#IAMNOTAFRAIDTOSAY: UKRAINIANS SPEAK OUT ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT

Ukrainian women began to post stories about incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault on social media under the hashtag, “I'm not afraid to say" – #яНеБоюсьСказати in Ukrainian. This led to a trend that has seen thousands of people tell their stories, not only in Ukraine but also across the former Soviet Union and around the world.

“Sexual violence is present all around the globe; it is a global problem,” says Tamara Zlobina, a Ukrainian feminist and philosopher. “In Totalitarian or post-totalitarian society you don’t think much about personality and about human rights; you don’t value this.”

She says that since the Maidan, there has been a social shift in Ukrainian society, making it easier to discuss topics that were once taboo.

“This campaign should really have a political impact,” she says. Despite living in a very masculine society where victim blaming is still present, Zlobina believes that victims speaking out can lead to improvements in Ukraine. In a democracy, “we create our social services….we should influence them to make this problem less present.”

Hromadske’s Nataliya Gumenyuk and Kyiv Post’s Josh Kovensky spoke to Tamara Zlobina, feminist and philosopher during The Sunday Show on July 10th, 2016 in Kyiv.