Stand Up

[auraesque]

I was raped.

I was raped, and I am standing up. I am standing up for my grandmother who was nearly assaulted by her neighbor, for my friend who was molested on the train by a stranger, and for my sister who hears catcalls when she walks past construction sites. I am standing up because it just takes one person to start a movement.

I am tired of being treated like it was my fault. It was my fault for wearing makeup and dressing nicely and drinking beer. It was my fault for having nice hair and pretty eyes. It was my fault for having breasts and a vagina.

I have the right to dress as I please and drink what I want and dance to 80's one-hit wonders. But who gave rapists the right to decide that if they want something, they can take it? No one gave them the right to assault a woman or man or child.

In this world, rape survivors are stigmatized. We're sorry it happened, but, you know, maybe they should have done something a little differently?

What could I have done differently? What could my friends have done differently? It doesn't matter. Rape doesn't single out the drunk nympho from the poor side of town. Any number of my friends could have been assaulted, and 1 in 3 of them will be by the time they leave college. Most won't report it, because reporting a rape or assault is humiliating. I would know.

So stand up. Stand up for your sisters and mothers and brothers and sons. Stand up until our world changes the way it looks at assault survivors. We're not outcasts, suffering from some horrible disease that if you get too close, you'll catch it. We're your neighbors, your friends, your family members. Stand up for us, because the worst thing you can do is pretend it doesn't happen.

This entry will be open for at least a week. Link it, repost it, whatever. I won't friendlock it for a while.

Resources:
http://rainn.org
http://ncvc.org
http://pointswithpurpose.com

Comments

[rotf-lmao.livejournal.com]

I know that you said it's okay to repost this, etc., but I was wondering: Would you be okay with me printing this out and perhaps using parts of it (or the post in its entirety) for a sexual assault awareness event that I am planning on campus next semester? I have stats, I have numbers, but this is the most powerful thing I have ever read, and people need to see this. People need to see, in black and white, what rape does and what rape victims are capable of.

I understand if you don't want me to use it, and if so, that's fine. But honestly, this moved me so much. This needs to be seen.

[auraesque.livejournal.com]

You may excerpt it, but preface it by saying that it was written by a 21 year old college student at BU, etc. If it is a hard copy, include a link, but if you're reading it at an event, you don't need to.

[rotf-lmao.livejournal.com]

Oh, obviously there would be a preface -- I want people to be clear on the fact that this is a personal account. I haven't decided how I'll use it yet, but I'm leaning towards reading it at the coffeehouse event we're planning as a kickoff.

Thank you for sharing this, for sharing your bravery and your spirit. ♥