Last year by request I posted a signal boost for submissions to We Will Not Go Quietly, a zine by survivors of sexual assault.

Since I posted it, I thought it was fair to offer you an update, which is that the editors of the zine have prepared a near-camera ready PDF version which they hope to launch online and in print during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (25 Nov to Dec 10). They are currently fundraising in order to print additional copies of the zine, as they can only afford 250 copies without additional funding.

At this point, I’d like to emphasise that I’m not affiliated with the project! I have seen the PDF version of the zine and can tell you that it exists, with 20 contributions included, but I cannot speak to the likelihood of the editors delivering a timely launch of printed copies if they meet their fundraising goal: I simply don’t know! Instead, I’m posting this for the benefit of people who might be wondering what happened to the project.

The editors, Mel Hughes and Kate Ravenscroft, have put up a fundraising page on Pozible aiming to raise AUD $3000. A contribution of $30 or more will mean you get a printed copy of the zine. Their blurb is:

WE WILL NOT GO QUIETLY is a not-for-profit creative resource on surviving sexual assault. Written by survivors of sexual assault, for survivors of sexual assault. We Will Not Go Quietly aims to provide survivors with a place to be heard, a place to tell thier story and a place to be acknowledged. Equally, We Will Not Go Quietly aims to provide the community with a resource for understanding what it means to survive sexual assault.

Accompanying the zine will be a website where stories will continue to be added and contributed.

We are incredibly proud of this publication. Each and every person whose story is included has achieved something amazing. Something that our community rarely recognises. To have been able to read and share these stories has been a great privilege and one that I hope you will recognise, too.

We aim to launch the zine and the website during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (25 Nov – Dec 10).

Our next aim is to print as many copies of We Will Not Go Quietly as possible and distribute it as widely as we can. Our plan is to make it available for free so that it is widely accessible.

So far We Will Not Go Quietly has been entirely voluntary and self-funded. However, to realise our vision of sending this publication out into the world as widely as possible we have decided to reach out to the community to see if we can fundraise and therefore maximise the reach of We Will Not Go Quietly.

If we can raise $6,000 we can print 1,000 copies in beautiful riso print.

We can’t help ourselves from dreaming big and imagining 1,000 copies of We Will Not Go Quietly out in the world – in CASA waiting rooms, in schools and doctor’s waiting rooms, in hospitals and support services…. Will you help us get there?

They’re also accepting contributions through their website, unlike Pozible, this money will be sent immediately, not only if they reach their goal.

Front page image credit: Slutwalk Manchester by Phil King.

Categories: arts & entertainment, gender & feminism, social justice, violence

Tags: activism/charity, rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, zines