Currently I am taking a sex , gender and culture course in university and I had a male in my class say that , in the case of the 12 year old girl who was raped and became pregnant That she should not be allowed to have an abortion because the rapist has owned up to his actions, and willing to parent the child once let out of prison ... that maybe if she was on birth control she could have prevented it . Prevented what? Are you fucking kidding me ? She could have prevented being raped? really ? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me

A 19 year old British woman has been found guilty of causing public mischief in Cyprus for alleging she was gang-raped by 12 Israeli youths aged between 15 and 18 in a hotel in Ayia Napa, Cyprus. The woman had claimed that on 17 July she was attacked and raped but 10 days later the police arrested her after she retracted her statement. This was all done without the woman having been allowed any legal representation and she was coerced into making the statement, she didn’t even have a translator and was suffering from PTSD.

TRIGGER WARNING: This is obviously a very sensitive topic and it should never be taken lightly. My purpose in writing this is to help those close to victims understand the difficulties that lead up to and follow after reporting abuse. If you are a victim and you're reading this, my heart is with you. You are not powerless. You are not alone and I hope the following helps you understand your thoughts and feelings about the situation you are in.

Melissa Benoist recently admitted she was a part of a larger statistic.

Fifty years after the rise of the feminist movement, fewer than 2% of public places in the United States are named after a woman. Society has long paid tribute to famous people by naming a city, or, a building after them. The contributions of women, however, go unrecognized, at least when it comes to putting their name a on building. This tells our daughters their half of the population only warrants 2% of the public recognition.

I am the survivor of many years of documented domestic abuse and recently filed for a divorce. Unfortunately, the court system is stacked against the victim/survivor because we often lack the resources necessary to hire competent representation and if we can, the attorney’s lack of sensitivity toward their clients. This can make it very uncomfortable for both, because the attorneys client is dealing with issues they know nothing about, which causing more trauma and many times victim-shaming by the person who is supposed to be protecting them, without them even realizing it. This often causes a PTSD response from the victim/survivor making the attorney think their client is literally out of their mind half the time and making the victim/survivor not trust the attorney to know what is best for them.

We are about to enter the Holiday Season. It kicks off with Black month, formerly knowns as Black Friday, followed by Thanksgiving, St. Nick’s Day Dec 6, Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanza, New Year’s Eve and finally New Year’s Day. Later in the year, other holidays are also celebrated.

Retro sweat to red tents. We discussed it ALL.

My journey through abuse has been long, exhausting and at most times it felt never ending. I’ve spent most of my life feeling like I’m drowning and I’m still learning how to navigate through my life as an adult, even though I sometimes still feel like a vulnerable 10-year-old girl.

I’ve experienced a lot throughout high school. I’ve had drama between friends, annoying teachers, and don’t get me started on the crowded hallways.

The African National Congress Women's League has called for few recommendations on how sexual offenders should be dealt with. The recommendations include: life imprisonment without parole, no bail, and chemical castration.

So I'm writing this post for people who don't know what it's like being a survivor of sexual misconduct, but maybe knows someone who was a survivor. Sexual misconduct is an umbrella term for any act like rape and sexual assault. I will not pretend to know how everyone else handles sexual misconduct, I can only speak for myself and the stories I've heard.