In “The power of numbers” (March 8), the writers say, “Collecting data about sexual violence is a crucial step towards breaking the culture of silence”. This is true but it is far from easy. Hillary Clinton once said that the history of women has been a history of silence. This is true. Even economically empowered women today are reluctant to open up to researchers who collect data on sexual attacks. This is because those who have faced sexual violence are afraid of the stigma that society may attach to them, unable to articulate in words their shock and anger and worry that doing so would be a hurdle in their attempt to live a dignified life. It requires tremendous effort for researchers to get women to cooperate in collecting data on sexual violence. They need to display an empathetic attitude and speak to them about the utility of such data in controlling sexual violence.
Rameeza. A. Rasheed,
Chennai