Shift the Blame
“I caught myself wondering, ‘Have I experienced anything bad enough to merit a ‘me too’ post? Does catcalling count? Does being groped on a dance floor count? Would my participation trivialize the experiences of people who have been through worse?’ And then I realized, that’s part of the problem, the tendency this society has to dismiss someone’s experience as ‘not bad enough’, ‘not traumatic enough’, ‘not real enough’ to matter. Nothing will change if we persist in validating and believing a few, under certain circumstances, and dismissing the rest. People who have been abused, harassed, assaulted, traumatized, refrain from speaking up or getting help because they believe what they went through ‘doesn’t count’. So yes dammit, Me Too” — anonymous
There are thousands of sexual crimes each year committed against women in our country, but the majority of them are not reported to the police or they don’t speak up about it. Within today’s society, there are many reasons that contribute to a woman’s silence about their experience. They think the perpetrator will find out and hurt them more, and because those around them make them feel that it was their fault what had happened to them. People will constantly ask them, “Are you sure you weren’t drunk?” ; “Are you sure that you didn’t give him/her your consent?” This is why a vast majority of sexual abusers walk away free, because those involved in the case cause the women to think it was their fault.
“Out of every 1000 rapes, 994 perpetrators will walk free”
Why is it that society lets these people go? Let them walk back into society without knowing for sure that they won’t do it again? Having those sexually abused fear that it will happen again? There is no way for sure to know that those let free won’t do it again, and those women will have to live for the rest of their life in fear because of it. For example, a woman, whose name was not released, says that “She says she is terrified that Christopher Davies, a chef from Margate, who is due to be released on licence today or tomorrow, will track her down and attack her again”.
However, with the growing “MeToo” movement, women are getting more comfortable with sharing their story and fighting for what they think is right, and that includes getting women who have been sexually abused to stand strong and be able to rightful put their perpetrators in jail.
The Me Too movement was originally called “Just Be In” in 2006 which was co-founded by Taran Burke, and its main goal was to help the numerous survivors of sexual assault heal. Then in 2017, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted “If all the women who have been sexually assaulted wrote “Me Too” as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem”. Within 24 hours of this tweet, it became a viral hashtag and there were 12 million posts on facebook with the #MeToo. Ever since then, the two have worked together to gain awareness about sexual abuse of all types so that those who have been victims to these horrible acts can find some sort of safe haven and speak up. However, there are some women, like the female typist who was “choked unconscious and raped for 27 minutes by inmate Omar Best” in 2013, at the state prison at Rockview in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, who are a part of the Me Too movement that in the past, have tried to fight the system and speak up their mind, yet continue to be blamed.
This movement went viral because, as Estelle Freedman, a history professor at Stanford University, puts it: “It’s not technology alone, it’s also about the other contexts. It’s a gradual, accumulative process and then a tipping point.”. And most people say that this so called tipping point was the election of a president, Donald Trump, who once bragged about “grabbing women by the pussy.” As a result, it seems as though everyone from around the globe knows about the #MeToo movement, however not all are so understanding and accepting. Especially in Japan, where sexual assaults are relatively similar statistically, people who have been sexually assaulted are more disrespected and despised than in the US. In Japan, those who support the Me Too movement get more criticism rather than sympathy, which is why it is so risky to be a part of it there. However, there have been women who have tried to speak out and get help and raise awareness, but failed yet again because of the blame put on them.
A journalist in Japan, Shiori Ito went public in 2017. “She held a news conference after prosecutors decided not to press charges against a prominent TV newsman whom she had accused of raping her after he invited her to discuss job opportunities over dinner and drinks in 2015,”. There were many people who criticized her and continued to blame her for what she had went through. She is not the only one though. An expert in sex crimes and a lawyer, Yukiko Tsunoda, says that sexually assaulted women are usually called “the flawed”.
This is the reason why sexually assaulted victims are so afraid to speak up and tell their story. People claim that it is their fault for being sexually assaulted.
Because they were wearing tight, revealing clothing.
Because they got drunk.
Because they went out in the first place.
Because she “didn’t say no”.
Women are scared and question everything they do, even down to what they wear just because of the fact that they don’t want to have any comments about what they wear. People should be able to wear what they want and not have any fear. For example, in Italy, “a court ruling suggested that a women cannot be raped is she was wearing tight jeans because, the ruling contended, they are impossible to remove unless she helps.” Is this really what the world has come to? Where people have to be scared about what they wear out simply just by going out for a walk? Little do people realize, that these “beacause’s” are all just excuses. Excuses for something wrongfully done to these victims. But let me get one thing straight.
It is NEVER the woman’s fault for any form of sexual assault, whether it be rape, verbal and physical sexual assault, or even catcalling. There can be no excuses for what has been done to these victims.
Why is it that every 98 seconds, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted, yet about 99% of perpetrators of sexual violence walk away unharmed?
Because they are afraid. And that is something that unacceptable in today’s society. People, men and women, should not have be afraid of the worst, but they are.
Society needs to stop blaming the victims for cases of sexual assault because soon enough there won’t be anyone coming forward telling their story and there will always be perpetrators walking around waiting for their next victim and there won’t be anything to stop them.
