It could have been worse: Sexual assault and rape culture.

I believe in rape culture because I am a woman.Tweet This!

I am a woman who has been touched inappropriately by customers at work and my first thought was "I shouldn't speak up because it could have been worse."

I am a woman who first experienced catcalling at 10 years old.

I am a woman who has been told on the internet that I'm too unattractive to have experienced unwanted advances and verbal/online sexual harassment.

I am a woman who has listened to countless stories of sexual assault, manipulation, and rape from friends who were too afraid to tell anyone because they knew no one would believe them.

I am a woman who is lucky enough to never have been raped, but I am only 19... and statistically, I'm still at risk.

I believe in rape culture because there is no other explanation that satisfies why random strangers on the side of the road feel entitled to comment on my body. Can anything else explain why it's "my fault" that I can't bike to work without being whistled at by random groups of men who rev their engines behind me on the highway? Can anything else explain why "she would not be my first choice" and "they're all liars" are valid defenses for a presidential nominee PRESIDENT to make on a public stage? Can anything else explain why men I know and love assure me that Donald Trump's infamous comments on women are simply "locker room talk" and that I should just accept that this kind of talk is a part of life?
 "I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." -Donald J Trump
Can anyone please step up and TELL ME HOW THIS IS OKAY? Tweet this!
If this is an acceptable and normal conversation among men (and women as some men have assured me) then something is fundamentally wrong with what's normal.

Let me briefly define rape culture: "A society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse." -Oxford Dictionary

Instead of listing statistics on sexual assault, I encourage you to read this publication by the nsvrc.
The statistics on sexual violence are staggering.
Rape culture exists because most of my friends who have confessed instances of non-rape sexual violence said they wouldn't report because "it could have been worse".
Rape culture exists because "I don't even wait" is defended passionately by a large portion of the country Tweet This!
Rape culture exists because I know that it was harassment when a customer slid his hand across my hip as I was trying to do my job, but I pretended like nothing happened.
Rape culture exists because using the phrase "Rape culture" offends people.
Rape culture exists because I have accepted that verbal harassment and unwanted advances at work are just a part of the job even though I know that technically, I have legal protections against that sort of unprofessional behavior...but it doesn't matter because I can't prove it.

THIS HAS TO STOP. No matter what side it comes from, we all have to agree that sexual harassment and non-consensual behavior is unacceptable across the board. Call it what it is.Click to Tweet This!