Inés Hercovich: Why women stay silent after sexual assault
Inés Hercovich: Por qué las mujeres permanecen en silencio después de un ataque sexual
Inés Hercovich is a pioneer in the study of sexual violence against women. Full bio
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or will be sexually assaulted
en algún momento de su vida
se refugia en el silencio --
take refuge in silence --
involves a close family member
en el seno mismo de la familia
to deal with and talk about.
de vivir y de contar.
porque temen que no les crean.
que no les creemos.
why I think we don't believe them.
una mujer cuenta lo que le pasó,
a woman tells what happened to her,
que no esperamos escuchar,
escuchar historias como esta:
the Mitre Railroad tracks.
del Ferrocarril Mitre.
as she was on her way home.
cuando volvía a su casa.
attacked her from behind,
la asaltó por la espalda,
and that she shouldn't move.
o leemos una noticia así,
representa una imagen:
and it's dark and two-dimensional;
it's as if there were no people involved.
cuenta lo que le pasó,
it doesn't fit in 10 or 20 seconds.
a la que vamos a llamar 'Ana',
of a woman I'll call "Ana."
que hice sobre la violación sexual.
on sexual assault.
to the same pub we always go to.
al mismo pub que vamos siempre.
y yo me enganché con un flaco re piola.
cool guy; we talked a lot.
it was time to go.
les dije a mis amigas que nos fuéramos;
él me acercaba.
he'd drive me home.
he liked me and touched my leg.
que yo le gustaba y me tocó la pierna.
to approach me that way,
didn't mean anything by it,
y el tipo nada que ver y lo ofendo'.
he kept going straight.
a mistake, and I said,
pero algo feo sentí.
atención a lo que sentí?
to what I was feeling?'
cerca de la autopista,
tranquila, que yo le gustaba
unless I wanted it to.
que se enojara y todo fuera peor.
in the glove compartment.
un arma en la guantera.
and tried to kiss me.
y me quiso besar.
pero me tenía en los brazos.
but he was holding my arms down.
la puerta, pero estaba trabada.
the door, but it was locked.
where would I have gone?
who needed to do that to be with a girl,
para estar con una mina;
pero no de esa manera.
but not in that way.
su hermana mayor.
I were his older sister.
my mouth with one hand
he unbuckled his belt.
strangle me, you know?
que me podía matar, ahorcar, ¿sabés?
and then take me home."
y me llevara a mi casa".
varias preguntas.
la ventanilla y pidió auxilio?
the window and call for help?
presintió que algo feo podía pasar?
when she felt something bad might happen?
a una noticia en los medios,
of story not on the news
presenting it on a stage like this --
que una persona como yo les cuenta
a alguien que conocemos
with the story of what happened to them,
su historia, lo que le pasó,
we won't be able to understand --
dudas, preguntas, sospechas,
and suspicion will creep in.
muy mal, culpables.
really bad and guilty.
de esa incomodidad,
from the discomfort, we have an option.
on all the parts of the story
que esperábamos escuchar:
the locked doors, the isolated location.
las puertas trabadas,
on all the parts of the story
y que no queremos escuchar:
que él también le gustaba,
that she liked him, too,
as if she were his older sister,
como si fuera la hermana mayor,
realmente ella fue una víctima.
that she really was a victim.
de las víctimas'.
para poder creer que es inocente,
to believe she's innocent,
as helpless, paralyzed, mute.
inermes, paralizadas, mudas.
para deshacernos de la incomodidad,
to avoid the discomfort.
que no esperábamos escuchar, como:
we didn't expect to hear,
"I asked him to take me home,"
que me lleve a mi casa",
que sí esperábamos escuchar --
on the things we did expect to hear:
el aislamiento.
agarrarnos de las dudas,
preguntas, por ejemplo:
y las amigas, no?
were dressed, right?
but rather, judgments --
ciertamente preguntas,
struggled to avoid being raped.
de las víctimas'.
both to blame and to victimize,
para culpabilizar
en la cabeza, muy a mano,
to be of any use,
de que lo que le había pasado
if what happened to her qualified as rape.
se parece más a un robo a mano armada,
que dura 4 o 5 minutos,
in a kidnapping.
y que termina en un secuestro.
su cuerpo para evitarlo,
was something different.
de esto nunca con nadie.
about this with anyone.
she'd choose to tell her story to
hubiera elegido para contarle,
as the rest of us:
when it comes to things like this.
de un tema como este.
que la violación misma.
than the rape itself.
con una amiga, con una hermana,
to a friend or a sister.
have been extremely difficult:
on his face or in his voice
en su rostro o en su voz
y probablemente el final de la relación.
the end of their relationship.
because deep down she knows
porque íntimamente sabe
not her family or therapists,
ni su familia, ni los terapeutas,
actually did in that moment.
lo que Ana sí hizo
de no darle ideas.
that was happening were normal,
pasando en ese momento
a que ella después lo pudiera denunciar.
that she would turn him in later.
in the eyes of the law.
los códigos siguen pidiendo
that the victim prove her innocence --
para probar su inocencia --
para probar su inocencia --
to prove her innocence --
in a vigorous and continuous fight
una lucha 'tenaz y constante'
en la mayoría de los casos judiciales,
talking about themselves
reducida a una cosa,
to the will of the other.
a la voluntad del otro.
and even a little proud
they had been at the time,
en ese momento,
they paid to every detail,
tener algún control
some control over what was happening.
hacen en estas situaciones
posible y con el menor costo.
and at the lowest cost.
más lejos las mantiene
las palabras suaves.
lo que muy rara vez son:
lower-class man
un depravado de clase baja,
o un empresario
or a businessman
un viernes o un sábado;
on a Friday or Saturday;
the victims to be demure women
mujeres modositas, recatadas,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Inés Hercovich - Sociologist, social psychologistInés Hercovich is a pioneer in the study of sexual violence against women.
Why you should listen
Inés Hercovich is a sociologist and social psychologist who for decades has researched subjects related to the discrimination of women. She is a pioneer in the study of sexual violence against women, and in 1990 she founded the first crisis service for victims of sexual assault. Apart from her work, Hercovich is also a sculptor, and in recent years, a world traveler.
Inés Hercovich | Speaker | TED.com