A Modern Day Abolitionist

Today in society, men and women who are raped, assaulted, and harassed are often made into laughing stocks and judged based on their actions and dress. 

This is a very vile and disgusting thing for society to do. There is no excuse for any amount of sexual abuse or neglect in any way, shape, form, or fashion. 

Every day, statistically speaking, 68 women are raped.

In America, 1 in 33 men will sexually assault a woman in his lifetime. 

People like Brock Turner are given a slap on the wrist, and told to "just behave better" next time. He was more known for the fact that his swimming reputation was ruined than the fact that he brutally attacked and raped a young woman. His father blamed the victim. 

People like to blame the victims all the time these days, saying that their shorts are too short, or their bra straps were provoking the man to act in such a way. 

If a woman is drunk or unconscious when a man rapes her, inevitably in court she will be asked how drunk she was when it happened. 

Thankfully in America, many states have now created laws that prevent the level of intoxication of a woman or man from influencing their stories in the cases of rape. Unconscious sexual assault is still sexual assault. 

What about the 173 children that are raped every day? What were they doing wrong? 

Were the little boys being to feminine? 

Were the little girls wearing nightgowns that were too short? 

(If you think that these statements are crazy, good. These are things that people have genuinely said to children of sexual assault. Right before they accused them of lying, right before the cases were closed.) 

Also- consent. Consent is the MOST IMPORTANT part of sexual behavior and expression. 

Consent is when you say, heck yes or hell no to whatever sexual act is in the balance of being performed. 

Consent > High heels, provocative attitudes and clothing, alcohol, a woman's attitude, makeup, showing shoulders, choice of literature, choice of music, etc. etc.

It does not matter if a man/woman loves to shake his/her behind to some racy music at the club- that does not give a man the right to rape him/her in a bathroom.

It doesn't matter if a woman loves to read scandalous material, you have no right to call her vile names at work or online.

It doesn't matter if a woman likes to wear shorts and tank tops in the summer because it's hot, that doesn't give you a right to catcall or rape her.

Rape culture needs to be abolished.

Young men being raised to believe that young women LIVE and BREATHE to maintain their purity for the soul purpose of pleasing them, need to go.

People who judge other people by ONLY the measure of their purity, need to go.

People who believe that expression of sexuality bids the action of rape, need to go.

People who think that gay people need to be raped by heterosexual people, need to go.

People who catcall women or men, slap their butts, grab them obscenely, pinch them inappropriately, or any other uncalled for physical behavior, need to go.

People who excuse sexual harassment because "some women buy books" or "some men view porn" or other reasons need to go. (Sexual interest does not negate sexual harassment or sexual abuse!)

People that believe that a rape victim becomes the wrongdoer if she terminates the pregnancy that resulted of her rape, need to go.

People that blame the victim, need to go.

I KNOW that this is an unpopular opinion, and I am TERRIFIED that this is an unpopular opinion.

I know too many people who have been sexually abused, assaulted, harassed, etc. because somebody else told them that they were "asking for it."

There is no such thing as "asking for it."

My friends and I could be stark naked, walking down the street, and not asking for it. 

In the words of Amber Rose, "If I’m laying down with a man — butt-naked — and his condom is on, and I say, ‘You know what? No. I don’t want to do this. I changed my mind,’ that means no. That means f-ing no. That’s it."

Rape is rape. Period.

Sexual assault is sexual assault. Period.

Sexual harassment is sexual harassment. Period.

Stop giving excuses for men and women who try to justify their sexual misconduct.

A young woman should not be taught to cover up her body because it might arouse a fellow classmate or her teacher. Teaching her to be ashamed of her body also teaches her that if someone takes advantage of her, that they have the right to blame it on what she was wearing. 

Stop trying to make rape culture the real culture. 

There are people like me who have the gall to speak out against it, who have not experienced the worst firsthand, and then there are the others. The victims. 

-The ones that live in silent fear that their abuser is going to figure out where they live. 

-The ones that cry over and over, traumatized and left to suffer in silence. 

-The wife that cannot even withstand the touch of her husband, thanks to a man that ruined any pleasure associated with sex. 

-The young women and men who struggle to find work, because they've left jobs thanks to people who can't keep their mouths right or their hands off of them. 

-The girls whose rape kits will never be opened or sent off. 

-The transgendered young man brutally attacked by a bunch of other men because someone thought that he needed to be taught a lesson. 

-The girl who lives in fear of the family member that raped her, because she knows that no one will believe her if she comes forward about it. 

-The girl in California right this minute who is scared out of her mind because her rapist got let out of a 6 month prison sentence 3 months early on GOOD BEHAVIOR. 

The worst part about it though? Is that society is not willing to stand up for these young men and women who have been through hell. 

Yes- men and women! 

1 in 10 rape victims? Are male. 

Men get blamed more than women do for being raped. Many are afraid to even come forward. They are told that they should've enjoyed it, and emasculated because they dared to come forward and tell someone what had been done.

Society needs to stand up. 

No more using religion, socioeconomic status, talent, academic status, race, gender, gender identity, sexuality, or anything else excuse rape for anything other than what it is.

Rape is rape. 

&It's about time people started seeing it that way.

Picture courtesy of DumbSainthood from ChangeFromWithin.org