(Image via YouTube @ Mathew V Music)

Mathew V's new track “Flashback” painfully recounts what it feels like to be a survivor of sexual assault, a message many gay men need to hear for affirmation — you are not alone.

Keep reading to watch the tearjerking video ...

Mathew's personal statement about creating this work:

Writing this song was one of the hardest things I‘ve had to do in my life. I wrote this song about my experience with sexual violence/rape at seventeen years old, and how that situation has influenced and affected my life today. It was something that I always knew I had to process, and had always avoided. But with every new song I wrote, I still had this in my closet, this weight on my chest. I worked on this song with Luca Fogale who is an amazing artist in his own respect, and one of my best friends. I had opened up to him about this aspect of my life in the past, and he felt like a very safe space for me to turn to with these feelings. I know that when I went through what I did, I felt so ashamed and alone. I felt like I couldn’t tell anyone what had happened to me because they would think that I was weak, that I was less of a man because I couldn’t fight back, because I was scared. If I’m being totally honest, I felt so poorly about myself at the time that I thought people wouldn’t believe me. I thought that people wouldn't believe that anyone would have wanted me that way. It was later that I learned how large an issue rape and sexual violence is within the gay community, and in society as a whole. I was lucky enough to have resources to turn to in Vancouver. I called a sexual education toll free phone line and I was directed to the proper medical treatment for my situation. I strongly urge everyone to look into the resources in your area. Start a conversation. This is something we can talk about, and we have to talk about. We have to know where to turn in these situations and that we are safe to come forward and seek help. Ultimately this is the song that I needed to hear at that time to know that I wasn’t alone.