We unfortunately live in a world that has become a deepening pit of sexual violence, to say the least. Grim and gripped with certain powerful individuals who rise in the hierarchy of the political, corporate and the entertainment industry. With the recent and controversial swearing in of Brett Kavanaugh into the US Supreme Court, it publicly endorses a history of sexual misconduct in the dynamics of a society that willingly permits it. It normalizes men in power to take agency over a society, that has clearly stratified victims and perpetrators; the latter having the inexcusable command and leverage. Individuals such as Kavanaugh who are well protected under the high seated cushions of political influence implant the perpetual arena of predatory behaviour. And we remain with torture.
At the beginning of the year, a movement that has been channelled to capture the resistance of sexual misconduct, #MeToo was created. There was a global gathering of women who have revealed their horrific experiences of rape, sexual assault and harassment, yet to the oblivion to the world. But this resistance has since failed to face the primary obstruction; powerful perpetrators. Those who stand as accused have succeeded in securing the inherent male privilege that compels countless victims to succumb, one after the other. And sexual misconduct thrives in an environment of patriarchy. And this in turn stifles women and victims and induces an omnipresent fear to be prosecuted on the charges of being on the receiving end of harm.
Since the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the debate pertains to the atmosphere of privilege, protection and persecution. Women who have been brave enough to speak of their abuse have been helmed as flawed, unfaithful and ‘too late’ to ask for justice. It would be a casual suggestion to realize that sexual assault does not emerge from a time frame to be proven true. Stories of sexual violence have been silenced for generations through the darkest tunnels of power. It takes away our right to be heard, to be recognised as humans and to be understood. Victims have been subjected to the burdensome task of having to prove themselves time and time again, almost forgetting to adress the actual problem which is increasing at an alarming rate. There is no justification for rape and anyone who seeks an encouragement of perpetrators, deserves a distinctive level of justice.
#MeToo has not faded but rather the system has. It has failed to legitimize the gravity sexual violence has on women. By appointing people who have either committed or trivialized sexual misconduct, it adds to the throttling oppression victims continue to incur. For solidarity to triumph, there must be a consensus that sexual violence is in fact the decay of society and there is no need to prove its existence as society continues to scrutinize women and victims.
We remain disempowered, our souls shredded, and our voices have withered. We are tired, we are hurt, and we are growing in numbers. We cannot continue to empower the accused when the brutalities of sexual violence grasp our lives and darken our existence entirely, until we bury ourselves in the same graves our wrongdoers emerge from.
I stand by my sisters, do you?