Link reblogged from Date By Numbers
I will not just deal with it →
I’d really love for you to take a moment to read the following, regardless of your sex. It’s important on many levels & I think it’s something everyone should read up on, whether it’s happened to you or not. Sadly, sexual harassment does exist. It’s important to be educated & prepared for yourself & in support of friends/other loved ones.
written by Date by Numbers:
Anonymous asked: I’m writing to you because I don’t know what else to do or who else to talk to. In recent years, I have undergone the ‘ugly duckling’ transformation and, at present, as a young, attractive female, I’m used to receiving male attention. What I’m not equipped to deal with is the situation I was put in last night - my mentor of several years (a man old enough to be my grandfather) had a few too many drinks cracked on to me. I didn’t know how to deal with it and I felt repulsed and betrayed. Similar situations have occurred over the past few weeks – for example, at work, I had a consultation with a man and his pregnant wife, and the man took the opportunity to grope me on his way out while his wife wasn’t looking. I know this sounds silly and a considerable part of the solution is “just deal with it” but I feel highly uncomfortable and it makes me want to shrivel up and hide, or cover myself up completely so I don’t receive this sort of attention. What would you do?
You do not just deal with it. What they did was reprehensible and gross. It is unproductive and unhealthy to brush that type of behavior under the rug.
It’s often too shocking in the moment to speak up. Such instances of vulgarity can leave you speechless, and a part of me hopes they always do because we should never become accustomed to being treated like objects. And trust me when I say that covering up and hiding won’t stop this sort of attention, because this isn’t just your problem, it’s our problem. This affects women everywhere, and when we remain quiet, we teach them there is no consequence for their action.
I strongly advise you to speak to someone who is educated in this field. While I myself am a very vocal survivor of sexual assault, I can only offer personal opinions I’ve acquired through research and experience. Share your story on ihollaback.org and let it enrage you rather than embarrass you. Let that anger give you the courage to speak up, to tell them that sort of behavior is inappropriate and will not be tolerated. Coin your phrase of defense and yell it into your mirror as practice: that is not appropriate! do not do that again! that is not appropriate! do not do that again!
You do not “deal with it.” You do not shrivel. You do not create an image of yourself based on fear. You stand up tall, you speak up, and you become part of the community that will support you. You’ve already made the first step by reaching out, and your courage can only serve as inspiration to other women who have dealt with the same thing.
“You stand up tall, you speak up, and you become part of the community that will support you.”
Source: datebynumbers
