Exclusive: Fighting the Silence ( Sexual Abuse Documentary: TW )

SUBSCRIBE Directed and produced by Ilse and Femke Van Velzen, Fighting the Silence tells the story of ordinary Congolese women and men that struggle to change their society, a society that prefers to blame victims of rape rather than prosecute the rapists. Rape survivors and their families speak out openly about the suffering they endured because their culture considers women second class citizens and rape a taboo. They give a voice to thousands of other survivors and their families who have chosen to hide their grief and remain silent for fear of being rejected by their families and community. Girls and women survivors tell of the brutality they experienced. Married couples openly talk about the pain they endure. Husbands talk about the pressures that led them to abandon their wives and why they agreed to take them back. A father explains why he has given up on his daughter s future and how he wishes he could afford to take her rapist