I met with rape survivors in numbers that were overwhelming and found that our shared experience of victimhood was a means to connect. I am white, healthy, in charge of my own life, living relatively free from ostracism and fear: living a favored life. They had not been so favored. And yet, we have all survived.
Several dozen women and girls spoke to me with surprising openness about their experiences, their nightmares, and dreams. Their stories need to be told and, more importantly, they need to be the ones doing the telling, which is another important goal of the film: to explore, witness, and contribute to these women’s healing through the empowerment of personal narrative.
By bringing these women out of the shadows, the film will be a catalyst in focusing world attention on their plight, bringing opprobrium upon those in power who turn their backs, and sparking conversations and policy change concerning the fate of women and girls in a world consumed by armed conflict.
Click here to read an interview with Lisa Jackson, Director of The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo
