A survivor of sexual violence uses her powerful story to advocate for the empowerment of other survivors and promote education as a preventive measure.
I come from a simple and humble family in the Oyam district of Northern Uganda. I am blessed to have a large family, and my parents, brothers and sisters are so loving. I am also a mother of two children who are currently pursuing education. I love them both very much.
I am the founder of Women in Action for Women (WAW), a founding member of the Leadership Council of the Global Survivor Network, the Principal of St Bakhita Vocational Training Centre and the Board Chair of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund.
Let me take you back to what started as a peaceful night in October of 1996 but ended in a nightmare.
I was 14 years old when I, along with other girls, was abducted from St. Mary's Aboke school by the Lord's Resistance Army. I spent the next eight years in captivity before finally escaping and returning home in 2004.
I will never forget that terrible night. The dark sky was filled with the bright and silent flames of heaven when, suddenly, I woke to the sound of shattering glass and the raised voices of strange men outside my dormitory. In an instant, I went from being an innocent schoolgirl to a captive held by a terrorist army.
In an instant, my dreams of becoming an engineer or an accountant vanished.
In an instant, I was ripped from my bed at gunpoint, beaten and forced into the ranks of the countless many known throughout the world as the physically and sexually exploited.
I will never forget the day I was forced to become a sex slave to a man many years my senior.
I will never forget the night I was raped, my virginity forcefully taken from me.
I will never forget the fear and the pain I endured while giving birth without medical attention.
I will never forget the day I was so badly caned that it took weeks for me to heal.
I will never forget the forced marches, where I watched hundreds die of thirst and hunger.
I will never forget how I almost died on one of those marches.
I saw the faces of those killed, their legs swollen and deformed. I prayed to God to join them in death.
I have been able to speak up and share my story boldly because I had the opportunity to go back to school.Victoria Nyanjura One day, my children and I escaped from captivity. My father, a strong and proud African, greeted me with a river of joyful tears. The non-governmental organization World Vision--my first contact with an NGO after my escape--showed me kindness.
I already had two children to take care of when I returned to high school at age 22.
I was very happy when I received a scholarship to attend graduate school at the University of Notre Dame in the United States. Today, I am a university graduate. Education made me understand, for the first time, the true meaning of Justice.
War is part of my story. It is where I experienced many terrible and unspeakable horrors. But I am not here to dwell on those things. I am here to talk about the redemptive power of Justice.
I was recently appointed as the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund (UNVTF) Board Chair 2024. It is a great honor to be able to serve and spread hope, using my personal experience as a survivor to help others like me around the world.
I have been through a lot and survived, and I have a message for the young people of Africa: Remember that anything is possible if you choose to do it. Our tomorrow and that of future generations lie in your ability to shape the future.
Collective action is strength, so please embrace and guard it jealously. To stop violence, especially against women and girls, education is key.
I have been able to speak up and share my story boldly because I had the opportunity to go back to school. I received support from my family, had access to healthcare, and could take care of my kids. Other survivors might not have that support. While tackling violence, we should also address the holistic needs of survivors -- such as education, economic empowerment, healthcare, and removing stigma.
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"[Women] who are made new... are able to change the rules and the quality of relationships, transforming even social structures. They are...capable of bringing peace where there is conflict, building and nurturing... relationships where there is hatred, seeking justice where there prevails the exploitation of man by man," states the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Those who advocate for the empowerment of survivors of violence must be supported and sustained by society as a whole. Many local advocates rise from the ranks of survivors; therefore, supporting them is a matter of justice.
Let the past not define who you are; rather, use it to shape the future.
