'hora de dinar només per donar-nos la mà i passejar pel centre de Reykjavík. Vaig conèixer la seva família, i ella va conèixer els meus amics. La nostra relació havia durat una mica més d'un mes quan va arribar el Ball de Nadal de l'escola.
My teacher recommended I try out for the school play, just to get me a bit more socially active. It turns out I didn't end up being part of the play, but through it I met Thordis. We shared a lovely teenage romance, and we'd meet at lunchtimes to just hold hands and walk around old downtown Reykjavík. I met her welcoming family, and she met my friends. We'd been in a budding relationship for a bit over a month when our school's Christmas Ball was held.
Thordis Elva: Tenia 16 anys quan em vaig enamorar per primer cop Anar junts al Ball de Nadal era una confirmació pública de la nostra relació, i em vaig sentir la noia més afortunada del món. Deixava de ser una nena, per començar a ser una dona. Emocionada per aquesta maduresa, em va semblar lògic provar el rom per primer cop aquella nit. Va ser una mala idea. Em vaig trobar molt malament, entrant i sortint de la inconsciència entre espasmes i vòmits compulsius. Els guardes de seguretat volien trucar una ambulància, però en Tom va actuar com el meu cavaller salvador, i va dir que em portaria a casa.
Thordis Elva: I was 16 and in love for the first time. Going together to the Christmas dance was a public confirmation of our relationship, and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. No longer a child, but a young woman. High on my newfound maturity, I felt it was only natural to try drinking rum for the first time that night, too. That was a bad idea. I became very ill, drifting in and out of consciousness in between spasms of convulsive vomiting. The security guards wanted to call me an ambulance, but Tom acted as my knight in shining armor, and told them he'd take me home.
Com en un conte de fades, rodejada pels seus braços, que em van dipositar dolçament al meu llit. Però la meva gratitud aviat es va tornar en horror quan va començar a treure'm la roba i a posar-se a sobre meu. Se m'havia aclarit el cap, però el meu cos encara estava massa dèbil per lluitar, i el dolor era horrorós. Pensava que em partiria en dos. Per no tornar-me boja, vaig comptar en silenci els segons del meu despertador. I des d'aquella nit, sé que hi ha 7.200 segons en dues hores.
It was like a fairy tale, his strong arms around me, laying me in the safety of my bed. But the gratitude that I felt towards him soon turned to horror as he proceeded to take off my clothes and get on top of me. My head had cleared up, but my body was still too weak to fight back, and the pain was blinding. I thought I'd be severed in two. In order to stay sane, I silently counted the seconds on my alarm clock. And ever since that night, I've known that there are 7,200 seconds in two hours.
Tot i coixejar durant dies i plorar durant setmanes, l'incident no coincidia amb la idea de violació que havia vist a la tele. En Tom no era un llunàtic amb un arma; era la meva parella. I no va passar en un carreró de mala mort, va passar al meu propi llit. Quan vaig poder identificar el que m'havia passat com a violació, ell havia completat l'intercanvi i havia tornat a Austràlia. Em vaig dir que no tenia sentit parlar del que havia passat. A més a més, d'alguna manera, havia de ser culpa meva.
Despite limping for days and crying for weeks, this incident didn't fit my ideas about rape like I'd seen on TV. Tom wasn't an armed lunatic; he was my boyfriend. And it didn't happen in a seedy alleyway, it happened in my own bed. By the time I could identify what had happened to me as rape, he had completed his exchange program and left for Australia. So I told myself it was pointless to address what had happened. And besides, it had to have been my fault, somehow.
He crescut en un món on s'ensenya a les noies que les violen per algun motiu. Faldilles massa curtes, somriures massa amplis, L'alè que put a alcohol. I jo era culpable de tot això, així que la culpa havia de ser meva. Vaig trigar anys a adonar-me que l'únic que podria haver impedit que fos violada aquella nit, no era la meva faldilla, no era el meu somriure, no era la meva innocència. L'únic que podria haver impedit que fos violada aquella nit era l'home que em va violar -- si s'hagués aturat.
