STORIES & ARTICLES | #MeTooEthiopia

#MeTooEthiopia

Assault is a crime, not a culture

Women and Conflict in Ethiopia

Women and Conflict in Ethiopia

Women and men have different access to resources, power and decision making before, during and after conflicts. The experience of women and of men in conflict situations is significantly different. While entire communities suffer the consequences of conflict, women and girls are particularly affected because of their status in society and their sex. Women are thus caught in a vicious paradox: while they are the main civilian victims of conflicts, they are often powerless to d

Ethiopia’s Silent Pandemic: Sexual Violence

#Metoo växer i Etiopien: ”Vi kunde rädda henne genom sociala medier”

Ten Things Men Can Do To Prevent Violence Against Women

Ten Things Men Can Do To Prevent Violence Against Women

1. Approach Gender Violence As A Men's Issue – Think of violence against women as a MEN’S issue involving men of all ages and socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. View men not only as perpetrators or possible offenders, but as empowered bystanders who can confront abusive peers. 2. Don’t Remain Silent – if a brother, friend, classmate, co-worker is abusive to a woman or is disrespectful or abusive to girls and women in general — don’t look the other way. Try to talk

#MeTooEthiopia – Empowering citizens to demand change

#MeTooEthiopia – Empowering citizens to demand change

#MeTooEthiopia was recently covered by The Reporter Ethiopia. Here is the full article below. Tiemert Shimelis is one of the founders of an Ethiopian movement - #MeTooEthiopia - geared towards fighting gender-based violence among Ethiopians. This new effort is an offspring of @ShadesOfInjera, an Instagram account that has hosted important discussions on vital social issues for the last seven years. Tiemert recently held discussions with The Reporter’s Samuel Getachew on the m

Why I Didn't Report

Why I Didn't Report

When women started coming out of the woodwork stating that they too had been sexually harassed or assaulted by a man, people wondered, “Why did they wait so long to report it?” and “Why didn’t they speak up at the time?” From the stories we receive at #MeTooEthiopia, people experiencing such harassment never tell anyone about it. Instead, they typically avoid the harasser, deny or downplay the gravity of the situation, or attempt to ignore, forget, or endure the behavior. Bel

Helen Show with #MeTooEthiopia and Setaweet

Ethiopian women abroad give abuse survivors a new platform by Public Radio International

Ethiopian women abroad give abuse survivors a new platform by Public Radio International

PRI's The World By Allison Herrera "When the Instagram page Shades of Injera was started in 2014, the slogan was “We don't follow the culture, we create the culture.” On the page, they discuss sensitive topics like dating outside the Ethiopian community, sex and nontraditional religions. They also talk about the status of women. For instance, on International Women’s Day this year the page featured the face of the country’s first female president photoshopped onto an image of

Ethiopia Confronts Sexual Violence With #MeToo Hashtag After ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ By Travel Noire

Ethiopia Confronts Sexual Violence With #MeToo Hashtag After ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ By Travel Noire

After “Surviving R. Kelly,” the three-part Lifetime documentary that documented the disgraced R&B star’s decades-long alleged abuse, the #MeToo movement is reverberating from the U.S. to Ethiopia, where the country is reckoning with sexual violence. The 53-year-old singer was charged in February with aggravated sexual abuse involving four victims, including at least three between the ages of 13 and 17. Kelly has also been accused of keeping women against their wills in an abu

Melting Scars (Acid Attacks: The Reality We Disregard)

Melting Scars (Acid Attacks: The Reality We Disregard)

The first time I heard about acid attacks was over a decade ago. At that time, I walked into my home to see my mother’s livid face: A face filled with sadness, hopelessness, and most of all, burning anguish. She told me of a woman who was attacked by her ‘lover’. He had poured acid on her face and parts of her body. According to researchers, one of the most common motives for an acid attack is relationship problems. Activists say female victims have a particularly tricky time

Selamawit Kelbessa: Survivor of an Acid Attack Tragically Passed Away

Selamawit Kelbessa: Survivor of an Acid Attack Tragically Passed Away

Selemawit Tefera Kelbessa was a former Ethiopian Airlines hostess who moved to Maryland, United States in 2016, due to social unrest and conflict in Ethiopia. She then began working multiple jobs, one of which was at an Ethiopian Restaurant. “She was a caring and kind person who always wore a bright smile on her face” said a loved one. Another friend on Facebook said, “Selam was a beautiful person inside and out. She was my hero. She taught me a lot.” In 2018, Selemawit lived

Thriver: From Victim to Survivor

Thriver: From Victim to Survivor

I have been following this page since it was created. Reading the stories of survivors has offered me great relief and a sense of solidarity. Our communities are in need of that. Although I have never imagined sharing my story on such a scale, I feel as though I am now. I was only a child when I experienced sexual violence at the hands of my father, uncle and family friend. My father molested me for years, beginning at the age of three until I was ten years old. The uncle an

A LET-DOWN CHILD HEALS; A JOURNEY TO GUILTLESS FREEDOM

A LET-DOWN CHILD HEALS; A JOURNEY TO GUILTLESS FREEDOM

I was about EIGHT when I started taking piano classes, on weekends when I could and three times a week in the summer. I took classes for about three years, by a personal trainer that would come home. At first it was great, I was actually pretty good at it. I have always been a music lover. I had a teacher in his mid-forties (if my memory serves right), he was a very kind and gentle man. He was average height, with gray hair in his beard, and looked like the typical Ethiopian

A STORY OF SHAME AND #METOO

A STORY OF SHAME AND #METOO

Why am I unsure about this one? The grapple with vulnerability and my eventual surrender to it's might have always led me to good places even after dragging me through painful lessons. Yet still, the level of openness required to share with the world what I am about to, I never had to put to the test before. This is new territory. My intention to tell my story and raise awareness through sharing my life experiences is the reason I created this platform, unchainingme blog. T

Understanding Sexual Assault and misconduct

Understanding Sexual Assault and misconduct

Recently, we’ve been hearing about sexual assault quite a lot. Every day, there seems to be a new case of sexual misconduct. So, what exactly is sexual misconduct and is it really that common? The simplest answer is sexual misconduct is any and all forms of unwanted sexual advances against someone and yes, it is way more common than we think. Sexual assault happens right under our roof, at our schools, at work, at our place of worship, in the streets, in the woods, and basica

Sexual Assault Stories of Ethiopians

Sexual Assault Stories of Ethiopians

Theses stories voiced by volunteers, use the words of survivors of sexual assaults within the Ethiopian communities committed by people who know them. Video Credit goes to: Voiceovers: Melat (@Melatopia), Samira Abdalla (@semiye_a), Betelhem Demissie (@Sherlock_Leonardo), Lidya Ayenew (@lidyageta99), Kine Afework (@kine_Afework), Sihine Negede (@Sihine), Emmanuel Oletho (@Emanthewarrior), Andu Kidane (@andu_k), Solomon Ayalew(atse_solo), Yemariam Sissay @yemariam.sissay, Redi

The Shameful Truth of Our Culture

The Shameful Truth of Our Culture

It is heartbreaking that in 2019 sexual assault still remains to be one of the least reported and prosecuted crime in the world, especially in developing countries like ours – Ethiopia. But before we get to discussing the statistics, the reasoning, and what can be done to change this sad fact, it is important to lay in concrete what sexual assault is to avoid any confusion. According to Mariam Webster dictionary sexual assault is defined as “[any] illegal sexual contact that