Tips for girls/females to tackle sexual harassment by a relative

In order to understand this, let's start with a real life story.

I was in a relationship with my ex-girlfriend for 3 long years.

She was a bit shy in the beginning of our relationship so I always encouraged her to express more of her inner emotions and feelings in front of me without any hesitation. One day, a miracle happened and she told me the deepest secret that she had never told anyone. Let me walk you all through the conversation.

She: Look, I am going to tell you a secret.

Me: Yeah, sure thing.

She: You know I told you about my uncle.

Me: Yeah, why? What happened?

She: I think he is a pervert!

Me: What! How?

She: When I was a child, he used to come to our house and pick me up with joy like any other person would do. But after that, he used to touch me inappropriately. I was not aware of it initially but as I grew older, I begin to realize it.

Me: Okay! So does he still do it?

She: Yes!

I was stunned.

Me: So, why don’t you ask him to stop.

She: He is my mother’s brother. I want to tell my mother about this but I hardly think that she would believe.

Me: Then directly ask your uncle to stop it.

She: I don’t know how he will react to that. I don’t want to cause any trouble.

Me: No, Saloni (changed), you have to stand up for yourself. This is sexual harassment.

Then I consoled her. She cried a lot that day. I somehow convinced her to do a thing that will stop her uncle from doing that forever.

Now after a few days, her parents anniversary was approaching. She invited me there. I asked her to do that thing I told her then and there only so that her parents could see how pervert her uncle was.

Now let me tell you what I suggested her,

I asked her to tell her parents about this whole pervert thing and also to tell them that she will prove that it indeed is true at the party. She asked them to see by themselves when her uncle hugs her.

Now the same thing happened. Her uncle hugged her, kept hugging her for 10 seconds whilst he touched her inappropriately. I saw it and so did her parents!

Mission accomplished!

Her parents said nothing at that time.

The next day I asked her what happened. She said nothing, hugged me tightly and started crying.

Me: Why are you crying?

She: These are the tears of joy.

Me: Tell me what happened.

She: My mother asked my uncle to come to our house after the party. She was furious and yelled at him for an hour and asked him never to exhibit that behavior again. Everything is fine now. After knowing my situation, my parents cried and said that they were less understanding of me but from now on, they will become my friends in a true sense, all thanks to you!

That day I realized how some small things can matter so much in life.

That small gesture of her opening up to me lead to the resolution of such a big trouble in her life. In addition to this, it also brought her much more closer to her parents and me.

Hence, tips for girls/females to tackle the sexual harassment by a relative are:

A. Always be vocal about it. Don't hide, it's not your fault. Remaining silent only encourages such type of behavior.

B. Tell this thing someone very close to you. Ask his/her suggestion on it and act accordingly.

Aryan :)