I was raised in a world where girls are taught that they get raped for a reason. Their skirt was too short, their smile was too wide, their breath smelled of alcohol. And I was guilty of all of those things, so the shame had to be mine. It took me years to realize that only one thing could have stopped me from being raped that night, and it wasn't my skirt, it wasn't my smile, it wasn't my childish trust. The only thing that could've stopped me from being raped that night is the man who raped me -- had he stopped himself.
TS: No recordo molt bé el dia següent: la ressaca, un cert buit que vaig tractar d'ofegar. Res més. Però no vaig anar a casa de la Thordis. És important remarcar que no veia les meves accions pel que eren. La paraula "violació" no em ressonava al cap com hauria d'haver fet, i no em vaig martiritzar amb els records de la nit anterior. No era tant un rebuig conscient, com una prohibició de reconèixer la realitat. La definició de les meves accions refutava completament reconèixer l'immens trauma que vaig causar a la Thordis. Per ser sincer, vaig repudiar les meves accions els dies següents i quan les vaig cometre. Vaig rebutjar la veritat convencent-me que va ser sexe i no violació. Una mentida que m'ha causat un dolor insuportable.
TS: I have vague memories of the next day: the after effects of drinking, a certain hollowness that I tried to stifle. Nothing more. But I didn't show up at Thordis's door. It is important to now state that I didn't see my deed for what it was. The word "rape" didn't echo around my mind as it should've, and I wasn't crucifying myself with memories of the night before. It wasn't so much a conscious refusal, it was more like any acknowledgment of reality was forbidden. My definition of my actions completely refuted any recognition of the immense trauma I caused Thordis. To be honest, I repudiated the entire act in the days afterwards and when I was committing it. I disavowed the truth by convincing myself it was sex and not rape. And this is a lie I've felt spine-bending guilt for.
Vaig trencar amb ella uns dies després, la vaig veure diverses vegades durant la resta de la meva estada a Islàndia, sentint una punyalada de remordiment cada vegada. En el fons, sabia que havia fet una cosa immesurablement horrible. Però sense planejar-ho, vaig cavar una gran fossa on vaig enterrar aquests records.
I broke up with Thordis a couple of days later, and then saw her a number of times during the remainder of my year in Iceland, feeling a sharp stab of heavyheartedness each time. Deep down, I knew I'd done something immeasurably wrong. But without planning it, I sunk the memories deep, and then I tied a rock to them.
Va seguir un període de 9 anys que es pot descriure com a "Negació i Fugida". Quan tenia l'oportunitat d'identificar el turment que havia causat, no em quedava quiet per reflexionar. Ja fos a través de distraccions, consum de substàncies, recerca d'emocions o una vigilància escrupolosa del que deia el meu interior, em vaig negar a quedar-me quiet i callat.
What followed is a nine-year period that can best be titled as "Denial and Running." When I got a chance to identify the real torment that I caused, I didn't stand still long enough to do so. Whether it be via distraction, substance use, thrill-seeking or the scrupulous policing of my inner speak, I refused to be static and silent.
I amb aquest soroll, em vaig inspirar en altres parts de la meva vida per a construir una imatge de qui era. Era un surfista, un estudiant de ciències socials, amic de bona gent, un germà i fill estimat, guia d'activitats a l'aire lliure, i amb el temps, treballador social amb joves. M'aferrava al fet que no era mala persona. No creia que ho tingués a dins. Creia que estava fet d'una altra cosa. Com m'havien criat, la meva estimada família i models a seguir, les persones properes a mi eren respectuoses amb les dones. Vaig trigar molt a poder mirar aquest racó fosc de mi mateix, i preguntar-li coses.
And with this noise, I also drew heavily upon other parts of my life to construct a picture of who I was. I was a surfer, a social science student, a friend to good people, a loved brother and son, an outdoor recreation guide, and eventually, a youth worker. I gripped tight to the simple notion that I wasn't a bad person. I didn't think I had this in my bones. I thought I was made up of something else. In my nurtured upbringing, my loving extended family and role models, people close to me were warm and genuine in their respect shown towards women. It took me a long time to stare down this dark corner of myself, and to ask it questions.
