My name is Sue. This is my experience of supporting my friend Liz who was raped at a party last Christmas. Liz didn't actually tell me what happened until about four days after the party. But I'd noticed that something was wrong. She just wouldn't talk to me and seemed really down.
I finally decided I needed to ask her what was up. So I asked her to come
with me for a walk in the park. Then she told me what had happened. This guy
who was her brother's friend, had forced her to have sex when she hadn't wanted
it. He just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.
It was a pretty hard conversation, there were lots of silences, but I just let her talk. I knew she didn't like to be hugged, but I wanted her to know that I was there for her. I said that what had happened must have been terrible and I let her know that I cared about her. I was glad she felt she could trust me enough to tell me.
I asked her why she hadn't told me sooner. She really thought no one would believe her and that it would get around. She thought people would start talking about her and think she was a big slut.
