Survivors are Strong, and are Warriors who move forward
A recent ruling on the Stanford Rape case has had the world speaking their feelings about this ridiculous person and the injustice that was displayed by the ruling. I personally find the entire case a great example of why so many people who are victims of sexual abuse or rape do not come forward and stay quiet. It frustrates me and makes me sad to think that people in the year 2016 are still blaming the victim of a horrible crime the one to blame, even though we have all heard how “No means No” and “There is no excuse for Rape”. With my feelings out in the open, I want to state one last thing to everyone. No one deserves to be hurt or used, and no one should hide. So now I will move forward to the true reason I am writing this blog today.
I am writing this blog to the Survivors who are true warriors and feel they have no one to turn to, or feel as if no one can understand them, or shouldn’t come forward, because it’s obvious no one cares. I am here to tell you that simply aren’t true. Rainn.org states that the most recent statistics are “Every 2 minutes an American is sexually assaulted; every 8 minutes, that victim is a child. Meanwhile, only 6 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison.” Most people don’t even report any type of rape or assault. In 2015 only 344 out of 1000 rapes were actually reported, and only 6 of them will probably be arrested. With those statistics it seems pretty grim to even bother, and most people both female and male victims feel it’s not even worth reporting. I bet many of you said male victims just now, but the fact is males are raped not just as children, but as adults, and not just by other males, but by women. They are also victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, just not as widely known, and often remain more silent than females due to stigma.
That’s actually what this all comes down to isn’t it; STIGMA? Who wants to be a statistic? Who wants to be a victim? Who wants to go through the court system? Not only has your body and mind been violated, but now we are asking you to allow the rest of the world, the court, and many strangers to know about it, and invade your life, check into your background, look at your family, possibly put you in further danger, etc. It’s scary, and this is why so many sexual crimes go unreported, but it needs to STOP!
Women who have been raped go through so many different emotions, and it’s hard to deal with inside and out. Some feel so ashamed; some feel as if they are at fault, some feel guilty because their bodies had natural reactions to the physical activities, and almost all feel dirty and disgusted. The big thing to remember is for anyone who has gone through this heinous crime is no one has the permission to take away your self-esteem, dignity or self-worth from you without your permission.
So here is what I have to say, to Emily Doe (The Unnamed Stanford Victim) and the Warriors who are fighting the fight, whether in silence or sharing your story. Keep the fight and remember, you are not a victim. You could walk around naked in the streets and it still doesn’t give someone permission to touch you without your permission. No one has the right to violate you, and make you feel less than you deserve. Allow me to apologize for the people in this world who were not there to protect you, though I cannot fix what they did, I can vote them out, and I have a voice to help do so.
As for what you might be going through inside please allow someone to help you, do not allow this to eat you up inside, do not let them take your future, do not give them that power, you are a survivor and a warrior, and you deserve more than that!!!! There are so many places to help. If you are a victim, or know someone who is, please call and get help!!!