TE: Nou anys després del ball de Nadal, tenia 25 anys, i anava directa a una crisi nerviosa. La meva autoestima havia estat enterrada sota un silenci profund que m'aïllava de les persones que m'importaven, i em comsumia l'odi i la ira que dirigia cap a mi mateixa.
TE: Nine years after the Christmas dance, I was 25 years old, and headed straight for a nervous breakdown. My self-worth was buried under a soul-crushing load of silence that isolated me from everyone that I cared about, and I was consumed with misplaced hatred and anger that I took out on myself.
Un dia, vaig sortir corrent, plorant, després d'una baralla amb un ésser estimat, i vaig entrar en una cafeteria, on vaig demanar un bolígraf a la cambrera. Sempre porto una llibreta a sobre, dic que es per apuntar idees en moments d'inspiració, però la veritat és que necessito estar fent alguna cosa constantment, perquè en moments de calma, em trobo comptant segons una altra vegada. Però aquell dia, em va sorprendre com les paraules brollaven del bolígraf, formant la carta més important que havia escrit mai, dirigida a en Tom. A més d'explicar la violència a la que m'havia sotmès, les paraules "vull trobar perdó" no deixaven de mirar-me, sorprenent-me a mi més que a ningú. Però en el fons sabia que era l'única manera de deixar de patir, perquè, independentment de si es mereixia el meu perdó o no, jo mereixia pau. La meva era de vergonya s'havia acabat.
One day, I stormed out of the door in tears after a fight with a loved one, and I wandered into a café, where I asked the waitress for a pen. I always had a notebook with me, claiming that it was to jot down ideas in moments of inspiration, but the truth was that I needed to be constantly fidgeting, because in moments of stillness, I found myself counting seconds again. But that day, I watched in wonder as the words streamed out of my pen, forming the most pivotal letter I've ever written, addressed to Tom. Along with an account of the violence that he subjected me to, the words, "I want to find forgiveness" stared back at me, surprising nobody more than myself. But deep down I realized that this was my way out of my suffering, because regardless of whether or not he deserved my forgiveness, I deserved peace. My era of shame was over.
Abans d'enviar la carta, em vaig preparar per diferents tipus de respostes negatives, o el més probable: cap resposta. L'única resposta per a la qual no estava preparada va ser la que vaig rebre -- una confessió d'en Tom, plena de penediment. Resulta que ell també havia estat empresonat pel silenci. I així va començar una correspondència que va durar 8 anys, que sap Déu, no va ser mai fàcil, però sempre honesta. Em vaig alleujar la càrrega que erròniament m'havia adjudicat, i ell, alhora, va admetre el que havia fet. Aquests intercanvis es van convertir en una plataforma per examinar les conseqüències d'aquella nit, i van ser de tot: des de esfereïdores fins a immensament reparadores.
Before sending the letter, I prepared myself for all kinds of negative responses, or what I found likeliest: no response whatsoever. The only outcome that I didn't prepare myself for was the one that I then got -- a typed confession from Tom, full of disarming regret. As it turns out, he, too, had been imprisoned by silence. And this marked the start of an eight-year-long correspondence that God knows was never easy, but always honest. I relieved myself of the burdens that I'd wrongfully shouldered, and he, in turn, wholeheartedly owned up to what he'd done. Our written exchanges became a platform to dissect the consequences of that night, and they were everything from gut-wrenching to healing beyond words.
Tot i així, jo no podia superar el que havia passat. Potser perquè el format d'email no era suficientment personal, potser perquè es més fàcil ser valent quan t'amagues darrere d'un ordinador a l'altra punta del món. Però havíem començat un diàleg que sentia necessari explorar al màxim. Així que, després de vuit anys escrivint, i 16 anys després d'aquella terrible nit, vaig reunir el coratge per a proposar una idea: que ens reuníssim en persona i afrontéssim el passat d'una vegada.
And yet, it didn't bring about closure for me. Perhaps because the email format didn't feel personal enough, perhaps because it's easy to be brave when you're hiding behind a computer screen on the other side of the planet. But we'd begun a dialogue that I felt was necessary to explore to its fullest. So, after eight years of writing, and nearly 16 years after that dire night, I mustered the courage to propose a wild idea: that we'd meet up in person and face our past once and for all.
