Take Back The Night, Athens, Ohio

Speaker: Claudia Cisneros Méndez

April 4, 2019

Good evening. My name is Claudia, I am from Perú. I was psychologically,

financially, and sexually abused but I cannot share details about my case right now because

even though it has been more than  months since I reported my abuser to the university and

to the !thens Police, the case is still pending. But I want to share with you tonight something

more important…

Raise your hand if you have heard about the Physics Strings theory that proposes

there are parallel universes... I am a science lover and I like to fantasize about alternate

worlds.

So, in a parallel world, I am not standing here. I haven’t been hurt. I am just another

student going about her business of succeeding in her academics and planning her future

ahead. In that universe I might even be completely ignorant of the pain and suffering of other

women; and on a day like today, in that other world, I am probably thinking about my

upcoming graduation or maybe even just having some drinks with some friends and enjoying

life. But I am here. I am standing right here. And if I am, it is because something happened to

me that has made my life as I knew it come to a stop, as probably for many of you here

tonight. If I am standing here with you tonight is because I cannot think about my graduation

only or my future plans ahead; don’t get me wrong, I still think about all of that, but an

unwanted and undeserved burden has been forced into our lives now; and unwanted and

undeserved pain has been inflicted on us and that had made our lives turn into something

different. We have to dedicate an important part of our emotional and physical time now to

understand, to heal, and to pick ourselves back up. We need to. We can’t let the pain bury us,

we can and must take back ourselves, and you know why? Because we deserve it, as simple

as that. We deserve to be ok, although we are not ok many times, and that’s ok too. It is a
process, a healing process; and all processes take time. Time in which we’ll feel up

sometimes, and deep down many others. But there is no other way out of this.

If I am standing here with you tonight is because I have committed myself to heal and

because I believe I can do it as much as I believe we all can. I am standing here tonight

because I believe in you, I believe in me, and I believe in us. I believe in the power of

sorority and empathy, in the power of community and communion. I believe in the kindness

of human nature and of human beings like the ones that have committed themselves to help

us through this traumatic life experience. Just to have this night where we can come together

as a community and reach out to each other, and give each other strength with our sole

presence here. People like those at the Survivors Advocacy Program whose commitment and

professionalism really does make all the difference. They hear us, they believe us, they

support us, they carry our pain alongside with them. For their warmth and care, I will forever

be thankful to KC, Kim, Nikhita, Andrew, and Maeve. They are authentic advocates for

victims and survivors and I will personally never forget them for the rest of my life –even

when I’m far away from Athens and moving on with my life, I will always remember them as

an example of altruism, that human value that has ensured the survival of the human race.

And for their love, care, and support to my dearest friends Violeta, Habiba, and Mary who

had stood up for me and with me since the begining, I will forever be grateful to you and hold

you dear in my heart.

I am here, in this challenging and complex world, going through a difficult but

transitory time, as probably many of you are here tonight. And if I was in a parallel world I

wouldn’t have met all these amazing people. And I wouldn’t have become aware of the deep

structural and cultural problem of a male-dominant world that is at the origin of all sorts of its

power-based abuse. Scarred and all, but I have become aware of the struggle that countless

women before us have been fighting off for decades, and for all of us. If today we are able to
have a powerful network movement such as #Metoo in the US, or #NiUnaMenos

(#NotOneLess) in Latin America is thanks to all the brave women that preceded us and

fought for rights and justice. This is a historic moment in our civilization and we are living it.

Things are starting to change, bit by bit, scar by scar, battle by battle, and I am proud to be

part of it.

In a parallel world, I will be completely unaware of this landmark; I would be

oblivious to this crucial turn of history. And if I am standing here tonight before you and with

you, is because yes, I have suffered unwanted and undeserved pain as probably you have, but

I believe in our power to turn that experience around. And don’t take me wrong, I know

speaking up is not easy. It is probably the hardest second thing to do after such bitter and

painful experiences, but I am still standing here because I believe in its healing power.

Despite all of the difficulties that the system still poses to anyone who dares to speak up. I

understand, it is society hurting, it is patriarchy refusing to lose the power it has exerted for

centuries in detriment of women. But we have the power to be agents of this change, agents

for justice. Paraphrasing New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern when she said after

the massacre of innocent people: #TheyAreUs, I believe I am you and you are me. We are all

Us and together we can get healed, for ourselves, for you and me, and for the others. In each

of our individual stories lies a social power to push for this much-needed change. We might

not even see the complete change in our own lifetime, but as women have become stronger

building over so many other women’s pain and sacrifice in the past, our experiences today

and how we choose to fight back are also part of that better future to come for us, and for all.

If I am standing here before you, with you… is because I realized I don't need to

fantasize of a parallel world. I realized that I can build my own world as much as you can

build yours too, picking up from the pieces and pain we will rise…Take back the night! We
can do it. We have to do it. We are fighters. We are sisters. And this is the bare most basic

instinct that has kept the human race going: We…are…survivors.