Kryslyn Antsey has posted one of the more powerful videos on sexual assault and abuse awareness you'll ever watch.
In the video — which you can watch above — Antsey, 18, talks about being a victim of sexual assault, and how it's impacted her. "It was terrible, horrible," says the Peterborough, Ont. native of the ordeal. In the video, she sends a strong message to everyone that your body is your body, and no one else has to right to tell you what to do with it.
To victims of sexual abuse/assault, she says: "It's not your fault... the piece of shit that is pushing themselves on you... it's their fault."
"When I made the video I was nervous," Kryslyn tells PTBOCanada in an interview. "Nervous because I had no idea how people were going to react — and if I had even gotten the right message across. I had never really had intentions of posting it but after talking to a close friend, she said it was definitely worth sharing. The response has been amazing."
Indeed, Kryslyn tells PTBOCanada her video is already making a difference in people's lives, empowering them and giving them a voice: "I've heard from victims who have felt safe enough to open up to me and talk, and it's such an amazing thing to see how strong these individuals are. I want the topic of sexual abuse to not be skirted around anymore — I'm tired of feeling pitied when talking about it. Only close friends and family knew — other than that, it was a surprise to many."
"I want the video to reach every victim or individual that's ever known or been affected by sexual abuse," adds Kryslyn, who has just completed high school. "I want them to know that there's people out there that are going through the same thing and that if we band together we can really speak volumes. I want to make men and women feel safe."
You can reach Kryslyn here.
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