
This post deals with sexual assault and might be triggering for some readers.
She wants you to know her name but, as a matter of law, neither she nor we can reveal it.
If Mamamia were to publish her name alongside her face, she could be confronted with up to four months in jail, or be fined in excess of $3,000. As a media company, we could be fined up to $8,000.
So let us give her the pseudonym of Cecilia.
It’s curious, really, considering she has publicly told her story of sexual abuse for years. She has used her name, face and identity in media reports, book chapters and for campaigns too.
But under Victoria’s new law, if you are a victim of sexual assault, revealing your identity to the media is no longer your choice.
You can’t.
For Cecilia, the sensation is shockingly familiar.
When she was sexually assaulted by her uncle, he robbed her of her innocence and, by doing so, silenced her.
It took decades to find her voice again.
Watch: These are the hidden numbers on the topic of women and violence. Post continues below.
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Cecilia remembers the first time she felt uncomfortable around her uncle, who she recalls as being “the favourite amongst all the kids”.
Her extended family, on her father’s side, were at a gathering. He was teaching her how to play pool.
“He leant over me and as he pressed into me, I could feel a bulge in his pants and I knew what it was and I knew it was wrong,” she remembers. “As he stood up, he just ran his hand down my side, alongside my breast - I mean, I didn't really have breasts at the time - but that was the first time I felt like that's not right.
“I just didn't have the words or the ability to communicate it,” she tells Mamamia.
Cecilia was 13 years old when the sexual assault started.
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