Speak Up.
A Social Media Campaign
Remember the #MeToo movement?
Millions shared their stories, and the world finally saw just how widespread sexual assault really is. But that conversation can’t stop there — especially for young people.
Speak Up is a youth-centered social media campaign designed to help others understand, report, and heal from sexual assault. Through short, easy-to-understand Instagram reels and real stories from survivors, we’re creating a space where voices are heard — and where healing begins with speaking out.
This campaign isn’t just something to watch — it’s something to be part of.
Share Anonymously. Use Your Voice. Change A Life.
Community Stories
TW: SA. PLEASE DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING STORIES UNLESS YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH READING EXPERIENCES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
*all stories given explicit permission to be shared
Stories collected anonymously from people in the Denver Metro Area in a 2025 CLEAR Initiative Community Survey. Each of these stories is an experience of sexual assault. They shows us how common it is, and how it can come in many different forms.
“When I was in high school, I was dating someone who had friends who would continually touch my breasts, and my boyfriend would never say anything to his friends. As time went on, the same boyfriend pressured me into having sex with him many times when I didn’t want to, pressured me into performing oral sex on him in front of his friends, and told me it was normal for guys to grab my butt when I was working at a restaurant. To him, this was all normal behavior, and I didn’t know that wasn’t a healthy relationship. I later married him and he used sex to control me, to do what he wanted and used it as a tool to make me have sex with him so he wouldn’t be angry with me or my children.”
“The first time I was assaulted I was 4 years old. Due to me being so young it took me months to tell my mom about it, after I told her about it she told me there was nothing she could do to help me because it had been months since the attack. The next time it happened I told her the day after, she asked me if I wanted to get a rape kit and “put the bad guy away” and I said yes. She told me what it consisted of and it sounded like it would cause more harm than good and would traumatize me further. She said I’d have to go to the hospital and get naked while a nurse did tests on me and took pictures of me so I changed my mind and said nevermind. SAEKs help a lot of people but for me sounded too traumatizing for being a young child. The assaults then continued till I was 14.”
Tell us your story below.
“I was raped multiple times by a family member. The first time I was heavily intoxicated. After that he just continued. I was too scared to tell anyone because he had previously been accused of rape but no one believed the accuser. The assaults went on for 6 months but finally ended when I finally left for college. First year of college was rough and everytime I drank I relived my assault. It was at that point I sought out counseling.”
Tell Your Story.
Anonymously tell us your story, using as much or as little detail as possible. Your email will never be shared.