Trigger Warning: Discussions of Sexual Assault
Dear Reader,
As I sit here the day after the election (November 6th) I feel defeated. If you had asked me four years ago “Would I have voted for Trump?” I will admit, I would have said yes. I come from a very conservative area of Ohio, as I am sure many of you do too, so growing up that is what I knew and believed. I had no reason, at the time, to question it. But a lot can change in four years. I came to college, where I was exposed to so many different people that I never been around before. I choose to major in Political Science and Sociology, both of these disciplines combined have open my mind and my eyes to our society as a whole. I was also sexually assaulted, and that changed my outlook on everything. In four years, my life as dramatically changed, and so have my views.
Being a survivor of something like sexual assault changes so many things in your life. For me, I lost trust in things I once believed and people I was around. My mental health declined drastically. Without going into the details, it really messed me up for a long time, even today it still messes me up. But I survived it. Despite it all, I am here today. Which is why I say that “I am a survivor” instead of “I am a victim”. I gives the power back to me after everything that happened. I don’t bring all of this up for you to feel sorry for me but to show that you do know or know of someone that has been affected by sexual abuse. And every 68 seconds, it happens to someone else in this country.
And a lot of the time we don’t come forward with our stories because people don’t believe us or think we made it up. But let me ask you, Who would make that up? Don’t get me wrong there are people that make it up, but there are bad actors with anything so why do we push all survivors? And now we have one of those bad actors heading back to the Oval Office. Now who will believe us? We are told, at least I was, that “you don’t want to ruin his future,” when clearly it doesn’t impact them at all. If someone who has been found guilty by a court can still ruin for office and successfully win, what hope do we have? Allegations like that don’t stop men from being elected President, why would it stop them from anything else?
If you couldn’t guess by some of my other articles or this article, and now knowing my background, the issue of Sexual Assault and violence against anyone, but women specifically are deeply personally issues to me, so they impact my political views as well. So to say I am disappoint in the results would be an understatement. I thought America was ready for a women in the Oval Office. I thought we as a society have seen and learned so much in the past four years, but clearly I was wrong.
I wish I could end this article on a better note, but what I want to say most of all right now is to any one who also feels down today you aren’t alone. I do want to say specifically to anyone that has every experienced sexual assault, harassment, etc. I see you & I believe you. As hard as it is right now, don’t be discouraged, keep fighting for the change you want to see. I came across this quote that I thought I would share with you all.
“We must be impatient for change. Let us remember that our voice is a precious gift and we must use it.”
Claudia Flores, Clinical Professor, University of Chicago Law School
Sending so much Love,
Brooke