#Nigeria: A Survivor Shares Her Sexual Assault Experience

Rape survivors have different experiences. How it happened to a A isn't the way it will happen to B. Tanya has decided to share her story with us like other survivors have done (check HERE and HERE).

My name is Tanya. I was this "happy go lucky" young lady of 16 when I got married. I had this idea that a rapists looks like a monster. Its not true, they look like the regular man on the street, like your dad, uncle or cousins.

When I was in my second year, I lived off campus with a friend, who was afraid of staying alone. Many other people advised me not to move off camp that it wasn't safe but all the advice fell on deaf ears. I trusted my friend and moved with her. Throughout my 2nd year, my friend's family friend developed a crush on me. It was so bad that my friend became hostile to me but I had nowhere to move as half of the semester was already gone.

An Open Letter to Men

Dear men,

God made you strong, prestigious, courageous and tolerant; you are independent, you strive to make it, and you never get tired of working hard because you know you have no one to rely on but God. You have strength in you that cannot be found in any woman. I cannot overemphasize how uniquely you have been made by the creator. That is why you dominate more, God made you the leader!

I am not writing this letter just to praise you but to remind you of who you are. You are not weak but strong. It appears that many men have lost their strength and prestige. I know exactly what I am mean by that, you will understand better as you read further. If you are a man and you can't overlook certain things and learn to forgive, you might have made some mistakes by misusing the strength God has given to you.