“Nothing about us, without us”

“Nothing about us, without us”

SEMA, which means “speak out” in Swahili, gathers survivors of wartime sexual violence together. It is rooted in survivor-led, activist networks at the local and national levels, representing thousands of survivors of wartime sexual violence.

SEMA members mobilise collectively to speak out about the realities of sexual violence in conflict and act in solidarity to bring an end to wartime sexual violence and impunity. 

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What Dr Denis Mukwege says about SEMA: 

Dr Denis Mukwege at the SEMA 2022 Retreat
Read the full foreword written by Dr. Mukwege in the SEMA book
SEMA book

What Dr Denis Mukwege says about SEMA: 

“When one survivor has the courage to break the silence and to stand up for her rights, she will inspire others to do the same. This is why it is so important to connect survivors so that they can strengthen each other’s healing and activism. The global survivor network chose the name SEMA, the Swahili word meaning ‘speak out’. The experience of being silenced and ignored was a common theme in survivors’ experiences – not only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but across the globe and through time. Breaking the silence was recognised as the first, crucial step towards reclaiming the rights denied to so many of them.

The work that these inspiring women are doing is not solely for themselves. Nor is it to seek revenge, or to point the finger of blame. Their purpose is for the world to know that survivors have rights that must be respected. It is to ensure that their daughters and granddaughters never have to go through the experiences that they have suffered.”

Read the full foreword written by Dr. Mukwege in the SEMA book
SEMA book

Messages from SEMA members

For me, the significance of SEMA is that women from many countries break their silence. At the beginning, I got to know women with lots of pain and sadness. 5 years on, I see improvement, that they now speak up.

Colombia

SEMA woke us up. Before we were thinking about our own countries, but we know now that there are many who are struggling.

Rwanda

SEMA is an opportunity to bombard the world with survivor stories. I think that this is the way forward. Mostly we should do this in order that these things do not happen again.

Bangladesh

SEMA has really touched my life by changing how I express myself. I did not know before that there were other women, even from Europe, who had experienced this. And it is so wonderful that SEMA continues to evolve. Every year things change and develop. We have left behind our fears.

Central African Republic
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