Trigger Warning TW: Story of a Survivor, Domestic Violence, Sexual Abuse There are moments in life that you never forget. One of them was when I first dialed “Nummer gegen Kummer”, a helpline for children and Youth. As many of you know, I am an advocate against domestic violence. I became interested in marine conservation when I met fishermen's wives in Peru in 2008 who were being abused by their husbands. What I'm writing about today for the first time: I myself am a survivor of domestic violence and sexual abuse in my childhood and youth. One of my resources at the time was the helpline “Nummer gegen Kummer" (“number against sorrow”). It must have been at school that I first heard about the number. One day, when I was home alone, I sat down on the stairs to the 1st floor so that I could always see the driveway. I nervously clutched the phone. I dialed the number, my whole body was shaking. I can still remember how much I cried and was relieved to have an adult just listening to me. I was also very afraid of being discovered during the calls. Since the calls are taken over by Deutsche Telekom and are anonymous, the telephone number does not appear on the bill. It was also a relief for me that the calls were free because I didn't have any pocket money. Until I moved out at the age of 19, I turned for help by dialing the “Nummer gegen Kummer”. From my experience I know how difficult it is to ask for support. I often thought to myself: "Is it even worth it? I have to do it alone!" But it's okay to reach out for support. Why didn't I ask anyone for help then? The culture of my family of origin played a major role in this, in which it was not proper to talk about private problems with outsiders. The racism I encountered growing up in Germany also made my trust in those around me crumble. So the number was my lifeline at a time when I was struggling to keep my head above water. Check out www.nummergegenkummer.de for more information. Growing up, I got to know another helpful counseling service: The "Violence against women" helpline caters specifically to women and girls: Bullying, stalking, forced marriage, rape or human trafficking - the "Violence against Women" help line provides advice on all forms of violence. Check out https://www.hilfetelefon.de/en.html. They provide help in 18 languages and more. Why am I telling you my story today? Because in the last few years I've remembered my WHY, why I started to stand up for women's rights: When I was a child, I swore to myself that when I reached adulthood, I would do my part to ensure that girls and women never again experienced violence. Every third woman in Germany is affected by sexual and/or physical violence. I don't want to hide behind anonymous statistics to take action against domestic and sexual violence. I myself am a survivor. I survived to speak about it. I survived to tell people about the help that saved me and that I wished I had had more of as a child. Today, at the age of 38, I can say: Thank you dear team of the “Nummer gegen Kummer” for your help. These counseling offers cannot replace therapy. But if it weren't for the positive experience I had with the advisors back then, I wouldn't have regained hope to work for marine conservation, women's rights and diversity. My goal is that in the future even more young people who are looking for help will have access to counseling services. Let's work together so that no call for help goes unheard! So feel free to share and spread the word. Thank you! #support #womensrights #MentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness #Therapy #grief #domesticviolence #survivor #abuse #believesurvivors #orangeyourcity #orangetheworld #orangeday #16days #humanrights #unwomen #femalepower #gender #equality #noviolence #endgbv #violenceagainstwomen #EndViolenceAgainstWomen #international #girls #women #metoo #femaleempowerment #feminism
