Trigger warning - rape

[Tech]

I have never been raped or sexually assaulted. I consider myself very lucky. Because I know a whole lot of women who have been.

A roommate by her uncle. A friend by her father. A fellow manager. My doctor. A girl who worked for me by someone else who worked for me. My exes daughter by a friend of his. They all talked to me about it. I don't know if this is normal. The first person who opened up to me when we were 22.

I asked my husband how many women have told him about being raped. He said one.

I am reading about the girls these rich men have been raping, everyone wondering why no one stopped them. My friend who was raped by her father had told her mother. Her mother did not believe her. My roommate never told anyone. Who would she tell? She said her family would not believe her.

I read the ops about Epstein. Kavanaugh. Border guards. Trump.

I read about judges letting young men off rape charges. I read about politicians shaming women. Professors claiming the female body will not allow her to be raped.

The other day I heard a female reporter ask the doj about the women who were raped by Epstein. Taking about 14 to 15 year olds. These were girls, not women. I have seen ops in du where men still think it is ok to talk about women and what they wear.

So, for those who are reading this and have been raped or assaulted.

I am so so so sorry that you have to relive it.

The rest of us need to be aware and be careful what we are writing.

And it needs to stop. Rape is always bad. Rape of children is beyond bad. And it needs to be stopped. Not only are churches and justices not stopping it, they are enabling it.
We, as a society, will have to figure it out.

Think about your friends. Know that some have been raped. Also know that some may have been the rapists. It's time to stop it.

[HopeAgain]

1. It goes deeper, I think

We live in a society that implicity approves exploitation of women. Our movies, TV shows, websites, they commonly treat women as objects and we really do live in a rape culture. The acceptance of Trump after the Access Hollywood tapes proves that much of America has no problem with it as long as it isn't one of our own, and even then sometimes as well.

People who say #metoo has gone too far are flately wrong. #Me too hasn't gone far enough.

[ismnotwasm]

5. +infinity

[HopeAgain]

6. Love your screname, btw

Friend of Bill here.

[ismnotwasm]

7. Hey!

[Initech]

2. When I was in high school my friends used to joke about the "4F" club.

And while I went along with their jokes, I never pursued membership and in this day and age I'm really glad I didn't. As I got older I realized that was pretty shitty, and being guys in the mid 90s was no excuse for that behavior. It wasn't until Me Too and Brett Kavanaugh that i really got the significance of how extremely horrible that was. Now I really wonder how much of that goes on that we don't know about, that goes unreported, that goes unpunished. I'm sure it's more horrifying than we would ever imagine.

[smirkymonkey]

3. K&R

[yardwork]

4. Very good post.

[alwaysinasnit]

8. K&R Excellent posting.

[Karadeniz]

9. Parents need to be perfectly candid to their children about the subject.

[SHRED]

10. I'm not taking anything away from this horror on females

But I will add that I have been sexually assaulted as a male by another male.

It's horrificly frightening.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

11. "The rest of us need to be aware and be careful what we are writing."

YES.

[Lucca2]

12. Children and adolescents are afraid

I have worked with children and helped uncover rape and abuse. Often, no one else seemed to see or pay attention to their pain. Many children are afraid to speak out for fear of more pain. But sometimes a child or adolescent will take a risk to test the waters. Learn to listen under the obvious, gently create a relationship of trust, and maybe you can eventually ask, "Who is hurting you?"

[Ligyron]

13. Every woman I have been in a relationship with has been sexually assaulted.

Every last one of them, it's unanimous.

That's a lot of sexual assaults.