Project Description
/ Stand Speak Rise Up! 2025 Annual Meeting
Photo credits: SSRU!/Chloé THOMAS
“In Darfur, women are afraid to go out to fetch water and food for their families, because they are often raped during these trips.”
— H.R.H. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
On Tuesday, June 3rd, Stand Speak Rise Up! held its annual Rencontres at the Espace des Femmes, in collaboration with the Alliance des Femmes pour la Démocratie.
An exceptional evening marked by the presence of H.R.H. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Chékéba Hachemi, co-founder of the association, and Élisabeth Nicoli.
Systemic brutality, an urgent crisis
From Ukraine to Sudan, recent events highlight the intensifying use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
In the face of this organized barbarity, Stand Speak Rise Up!’s work to support Survivors and children born of rape is more essential than ever.
“We do not pretend to teach Survivors everything — they know very well what they need. Nor do we pretend to speak on their behalf.
Stand Speak Rise Up! plays the role of a midwife, accompanying them through their process of reconstruction.
Our advocacy work is about pushing open every door so that rape is no longer used as the cheapest and most destructive weapon across generations.”
— Chékéba Hachemi
Art, engagement, and transmission
This gathering was also a moment to unite around the cause of women, to break the silence surrounding rape as a weapon of war, and to celebrate art as a form of resistance and healing.
Art by women and for women, as both a political and therapeutic act.
At the end of the presentations and speeches, attendees were invited to preview the first panels of the exhibition “Simply Survivor” —
a photographic project that gives visibility and voice to Survivors of sexual violence, in all their dignity and strength.
A shared commitment
We warmly thank everyone present for their support, their attentiveness, and their solidarity.
Every encounter, every voice echoed, every action taken adds a stone to this vital fight: ending rape as a weapon of war.