#97 percent

[seemslegitflapjacks]

FYI every victim is a real victim

[pbs-theundeadmaggot]

“Not all Men”

tw!! if it wasn't obvious by the title I’m going to be talking about sexual harassment and r*pe so please don't read on if you are triggered by it.

So recently I was reading a thread where there was an argument of sorts about “not all men” so I got inspired to write my take on it because I think it’s something important that needs to be explored and discussed. I hope someone takes something away from this but please remember that it is okay to agree with something you may have disagreed with in the past and to grow from this. 

So here's the situation Susan has met up with her friends Bill and Mary. She has decided that she's ready to open up to them about something traumatising that happened to her. She is extremely nervous and on edge thinking about that day and believes that all men will violate her. After she tells them Mary turns to Susan and tells her that “not all men rape” to which Bill agrees. How do you think this would make Susan feel?

Not only does this statement deflect the real issue and victim blame but it also is one of the many reasons victims of such crimes don't report to the police or speak up about their experience. 

Now you may be thinking well what about women who rape men? Of course this happens and it would be incorrect for me to say otherwise, but that is not the issue. The issue is that the majority of sexual offences are committed by men against women and children and while not all men are responsible for doing this behaviour it is all women who are affected by it. 

Statistics of sexual offences

Why saying “not all men” makes you part of the problem

Reasons why “not all men” disrupts the conversation on gender equality

Myths of Rape

Lastly, I urge all men to educate themselves on how to help women feel safer. Yes you may not be a direct part of the problem but you are still involved. So here's some tips. BE LADS 

BE VISABLE

- please don't sneak up behind us or stay in the shadows it is intimidating and make us feel in danger

EASE TENSION BY MAKING A PHONE CALL

- Silence is scary. If we can hear you talking to a friend or someone it lets us know you aren't talking about us and makes us comfortable knowing you are occupied with something else making you less of a threat to us

LOOK AWAY, DON’T STARE

- You might not be intentionally staring or thinking about harming us but looking away makes you feel less of a threat to us

ACTIVE STANDBY

- If you see a girl being harassed, made uncomfortable or in a possibly harmful situation please step in and help them. Also please call out your friends if they are the ones doing so, It may be uncomfortable but you are saving women by doing so by preventing the ongoing cycle of behaviour. 

DISTANCE YOURSELF

- It can be inevitable that you are going the same way as us but distance yourself  or cross the road to let us know you aren't following us.

SUGGEST WALKING YOUR FRIENDS HOME

- Walking home alone as a women is often unsafe for us because of people out there that see it as an advantage to harm us, so offer to walk your friends home. Don't walk with a woman unless she asks, you may have good intentions but we don't know that.

More about BE LADS

Lastly, yes we know it’s not all men but it is all women.

[catching-bananas]

April 24th:

[lichencoatedboulder]

ok i’m gonna be entirely honest here, i’m not in the 97%

hearing that number is terrifying, especially as someone who had always had that fear of being called at or worse

i had a discussion with 4 other people today and i was the only one who had never been yelled at on the street. we’re all only in high school

there are only 3% of women like me

another stat: 9% of women are left handed

now imagine every left handed woman you know (ik it’s specific bare with me) now cut that number by 2/3. that’s how many women haven’t been sexually harassed

i don’t understand the argument “not all men” because it’s almost all women

[madalina-rose]

I am apart of the 97%.

The 97% of the women left in fear, left broken, left questioning if they did something wrong, if they could’ve done anything to prevent it. I am apart of the 97% of the women who didn’t deserve what we got. Every time before I go out I have to decide if my outfit says something about me. I was sixteen when I took a sleeping pill because I was sick and a man walked in while I was unconscious and did whatever he wanted. I was 5’3 he was 6’4. When I told my friend (now ex friend) she told me I was probably lying, she ended up dating him and went on to marry him. Then brought him to a party she knew I would be at and he looked at me and winked and said “ I remember you”. I am apart of the 97%. And I wanna say 97% so many times that it’s drilled into your fucking head. It’s well over the majority, that’s almost every single female. Women shouldn’t have to pay the consequences for something that is happening to them. 97 PERCENT!

[tyesa]

*trigger warning*

[gamma-xi-delta]

'Stepping into battle': The state of women’s safety - The Crimson White

‘Stepping into battle’: The state of women’s safety

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women recently published a study that found that 97% of the women surveyed

The University of Alabama offers organizations, resources and programming aimed at protecting women. Fatema Dhondia,  the former president of the United Greek Council, has invited a plethora of speakers to give presentations to her and her sorority sisters about tips to stay safe, the warning signs of human trafficking, how to react in possibly dangerous situations and more. 

[babyprincess04044]