8:34 PM
“The people who have come forward now, in their thousands, perhaps feel the same as me: why be defined by the Saviles, the Halls, the endless weird, isolated men who have been arrested recently?…Sufferers of abuse are not “victims”, not even “survivors” – we’re brilliant, wonderful human beings, out there in the world, avenging ourselves on a daily basis by living well.”
- Roshi Fernando: ”I suffered sexual abuse. I refuse to be ashamed any more.”
TW: Abuse, Self-Harm, Eating Disorders
That article, above, was written by my Mum, Roshi Fernando. After reading it I was at first shocked, because through my 22 years of life I had never once suspected that something like that had happened to her.
But more than that, I was proud of her - as proud as I’ve always been - that she chose to write about something that deserved to be written about. It was in yesterday’s papers, but I wanted more people to read it. So I made this illustration, based on the part I reproduced in bold, so that I could put it here.
This is something I feel very strongly about, and have felt very strongly about for a long time - since something similar happened to a friend of mine in University, in another situation that ended up with the person harmed being blamed and shunned. But, like my Mum, that person didn’t let it define her, and avenged herself by living well.
If you have a moment, please do read that article, and reblog this post. I’d like as many people as possible to see it.
Thank you.

