Gwalt. Glosy (Rape. Voices)

"When he finished, he said: be silent. Go back to the playground.
And I was silent. Be silent. I was silent.
(…)
Dirt, rag, you’re worth nothing. You treat yourself as a table.
Against yourself you dress it in some kind of secrecy. That it didn’t happen.
A dance of self-destruction.
(…)
Somebody destroyed you."

To hear the unheard. To see the unseen. To come out of silence.

To confront violence. Disagree with secrets.

“Rape. Voices” is a theatrical protest against the universal fact of sexual violence toward women. It’s an attempt to understand the complexity of this problem and to challenge its social perception. It’s giving a voice to those, who are usually not asked: women who have experienced sexual violence. Women who in their multiplied voices tell us about the experience which doesn’t have nationality, age or sexual orientation: rape. The voices of women interweave here with each other, drawing on individual experiences and different stories. Stories, which happened for real.

The starting point of this work was a sociological research project exploring the subject of sexual violence in Poland and the situation of women who experienced rape, carried out by STER, the Association for Equality and Emancipation from Warsaw in collaboration with VICTORIA, the Association for Women from Rzeszow and WAGA, the Association from Gdansk. Results showed clearly that a conversation about sexual violence, especially about rape, is still very difficult, if possible at all. Rape is still one of the most traumatic and silenced experiences. Until the end of one’s life it remains a painful open wound. Many women don’t talk about it with their families and friends and don’t take legal actions against their oppressors. For most of women participating in the research a meeting with an interviewer was the first occasion to talk about rape. The performance was created in a dialogue with this research and refers directly to the conversations with its participants.

Gwalt. Glosy (Rape. Voices) was produced by STER, the Association for Equality and Emancipation in collaboration with Teatr Powszechny and it’s a part of a larger project Breaking Taboo – Rights of Victims of Sexual Violence.

The premiere took place in Teatr Powszechny, Warsaw, Poland on the 7th of December 2015.

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