You think it's funny. Trust me, it's not.
So, he says, "It's ok if I know her."
Let me tell you, it's not ever ok. It's especially not ok if you know her.
What am I talking about? I'm talking about RAPE. Yes, I will say it again. RAPE is not ok, not ever. Sexual assault or harassment in any form is not ok in any relationship, social structure or context.
It came to my attention a week ago that 80% of sexual assaults are committed by a person known to the victim. Better yet, 90% of sexual assaults go unreported. Women don't say anything because of FEAR. Fear of humiliation, fear they won't be believed or fear of retribution because their attacker is their partner, uncle or father. Fear isolates us and paralyzes us.
Why are we letting this happen? Go back to the beginning of this post. Read what he said. This was meant to be a joke. Do you find it funny?
This is why sexual assault is a realitiy for so many women everyday. Instead of creating a society where sexual assault is completely unacceptable, we have created one where these kind of jokes are funny and one where this happens everyday and we just don't talk about it.
If you're still reading men and women - and I hope you are - please start talking about it. Talk about it with your friends, your family and your co-workers. If we don't talk about it, we are accepting it as a part of our society. I refuse to do that.
If for nothing else, please do this for my sake. I am a women. This could happen to me as easily as it happened to a young women at Carleton University on Sept. 1. Or as easily as it probably happened to many women you know - the women in your life who haven't ever had the courage to tell you about it.
Let me tell you, it's not ever ok. It's especially not ok if you know her.
What am I talking about? I'm talking about RAPE. Yes, I will say it again. RAPE is not ok, not ever. Sexual assault or harassment in any form is not ok in any relationship, social structure or context.
It came to my attention a week ago that 80% of sexual assaults are committed by a person known to the victim. Better yet, 90% of sexual assaults go unreported. Women don't say anything because of FEAR. Fear of humiliation, fear they won't be believed or fear of retribution because their attacker is their partner, uncle or father. Fear isolates us and paralyzes us.
Why are we letting this happen? Go back to the beginning of this post. Read what he said. This was meant to be a joke. Do you find it funny?
This is why sexual assault is a realitiy for so many women everyday. Instead of creating a society where sexual assault is completely unacceptable, we have created one where these kind of jokes are funny and one where this happens everyday and we just don't talk about it.
If you're still reading men and women - and I hope you are - please start talking about it. Talk about it with your friends, your family and your co-workers. If we don't talk about it, we are accepting it as a part of our society. I refuse to do that.
If for nothing else, please do this for my sake. I am a women. This could happen to me as easily as it happened to a young women at Carleton University on Sept. 1. Or as easily as it probably happened to many women you know - the women in your life who haven't ever had the courage to tell you about it.
posted by BMuffin @ 4:57 p.m.
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