Iceland: In an extraordinarily brave and open TED talk, they both took to the stage to describe how they have come to terms with it — she with how to accept she was not at fault and move on; he with his shame at realising he was capable of behaving that way, as reported by ITV News. Nine years after she was raped by her former boyfriend, Iceland resident Thordis Elva wrote a letter to her rapist Tom Stranger. It was a cathartic act and through the letter, she hoped to find some peace.
She didn’t expect a reply but did receive one — surprisingly it was a confession, full of regret, from him. After writing to each other, they eventually met again and have since co-authored a book about the rape and its traumatic aftermath. Ms Elva and Mr Stranger recently delivered a TED Talk together to share their story of reconciliation. The poignant talk is currently going viral on social media. Since being shared on February 7, the post has received almost 10,000 reactions and over 3,700 shares on Facebook.
Thordis Elva
Ms Elva met Mr Stranger through an exchange program in 1996 when he moved to Iceland from Australia. They began dating and their teenage romance turned into horror when, after a school dance, then 18-year-old Mr Stranger raped Ms Elva, 16. They subsequently broke up but before Ms Elva identified what happened to her as rape, Mr Stranger had moved back to Australia.
