I feel proud to have left
![a woman with her back to the lens looking towards the sea](https://diotima.org.gr/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/fabrizio-verrecchia-GqZEyGhyjIw-unsplash-411x289.jpg)
Gender-based violence remains unspoken. It is hidden behind lowered blinds and black sunglasses. But Anna was determined to speak.
Volunteering gives strength
![an African woman with a mask over her mouth and a purple cap standing in the doorway of a catholic church](https://diotima.org.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AZ_20211109_16962-434x289.jpg)
Cecile is a survivor of gender-based violence, she lives in Lesvos and receives psychosocial support from the “Diotima Centre”.
Without freedom you are not human
![a woman with a headscarf is walking down a street in the night, we can see her shadow on a concrete wall next to her](https://diotima.org.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/RF229987_AZ20151116-50598-434x289.jpg)
Emma left Sierra Leone in fear of political persecution. On the trip, she was a victim of sexual exploitation.
Life is too short to live in the shadows
![two women hugging and looking towards the sea, we only see their backs](https://diotima.org.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Marios_final-418x289.jpg)
Miry and Farrah experienced fear, oppression, and violence from the moment they fell in love in their home country.
I only escaped when I reported what was happening to me
![a woman forms the symbol of victory with her fingers](https://diotima.org.gr/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/priscilla-du-preez-tQagUWpAx5k-unsplash-434x289.jpg)
Domestic violence is one of the most widespread forms of gender-based violence, globally and in our country.