TS: Islàndia i Austràlia estan geogràficament així. Enmig dels dos hi ha Sud-Àfrica. Vam decidir trobar-nos a Ciutat del Cap, on ens vam trobar durant una setmana. La ciutat en si va resultar ser un context molt potent per centrar-nos en la reconciliació i el perdó. Enlloc més s'ha provat la reparació i l'acostament com a Sud-Àfrica. Com a nació, Sud-Àfrica va buscar la veritat del seu passat, i va escoltar els detalls de la seva història. Sabent això es va intensificar l'efecte de Ciutat del Cap en nosaltres.
TS: Iceland and Australia are geographically like this. In the middle of the two is South Africa. We decided upon the city of Cape Town, and there we met for one week. The city itself proved to be a stunningly powerful environment to focus on reconciliation and forgiveness. Nowhere else has healing and rapprochement been tested like it has in South Africa. As a nation, South Africa sought to sit within the truth of its past, and to listen to the details of its history. Knowing this only magnified the effect that Cape Town had on us.
Durant aquesta setmana, ens vam explicar literalment les nostres vides, de cap a cap. Això ens va fer analitzar les nostres històries. Vam seguir una política estricte d'honestedat, i això va suposar una certa exposició, una vulnerabilitat desmesurada. Va haver-hi confessions colpidores, i moments en els quals no podíem entendre l'experiència de l'altra persona. Vam parlar dels efectes sísmics de la violència sexual, cara a cara. Tot i això, altres vegades vam trobar una profunda claredat, i inclús un riure completament inesperat però alliberador. Quan vam haver d'afrontar-ho, vam fer el possible per escoltar a l'altre. I les nostres realitats individuals van ser alliberades amb una puresa que no podia fer res més que alleugerir l'ànima.
Over the course of this week, we literally spoke our life stories to each other, from start to finish. And this was about analyzing our own history. We followed a strict policy of being honest, and this also came with a certain exposure, an open-chested vulnerability. There were gutting confessions, and moments where we just absolutely couldn't fathom the other person's experience. The seismic effects of sexual violence were spoken aloud and felt, face to face. At other times, though, we found a soaring clarity, and even some totally unexpected but liberating laughter. When it came down to it, we did out best to listen to each other intently. And our individual realities were aired with an unfiltered purity that couldn't do any less than lighten the soul.
TE: La necessitat de venjança és una emoció molt humana -- instintiva, inclús. L'únic que vaig voler durant anys era fer tant de mal a en Tom com ell m'havia fet a mi. Però de no haver trobat una sortida al meu odi i la meva ira, no estaria aquí avui. Això no vol dir que no tingués els meus dubtes en el camí. Quan l'avió va aterrar a Ciutat del Cap, recordo haver pensat: "Per què no em vaig fer amb una ampolla de vodka i un terapeuta com la gent normal?"
TE: Wanting to take revenge is a very human emotion -- instinctual, even. And all I wanted to do for years was to hurt Tom back as deeply as he had hurt me. But had I not found a way out of the hatred and anger, I'm not sure I'd be standing here today. That isn't to say that I didn't have my doubts along the way. When the plane bounced on that landing strip in Cape Town, I remember thinking, "Why did I not just get myself a therapist and a bottle of vodka like a normal person would do?"
(Riure)
(Laughter)
A vegades, la nostra recerca de l'enteniment semblava una missió impossible, i l'únic que volia fer era rendir-me i tornar a casa amb el meu estimat marit, Vidir, i el nostre fill. Però tot i les dificultats, el viatge va resultar en un sentiment de victòria i la llum va triomfar sobre la foscor, alguna cosa constructiva es podia reconstruir de les ruïnes.
At times, our search for understanding in Cape Town felt like an impossible quest, and all I wanted to do was to give up and go home to my loving husband, Vidir, and our son. But despite our difficulties, this journey did result in a victorious feeling that light had triumphed over darkness, that something constructive could be built out of the ruins.
