Women

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Sexual assault is something that almost all girls and women face in their lifetime. These women who have been sexually assaulted in all types of ways are living with the ideas that society puts in their heads that it is their fault this happened to them, but it is not. These women were not harassed at work because of their clothes or raped because they were asking for it. This sexual harassment takes place because of the culture we create and the ways we allow these women to be taken and advantage of, but since we created this culture, we are responsible for changing it.

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This topic is wide and vast so to narrow it down, the dictionary definition of sexual harassment is, “Behavior characterized by the making of unwelcome and inappropriate sexual remarks or physical advances in a workplace or other professional or social situation.” Looking at the definition there is a wide area for interpretation making it hard for some people to understand. Each person has their own way of defining it, but most people agree that touching someone, commenting on the sexually or forcing someone to have sex with you against their will, falls under this definition. Now to speak as a girl, I have seen sexual harassment around me for a long time. I see girls getting catcalled in the hallways of school or guys just walking up to a girl and touching her without asking. My brother recently went to college and my parents talked to him about the freedoms he will see and the things he needs to be aware of. One of the things they talked about is consent and how when someone says no you listen. An article from ABC news called,” In defining consent, there's a gap between the law, culture”(2019) by Jocelyn Noveck talks about how consent varies from state to state and some states don’t even talk about it in their laws. But consent takes a major part in sexual assault because if a girl says no or even if she doesn’t say yes, it is still something that they did not ask for.

Women can be sexually harassed in so many ways that the community is wide and vast, but many people keep their stories to themselves because of the way this community is treated. Many women face everyday sexual harassment in things like being “cat called” or being objectified by their body, many times this is done by strangers in passing and many women just brush it off. Some are touched inappropriately by coworkers, friends, random people or even family. Many women in workplaces largely dominated by men are subject to this type of sexual harassment. But a part of this community who is largely quiet is those who are raped. Many women who are raped stay quiet because they believe or are convinced to believe that they are in the wrong and that they were asking for it or were dressed too provocatively, therefore it was okay for them to be forced into having sex, even when they said no. But some of them do come out and share their stories and bring light to this group of people who need justice.

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   So how do we help these survivors and offer them our support? Many of these women are afraid because they think no one will believe them. Well, one thing we can do is to start teaching kids, both boys, and girls, about consent and being allowed to tell your message. An article from ABC News called, “Amid #MeToo, states debate teaching consent to kids”(2019) by Maryclaire Dale talks about states that have started to bring into kids sexual education units things about consent. Teaching kids young about this will instill that they understand the concept and can help prevent this in the future. We can also serve these women justice by instilling these ideas on consent in our workplace. “In a Test of Their Power, #MeToo’s Legal Forces Take On McDonald’s”(2019) a New York Times article by Melena Ryzik talks about the women in the fast food industry who were sexually assaulted and even punished or fired for reporting it. McDonald’s has since changed its policies and is enforcing them allowing these women to feel safe and supported at work. So really all these women need is our support and love to help them get their justice.

   Our culture has allowed for women to be seen as something that can be used allowing for all sorts of sexual assault, but we can help change this part of our culture by supporting these women in sharing their message. We need to help define sexual assault and consent so it can be understood easier. We need to understand that there is more than one way to be sexually assaulted, none being dumb or not serious. Lastly, we need to offer these women our support and help them realize that they can share their stories and fight for their justice with our support. Women who are sexually assaulted are everywhere and we may not even see them, but it is our job to allow them to be heard.