#metoo
You are not alone. Together we can de-stigmatize speaking out about our experiences with sexual harassment, assault, and more.
The Loved Less Swine
Hi, my name is Debbie, and in 2005 I was sexually assaulted by my ex boyfriend. I never reported it, because I guess in many ways I thought I deserved it, especially for how I treated him in the beginning of our relationship, which was horrible. I was head over heels for him, but by the time I realized it, he was gone and I’d pay for that for years to come.
By Debbie Gabriel8 years ago in Viva
How to Make Sure Time Really Is Up for Sexual Harrassment
Several people that I have chosen to share my story with have told me that I could write a book about my life. I assume this is because they think that what I have experienced is not normal. But more and more, the media and feminist campaigns like “Time’s Up” are exposing cases of sexual abuse and showing us that sexual harassment is the norm. It happens too often, to too many people.
By Rachel Davies8 years ago in Viva
Empowering Through Education
My first experience of assault—and I mean by that a smack on the backside—was in the late 1980s. This man creeped me out so much that I would jump in the wardrobe to hide (I was working as a chambermaid) if I heard him coming down the hotel corridor, because if he caught me in the room, he would sit on the bed and try to get me to sit with him and verbally proposition me, heavy breathing added for effect.
By Lesley Anne Armour8 years ago in Viva
Was I Raped?
It was past my little brother's curfew. The street lights had been on for almost an hour; he knew to be home before they turned on. I was in charge. I was supposed to make sure that he was okay. I had called my parents—my stepfather, too. I was frantic. My stepfather had made it home first, then both of my biological parents. We organized a search throughout the neighborhood and any of his friends' houses that were close by. Being that I was seventeen and had my own vehicle, I desperately wanted to search with them. Instead, they told me to stay in case he arrived home. I was to call one of them immediately if he did.
By Opal O'Malley8 years ago in Viva
What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger
I don't talk to people much about social issues. I don't think I should have to explain why everyone should receive basic human rights. The right to be in a country founded on immigrants. The right to choose what you do with your body. The right to proper health care and mental treatment. These are all things that every person on the planet should rightfully have, these among others. I shouldn't have to spell this out.
By Sam Kissiar8 years ago in Viva
Grateful for the Pain
Sometimes being protected is the very thing that gets us hurt. I grew up in a rather strict and devoutly religious home. We still acted like normal people, watching movies and spraying whipped cream into our mouths, but a few key things were different. I didn't have a curfew because I had to have permission to leave the house in the first place, and breaking a rule felt like breaking a law. My parents gave me or my two older sisters "the talk," because they thought that something that wouldn't happen had no reason to be talked about. All you needed to know was "no," and the rest would come at marriage.
By Mikaela Merritt8 years ago in Viva
I'm a 27-Year-Old White Male and I've Never Sexually Harassed a Woman
Sexual harassment lately has been overwhelmingly a part of our daily reads, and has made headlines across media sources across the nation. The #MeToo movement will accordingly go down in history as one of the most eye opening civil movements in my generation's days of yore, and rightfully so. Many women across the country finally must no longer be afraid to step forward about the abuse and bedevilment they have experienced from men that they work alongside, live with, or encounter in day to day activities. From politicians, to an overabundance of male Hollywood celebrities, to Olympic trainers; it finally seems as if men of high profile can no longer get a way with petty actions of sexual objectification and perversion, which we should all applaud!
By J.D. stroud8 years ago in Viva
Yes, #MeToo
Will I give out names in this story? No. Nor will I allude to any places or milestones that could be traced back to its characters. That’s not why I’m choosing to write this. I’m not a victim, I’m not a survivor. I’m just a writer, and this is just another one of my stories.
By something wilde8 years ago in Viva
Don't Miss the #MeToo Point
Far from the idea that women are the "weaker sex," women have exhibited tenacity and bravery for centuries as they fight and die to claim the most basic human rights. In modern years, as the force of liberal ideas grew, women called themselves "suffragette" and "feminist" until critics added the words "man-hating" to the accepted definition. The words for demanding the right to vote or to determine one's own life outcomes have become shameful.
By Alice Moore8 years ago in Viva
From Victim to Thriver
Too me, the #MeToo movement has to be the most gratifying thing I have ever seen. You see, the first time I was sexually assaulted I was in ninth grade. The guy I was dating, was slowly working up my trust in him. He came to church with my family, Sunday dinners, and I was at his home often. Finally came time for the Valentine's Dance. We had lots of fun, laughed with friends, and went to his house to hang out for a couple hours before my curfew was up. The next thing I know, I am in the bathroom vomiting. I clean myself up, and his aunt takes me home. The first few days, everything was hazy. I could not remember anything that happened after the dance. I knew I should, I did not drink or do any recreational drugs - my dad was a strict Baptist Gideon and would find out easily in a smaller town. When I was not grounded within a week, I knew I had not done anything against his rules. So it is up to the next weekend, and I am out shopping with my step-mom. We are looking at items for a spring picnic. She shows me several different colored checked picnic tables, and I bust out crying. I did not know why, and my step-mom looked at my like I has lost my mind. It felt like it honestly. I had just turned 15, what was wrong with me? The previous week I was perfectly happy, and now this!? I knew something was not right at all. I went to my best friend, and told her about my memory loss from that night. She decided to help me figure out what I lost. A few days later, she told me she had overheard some guys talking about my boyfriend. When she confronted them, our worst nightmares came true. My boyfriend and his cousin had raped me in the cousin's bedroom. The walls? Black and white checker board print. Just like those tablecloths in the store that had made me cry. To this day, I can not be sure if I was drugged, or my mind just blocked everything out to save my mind from cracking. I choose to believe the latter. This was not my only experience with being abused, beaten, or raped. Just my first. I was far too trusting in my younger years. I was later on married to my first husband, who very quickly became violent. He yelled, screamed, and threatened me. Pretty soon, my nightmares in the past became reality once more. The man I married would do things too me in my sleep. That was a nine-year hell. I finally got out, only to discover the new guy in my life would be slamming me down on beds and couches in our home. This way, I never bruised. This man was my second husband, and he actually sent me to counseling saying there is no way a doctor would agree with my claims of him being "mean" to me. He also wanted proof I was not lying about my past abuses. I was in therapy for nearly two years. It was at that point that I learned the different stages of recovery in my therapist's eyes. He told me there are three in his eyes. Victim, survivor, and thriver. The victim stage is the longest. It is when you think of your abuse and abusers every day several times a day. Nightmares are a nightly occurrence. Then you have survivor. It is everything else. The reality of what you have been through, less nightmares, and less trusting of others. But the final stage my therapist demands....thriver! It is when the nightmares stop, the trust returns, and you are not hard on yourself at all. You have stopped blaming yourself for something that was never your fault to begin with. This is my life now. The life of a thriver! I went to college and got my degree. I found a real man who has never laid a hand on me or threatened me in any way. I have a home, grown boys, and two grand-babies at the age of 41. My life has changed so much, and I am proud to be part of the #MeToo movement! It is about time women had a real voice, and stood up too say "This is my life and my body!! You have no right to touch me without MY permission!!" (Tiffany Allen)
By Tiffany Allen8 years ago in Viva
