YEP says: Speaking out breaks the secrecy of rape

'This is not a dirty little secret.'
Emily-Rose Hinnells, 19Emily-Rose Hinnells, 19
Emily-Rose Hinnells, 19

These are the powerful words from a teenager who today has spoken about being raped in Leeds, after asking a man she thought was a “harmless” homeless person for directions.

She was very unlucky. The chances of being dragged off the street and raped are very small. According to the support charity Rape Crisis, around 10 per cent of rapes are committed by strangers. The rest are commited by known men, and often by someone that has been previously trusted, or even loved. People who are raped cannot be identified. Only the rape victim themselves can agree to be identified.

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Emily-Rose is the second person to waive that right to anonymity this week in the Yorkshire Evening Post. Earlier Kim Chown spoke exclusively to the Yorkshire Evening Post about being raped by a man she did know - her father.

The stories from both of them are incredibly powerful. Speaking out about it like this takes away that cloak of secrecy and the more people speak out about it, the easier it will be for others to do the same.

Nobody should be forced to be named, it should always be a choice. But nobody should be labelled a victim either, Emily-Rose and Kim are not victims - they are survivors.

“This is NOT a dirty little secret” should become a global movement.