We Will Not Go Quietly will be a zine written by survivors of sexual assault, for survivors of sexual assault.
Dreamt up by two victim/survivors – Mel Hughes (of Poetry 101) and Kate Ravenscroft (of 16 Impacts of Sexual Assault) – who mourn the absence of survivors’ voices in their world and want to do something about it, they are seeking stories of survival from sexual assault survivors for publication in a small zine.
Contributions can take any form – poetry, essay, artwork, manifesto, stream of consciousness, narrative, recipes, battle cry, puzzles, comics, photos – anyway you choose to reflect upon and represent your experience of survival, anyway you want to share how you’ve set about rebuilding life on your terms, is welcome.
Some themes that we’d love to see covered in the zine include:
- Finding safety
- Battling PTSD
- Coping mechanisms
- Perpetrator-repelling
- Building strength
- Believing your voice, your story
- Learning to trust your instincts
- Recognising your courage
- Asking for support
- Telling your story
Questions? Ideas? Comments? We’d love to hear them! Feel free to post them here or to email them. We welcome all feedback. [WeWillNotGoQuietly_pressrelease]
Because our voices matter. Because our voices deserve to be heard. Because our voices will be heard – we’ll make sure of it. Mel & Kate
We Will Not Go Quietly 
Awesome idea gals. Thank you for speaking out on something that so often goes unnoticed or swept under the rug. I ‘ll be submitting a few things really soon.
Kristy
Thank you for your comment Kristy. We look forward to receiving your contributions! Love, Kate & Mel
What a wonderful idea. I’d like to promote this at the courses and workshops we run for girls and women, many of whom have experiences they are trying to deal with. Is it ok if we give out your website address to the women we work with in the UK?
Thanks and good luck with this initiative,
Julie
Julie Tweedale, Director, Freedom Personal Safety
http://www.freedompersonalsafety.co.uk
Hi Julie, Thanks for your comment and feedback. Absolutely! Please share it widely. We are happy to accept contributions from everywhere. Thanks for your support, Mel & Kate
Hi Mel and Kate
I think this is a fabulous idea and look forward to seeing the product.
I understand from the post at Hoyden About Town that you will be distributing the zine free – is there somewhere that people can donate to support it? Because I would love to do that.
Thanks!
Hi Jo,
Thank you so much for your comment and your support. Thank you, too, for the suggestion of donating to support the zine. We don’t as yet have anything set up for this but we hope to potentially hold a launch party to promote the zine and to raise funds in order to print as many copies as possible so that we can distribute it as widely as possible. So,we will certainly stay in touch to this effect!
Thanks,
Kate and Mel
Unfortunately feminism has gone along very quietly where male victims and victims of female perpetrators are concerned.
Hello, thank you for your comment and your feedback. You are right – we, as a culture, as feminists and as the editors of this zine, have not done enough to highlight male victims and female perpetrators. In part this is because, overwhelmingly, the perpetrators of sexual assault are male and the victims are female. While it is important to recognise this it is of course not all there is. I apologise if you feel that We Will Not Go Quietly has not done enough to include you and want to state unreservedly that we welcome contributions from ALL survivors of sexual assault – no matter their gender or that of their perpetrator.
Thank you for your feedback and we hope that you will consider contributing.
Best wishes,
Mel and Kate
Please do tell us how it is. Some men like me have a history of trying to understand, but we get all defensive and even rationalise arguments to deflect responsibility and subsequently the sheer amount of work that is required to stop sexual violence. We need to do more. Amongst groups of men we can hopefully circulate the stories and listen, and take even take action in useful ways.
Hi,
This is a wonderful project. I am going to draw a picture for the zine.
Nell
this is a fantastic idea. as i am going through this healing process atm, at least now i dont feel like im the only one going through this. i will try and put something together to share.
hey gals. just wondering if you received my contribution?
This is a terrific project – only when the majority realise the depth of the damage done, will there be any real and lasting change.
I’ve said it previously elsewhere, but I’ll say it again – sex should never be used as a weapon against those unable to protect themselves.