Credit: ©ENM

Luxembourg-based association Stand Speak Rise Up! has announced that its photography exhibition "Simply Survivors", featuring photographs taken by survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and children born of rape, will open at Place de Strasbourg in Luxembourg-Gare on Thursday 12 November 2026.

The exhibition will officially open at 11:30 in the presence of Luxembourg's former Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Stand Speak Rise Up! co-founder and curator of the exhibition Chékéba Hachemi and Luxembourg City Mayor Lydie Polfer. The exhibition will remain open to the public free of charge until January 2027.

For the project, Stand Speak Rise Up! provided disposable cameras to survivors of wartime sexual violence and children born of rape, inviting them to document their daily lives, loved ones and surroundings. Participants also wrote accompanying texts to share their personal experiences and perspectives.

The exhibition will present stories of survival, resilience and rebuilding, including contributions from survivors who are now refugees in Luxembourg. "Exile is not a choice. You are forced to leave your whole life behind," reportedly said one of the participants.

"I designed this exhibition as a space for Survivors, and also for children born of rape, who have long been rejected and made invisible. Survivors do not need compassion, they need action. They need us not to forget them," said Chékéba Hachemi.

The exhibition previously took place at the French National School for the Judiciary (ENM) in Bordeaux, France in September 2026. Its presentation in Luxembourg coincides with activities surrounding the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, observed annually on Wednesday 25 November 2026.

Founded in 2019 by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Chékéba Hachemi and Stéphane Bern, Stand Speak Rise Up! works to combat the use of rape as a weapon of war.

According to the association, its initiatives have supported more than 15,000 survivors and children across sixteen countries since its establishment, providing access to healthcare, psychological support, education and opportunities for economic independence.

For more information, visit standspeakriseup.lu.