Kaylee Conway was sexually abused by an extended family member. As with most children experiencing sexual abuse, she didn’t have the words to understand what was happening at the time. “To me, there was always this elephant in the room. I wanted to talk about it, but didn’t know how. I thought that because they didn’t ask, they didn’t want to talk about it. I blamed a lot of my extended family members for not bringing it up, but I wasn’t ready for that conversation either.”

Justine Baker is a Native American artist, advocate, and survivor of sex trafficking and abuse. “As my descendants come across my name, I don’t want them to come across the horrors I went through. I want them to see this article, and read that I’m a survivor.”

Desarae Garcia is a social worker, mother, podcast creator, storyteller, and survivor of child sexual abuse. “I’m a huge advocate for people to be trauma informed. If someone tells you they’ve been abused, believe them. If it’s too much for you to handle, find someone else who can help.”

After a decade of not telling anyone about her experience with sexual violence, Sydney disclosed to her husband. “It was scary to tell him, because it made it feel more real. But it was also a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and the true start to my healing. If he hadn’t opened the conversation and made me feel that I could talk about it, my healing would have taken even longer to get started.”

James Landrith is a survivor of sexual violence, former U.S. Marine, and long-time part of the RAINN team. When he was 19 and on his first active duty assignment, James was sexually assaulted by an acquaintance who was not in the military. Because the perpetrator was a woman, he did not feel that he would be believed or taken seriously if he told anyone. "Even though I knew how it had hurt me, I had never given myself permission to label it as sexual violence. That’s why I never told anyone; as a man, I didn’t think I could be a survivor. I didn’t think I had the right to say it.”

Johnathon Cassidy was sexually assaulted by a stranger he met while at a local bar who put a date-rape drug in his drink. "Everyone always said ‘Go with Johnny, you’ll be safe with him.’ I’ve been told my entire life that it was impossible for this kind of thing to happen to me.”

Tasha Wilson was sexually assaulted by an acquaintance on her college campus. She did not feel comfortable reporting the assault to campus administration because she had heard about other students’ negative experiences in doing so. “It didn’t feel like a welcoming or safe environment to disclose. I didn’t know if there were even resources available.”

Christa Hayburn was sexually assaulted by a superior at the Police Department where she served as a law enforcement officer. “I’m so glad I can be there for survivors. I will continue to advocate for change until true change takes place across the country. People in these institutions have to take sexual assault seriously and be more supportive of those who come forward.”

Ethan Levine was sexually assaulted in high school by a friend of someone he was casually dating. “In the immediate aftermath of the first assault, my focus was on whether it was real and whether I was right about what had happened. I got hung up on the fact that what happened to me didn’t fit the definition of rape I had grown up hearing.”