He llegit en algun lloc que hauries de ser la persona que necessitaves quan eres jove. I quan jo era adolescent, hauria necessitat saber que la culpa no va ser meva, que hi ha esperança després de la violació, que inclús pots trobar felicitat, com la que comparteixo amb el meu marit. I per això vaig començar a escriure com una boja a la tornada, i això va resultar en un llibre co-escrit amb en Tom, que esperem que pugui ser d'ajuda a persones d'ambdós extrems a l'escala supervivent-transgressor. Si més no, és una història que necessitàvem haver sentit quan érem joves.
I read somewhere that you should try and be the person that you needed when you were younger. And back when I was a teenager, I would have needed to know that the shame wasn't mine, that there's hope after rape, that you can even find happiness, like I share with my husband today. Which is why I started writing feverishly upon my return from Cape Town, resulting in a book co-authored by Tom, that we hope can be of use to people from both ends of the perpetrator-survivor scale. If nothing else, it's a story that we would've needed to hear when we were younger.
Donada la naturalesa de la història, conec les paraules que, inevitablement, l'acompanyen -- víctima, violador -- les etiquetes són una manera d'organitzar conceptes, però també poden ser deshumanitzadores donades les seves connotacions. Un cop categoritzes algú com a víctima, es més simple arxivar-los com a algú malmès, deshonrat, menys que. Igualment, quan algú es categoritzat com a violador, és molt més fàcil titllar-lo de monstre -- inhumà. Però, com podem entendre què és el que produeix violència a les societats humanes, si ens neguem a reconèixer l'humanitat d'aquells que la cometen? I com --
Given the nature of our story, I know the words that inevitably accompany it -- victim, rapist -- and labels are a way to organize concepts, but they can also be dehumanizing in their connotations. Once someone's been deemed a victim, it's that much easier to file them away as someone damaged, dishonored, less than. And likewise, once someone has been branded a rapist, it's that much easier to call him a monster -- inhuman. But how will we understand what it is in human societies that produces violence if we refuse to recognize the humanity of those who commit it? And how --
(aplaudiments)
(Applause)
I com podem donar poder a les víctimes si les fem sentir menys que? Com poder trobar solucions a una de les majors amenaces a les vides de dones i nens de tot el món, si les pròpies paraules que fem servir són part del problema?
And how can we empower survivors if we're making them feel less than? How can we discuss solutions to one of the biggest threats to the lives of women and children around the world, if the very words we use are part of the problem?
TS: Pel que he après, les meves accions la nit del 1996 van ser egoistes. Em sentia mereixedor del seu cos. He tingut influències socials principalment positives i exemples de comportament adequat al meu voltant. Però en aquella situació, em vaig fixar en els models negatius. Aquells que veuen a les dones com a éssers inferiors, i dels homes que creuen tenir el dret sobre els seus cossos. Aquestes influències de les que parlo són externes a mi. I aquella nit només era jo prenent decisions, ningú més.
TS: From what I've now learnt, my actions that night in 1996 were a self-centered taking. I felt deserving of Thordis's body. I've had primarily positive social influences and examples of equitable behavior around me. But on that occasion, I chose to draw upon the negative ones. The ones that see women as having less intrinsic worth, and of men having some unspoken and symbolic claim to their bodies. These influences I speak of are external to me, though. And it was only me in that room making choices, nobody else.
Quan afrontes aquest sentiment i reconeixes la culpabilitat de les teves accions, passa una cosa sorprenent. Jo en dic la paradoxa del reconeixement. Creia que m'enterraria el pes de la responsabilitat. Creia que el meu certificat d'humanitat seria cremat. En comptes, se'm va oferir reconèixer el que havia fet, i vaig descobrir que això no representava la totalitat de qui sóc. En poques paraules, el que has fet no constitueix la suma de qui ets. El soroll al meu cap es va amainar. La indulgent autocompassió va ser privada d'oxigen, i substituïda per l'aire pur de l'acceptació -- l'acceptació d'haver fet mal a aquesta persona meravellosa; l'acceptació de que formo part d'un grup gran i sorprenentment normal d'homes que han sigut sexualment violents amb la seva parella.
