Silence is the Epidemic – Truth Is the Breakthrough

Sexual abuse isn’t just a personal trauma. It’s a national crisis. And it’s time we stop pretending it’s someone else’s problem.

In the UK, around 1 in 5 women and 1 in 14 men have experienced sexual assault in their lifetime. That’s over 7 million people — roughly 14% of the adult population (ONS, 2022).

Yet, most survivors never speak up.

Fewer than 1 in 5 survivors of rape report the assault to police (Ministry of Justice, 2020). And even among those who do, only around 2% of reported rapes lead to a conviction in England and Wales (The Guardian, 2021).

This isn’t just a justice system failure.This is a cultural failure.

The Cost of Silence

Silence doesn’t protect survivors. It protects abusers.

And it has consequences. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse are at significantly higher risk of:

• PTSD, depression, and anxiety
• Substance misuse
• Suicidal ideation
• Relationship and attachment challenges

The economic impact is just as staggering. Domestic abuse alone is estimated to cost £66 billion a year in England and Wales, factoring in healthcare, lost productivity, and long-term social impacts (Home Office, 2019).

But the emotional toll? Incalculable.

Why It's So Hard to Speak

For many survivors, speaking up feels impossible. Shame, fear of not being believed, family pressure, loyalty, and trauma all conspire to keep the truth buried.

On average, it takes a survivor 30 years to speak about childhood sexual abuse. That was true for me.

I was eight years old when the abuse began.It lasted for years. I stayed silent because I didn’t know how to speak. Because I was afraid. Because I didn’t want to break my family.

Motherhood changed that. Looking at my children, I knew: the silence had to stop with me.

The Power of a Whisper

At We As One, we often talk about"just a lil whisper."

Because not everyone can roar. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is whisper the truth for the first time.

A whisper might sound small. But it is not small.

It is the root of all change.

When even one person breaks the silence, it creates space for others to speak, to heal, and to challenge the shame that never belonged to them in the first place.

This Is a National Emergency

In 2025, UK police leaders and the government declared violence against women and girls a national emergency— an epidemic hiding in plain sight (UK Government, 2025).

We don’t solve a national emergency with silence. We solve it with cultural courage, systemic change, and shared responsibility.

So What Can You Do?

Most people want to help, but they don’t know how. Here’s where to start:

1. Speak up. If you see or suspect harm, say something. Don’t turn the other way.

2. Say the right things. If someone tells you they’ve been hurt, say:

• “I’m sorry this happened to you.”
• “I believe you.”
• “How can I support you?”

3. Create safer spaces. In families, schools, workplaces. Make it okay to talk about trauma. Make it normal to ask questions. Make it safe to be honest.

4. Don’t wait for someone else. Someone in your life — maybe someone very close to you — has been impacted by abuse. This is not someone else’s issue.

It’s yours. It’s mine. It’s ours.

Why We As One Exists

We As One is a survivor-led movement created to break the silence around childhood sexual abuse and trauma.

We don’t do this work to relive our pain.We do it so others don’t have to carry theirs alone.

Because shame has to change sides. And healing begins when we speak.

Even if all you can manage is just a lil whisper — it’s enough.

And when whispers come together? They become a movement.

We As One.

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