Johanne Bjørnå, from Alta in northern Norway, fell asleep at a party in 2011, when she was 18 years old, and was then raped by an acquaintance. She reported the rape to the police, and the man was convicted and spent three years and eight months in prison.
Bjørnå now wants to raise awareness about sleep rape through the short film A Tacit Consent, where she is played by her own sister.
”I want to put the spotlight on this type of rape that happens every single weekend and is often performed by someone you know,” Bjørnå told Norwegian broadcaster TV2.
The film features a group of friends playing a drinking game together. A young woman goes to sleep in a bedroom after having too much to drink. After some time, a man enters the room and rapes her.
”The message is that if a woman or a man is unable to say no, those around them should know that they cannot do whatever the want with their body,” Bjørnå told local newspaper Altaposten. “Using another person’s body for sexual pleasure when that person cannot resist the act is rape. Silence is not agreement.”
Please whitelist us to continue reading.