Ila is the Sanskrit name for the Goddess of Speech. It’s also the name of a social enterprise founded by Net Supatravanij and Julie Sané-Pezet. Together, they provide survivors of sexual violence with skills training. The goal is to achieve financial independence and freedom from violence.
“Many women and girls around the world are financially dependent which means they don’t have skills up to market standards and have very few means of survival if left alone. In this situation, they are very unlikely to leave a violent household or even report any form of abuse. And for women and girls, violence is a reality. It is estimated that a girl dies from violence every five minutes in the world”. – Ilageneration.com
Ila connects survivors of sexual violence, corporations, and activists. As part of that, Julie hosts Ila’s podcast, Make Some Noise, in which she interviews people who are raising their voices about gender inequality. I had the pleasure of being a guest on the fourth episode, and I sat down with Julie to talk about my activism, my experience as a fighter and a survivor, and my thoughts on gender stereotypes.
“For this fourth episode, I’m bringing you to Bangkok to meet Emma. Emma is a gender activist and a Muay Thai fighter. Two ways of fighting, and two topics that she writes about on her blog and her Instagram account, Under the Ropes. We talked about passion and standing for yourself, but we also questioned the way abusers, rapists, culprits at large tend to be described. And the way victims are depicted as well.”
TW: Both Julie and I give accounts of sexual assault in this episode.
Learn more about Ila by reading their interview with BK Magazine.
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