NAME THE SHAME
A private first step for anyone carrying the shame of someone else's actions.
Your answers stay on your device.
What happened has a name.
The shame is not yours.
A private tool to help put language to an experience that made you feel uncomfortable, unsafe, confused or powerless.
This prototype works entirely in your browser. Closing or clearing it removes your answers.
This tool is for adults and is not counselling, emergency assistance or legal advice.
One step at a time.
You do not have to tell your whole story.
Nothing is sent or saved. This tool does not make legal or clinical findings.
Start with the part you can name.
You do not need to tell the whole story or be certain. Choose anything that feels close.
Which descriptions feel relevant?
These are prompts, not legal findings. Choose only what you want to choose.
Here is what you named.
Your response to a difficult situation does not transfer responsibility to you.
You decide what words feel true.
Some language you may want to consider:
Optional. This stays in this browser session only.
What did it leave you carrying?
Feelings are real. They are not proof that you caused what happened.
The shame is not yours.
You may have frozen, adapted, stayed quiet, laughed it off, complied, left, reported it or told no one. Whatever you did to get through it does not make you responsible for what another person chose to do.
What would help right now?
There is no correct next step. Stopping here is also a choice.
Record only what feels useful.
Keep any saved record somewhere secure. A file may be visible to other people with access to your device or cloud backups.
You can ask for listening, not fixing.
Naming it was a step.
You do not owe this website, your workplace, the industry or anyone else another action right now.
You do not have to handle this alone.
If you are in immediate danger, call emergency services. The links and numbers below leave this prototype.
Call 112
Call 10111
Call 0800 428 428
English: 021 447 9762
isiXhosa: 021 361 9085
Afrikaans: 021 633 9229
WhatsApp: 083 222 5164
These services are independent of Name The Shame. Availability and operating details can change.