#metoo
You are not alone. Together we can de-stigmatize speaking out about our experiences with sexual harassment, assault, and more.
#MeToo
I was 16 when I first realized that church deacons like 'em young. One night, I was an usher at a funeral for one of our deacons who had passed away. I went to the kitchen to take a breather for a moment. The church was packed with mourners, and having become close to the deacon and his family I was one of them but trying to comfort the others. It became a little too intense, and after reading the 23rd Psalm and almost breaking down, I thought I would hide for a moment until I regained composure.
By Maisha White9 years ago in Viva
Victims are People, Too
Your Honor, I would like to address the court and Mr. St. John so they know what has happened to me — not only the crime that has taken place, but the lingering effects and residuals that continue to haunt and live inside me. By making this statement, I am hoping to transfer some of the pain and suffering out of me and reduce some of the effects it has caused, in living my day-to-day life.
By Marianne Ryan9 years ago in Viva
We Are Girls, Not Your Toys
December 16, 2012, would have probably been just another day for the 23-year-old paramedical student returning after watching a movie with a friend if Delhi had a safe public transport system. She would have lived to turn 28 on May 10 this year had the police reined in rogues in a white private bus that had no business to be on the road that night.
By Anmol Dhaliwal9 years ago in Viva
Experiences Being a Female in a Perverted Society
Imagine this: you’re a 13-year-old female. You’re wearing simple clothing, just a t-shirt and jeans. Nothing sexy about that, right? It’s a plain-Jane outfit. You’re doing something simple; you’re with your mom at the grocery store getting some groceries. In the aisle comes four men, each one doing a double-take as they pass by you, some of them giving you the "elevator eyes." You know those eyes—the eyes that look you up and down like you’re something tasty. You stare right back at them, wondering what they’re looking at. At first, you’re in denial—they couldn’t possibly be looking at you like that, right? They were in their 50s, you in your first year as a teenager. Thirteen-year-old me didn’t know why they were staring. I thought maybe I had some leftover chocolate on my lip, but, alas, my mom told me it was because they were perverts. She told me that some men don’t have control, and that they stare and think horrendous thoughts, all at the expense of a little girl. This day was the pivotal moment when I knew that the world wasn’t what I thought it was.
By Lena Gonzales9 years ago in Viva
Men, Let's Talk
In this last couple of days and weeks it’s been hard to avoid the fact of the disgraceful acts shown by Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein. The outrage shown by society and the injustices towards women has enraged and sparked a lot of women to follow the lead of Hollywood actor Alyssa Milano in hash tagging #Metoo to show that women aren’t alone in the fight against sexual harassment in public spaces or anywhere. The amount of comments and responses to the initial post has reached all corners of the globe and raised a lot of concerns and for me, a lot of sadness that the number of women have been left threatened and made to feel humiliated by men in a sexual way.
By Lachlan Mitchell9 years ago in Viva
Me Too
You see "Me too" on your Facebook and you think, "Stop making yourself a victim." You think, "Stop living in the past." You think, "You're exaggerating the problem, exaggerating the pain." And if you don't understand, you may think those are fair things to say. Honestly, that means you are lucky because that means that you've never felt the need to cover every inch of your body for fear of what will be said about skin showing. You've never walked down the street in fear you'll run into that one person you know always makes you feel uncomfortable because while you've stated you’re not interested they continue to make sexual advances. If you're against the "Me too" trend, as some are calling it, you've never sat in a room so self-conscious of your body you have no idea what anyone else is saying.
By Emma Bisel9 years ago in Viva