When you own something and really square up to your culpability, I do think a surprising thing can happen. It's what I call a paradox of ownership. I thought I'd buckle under the weight of responsibility. I thought my certificate of humanity would be burnt. Instead, I was offered to really own what I did, and found that it didn't possess the entirety of who I am. Put simply, something you've done doesn't have to constitute the sum of who you are. The noise in my head abated. The indulgent self-pity was starved of oxygen, and it was replaced with the clean air of acceptance -- an acceptance that I did hurt this wonderful person standing next to me; an acceptance that I am part of a large and shockingly everyday grouping of men who have been sexually violent toward their partners.
No subestimeu el poder de les paraules. Dir-li a la Thordis que l'havia violat va canviar com em veia a mi mateix, i com la veia a ella. Però el més important és que la culpa es va transferir de la Thordis a mi. Massa vegades, la culpa s'atribueix a la supervivent de la violència sexual, i no a l'home que la comet. Massa vegades, negar-ho i fugir ens allunya de la veritat. Ara mateix hi ha una conversa pública, i com molta gent, ens anima veure que menys gent es fa enrere d'aquesta difícil però important discussió. Sento una gran responsabilitat d'afegir-hi les nostres veus.
Don't underestimate the power of words. Saying to Thordis that I raped her changed my accord with myself, as well as with her. But most importantly, the blame transferred from Thordis to me. Far too often, the responsibility is attributed to female survivors of sexual violence, and not to the males who enact it. Far too often, the denial and running leaves all parties at a great distance from the truth. There's definitely a public conversation happening now, and like a lot of people, we're heartened that there's less retreating from this difficult but important discussion. I feel a real responsibility to add our voices to it.
TE: El que hem fet no és una fórmula que prescrivim als demés. Ningú te dret a dir-te com has de gestionar el teu propi dolor o els teus propis errors. Trencar el silenci mai és fàcil, i depenent d'on et trobis al món, pot ser inclús mortal parlar sobre violació. Me n'adono que, inclús la part més traumàtica de la meva vida, és un exemple del meu privilegi, perquè puc parlar sobre això sense ser condemnada, o inclús assassinada. Però amb aquest privilegi de tenir veu, ve la responsabilitat de fer-la servir. És el mínim que puc fer pels supervivents que no poden.
TE: What we did is not a formula that we're prescribing for others. Nobody has the right to tell anyone else how to handle their deepest pain or their greatest error. Breaking your silence is never easy, and depending on where you are in the world, it can even be deadly to speak out about rape. I realize that even the most traumatic event of my life is still a testament to my privilege, because I can talk about it without getting ostracized, or even killed. But with that privilege of having a voice comes the responsibility of using it. That's the least I owe my fellow survivors who can't.
La història que us hem explicat és única, i alhora comuna, la violència sexual és una pandèmia global. Però no ha de ser així. Una cosa que he trobat útil en el meu propi viatge emocional és informar-me sobre la violència sexual. Per tant, he estat llegint, escrivint i parlant sobre aquest problema durant més d'una dècada, anant a conferències arreu del món. I en la meva experiència, els assistents són quasi exclusivament dones. Ja toca deixar de tractar la violència sexual com un problema de dones.
The story we've just relayed is unique, and yet it is so common with sexual violence being a global pandemic. But it doesn't have to be that way. One of the things that I found useful on my own healing journey is educating myself about sexual violence. And as a result, I've been reading, writing and speaking about this issue for over a decade now, going to conferences around the world. And in my experience, the attendees of such events are almost exclusively women. But it's about time that we stop treating sexual violence as a women's issue.
(Aplaudiments)
(Applause)
La majoria de violència sexual contra homes i dones és causada per homes. Però les seves veus són insuficientment representades en aquesta discussió. Tots nosaltres som necessaris aquí. Imagineu tot el patiment que podríem evitar si ens atrevíssim a afrontar aquest problema junts.
A majority of sexual violence against women and men is perpetrated by men. And yet their voices are sorely underrepresented in this discussion. But all of us are needed here. Just imagine all the suffering we could alleviate if we dared to face this issue together.
Gràcies.
Thank you.
(Aplaudiments)
(Applause)