“I thought silence was my only friend.”
In May 2013 Star Trek fan Heather Skye got the chance to ask Sir Patrick Stewart a question during a Q&A at Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas.
She told the British actor a speech he’d given to Amnesty International about domestic violence had allowed her to get over her own abusive relationship and thanked him for his powerful words.
Stewart’s passionate response about his work with the charity Refuge and his views on preventing violence against women went viral, receiving coverage around the world.
Skye revealed afterwards that Stewart had told her: “You never have to go through that again, you’re safe now."
And writing on her Tumblr account at the time, Skye said she had countless people thanking her for sharing her story.
"Many said they went through similar things. You are not alone," she added.
Speaking to BuzzFeed a year later, the 21-year-old from Houston says the hundreds of messages and support she had received after the video went viral helped her “gain a voice” again.
“I had only worked out what had happened to me was abuse a few months beforehand. I was still working out,” she said.
The video, which has now been watched close to five million times, continues to generate a reaction and the Skye said she still receives messages on a weekly basis.
“Without that video I wouldn’t have started figuring what happened to me and got the help I needed to recover from it,” the college student revealed.
She said her acceptance had led to a renewed confidence, which had led to her education on the issue and ultimately her own voice.
Heather Skye
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