CHALLENGE SEXUAL VIOLENCE!

Many of us are affected by sexual violence but hardly anyone talks about it. Maybe they don’t know what it is. Do you?

The Actual Definition : Rape is forced sexual intercourse, including vaginal, anal, or oral penetration. Penetration may be by a body part or an object while Sexual assault is unwanted sexual contact that stops short of rape or attempted rape. This includes sexual touching and fondling.

The month of April has been designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month, mainly in the United States. The goal is to raise public awareness about sexual violence and to educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence. This year, with rape in the headlines nearly every day, we speak out with even greater urgency to honor survivors and prevent sexual violence by highlighting sexual violence as a major public health, human rights and social justice issue and reinforce the need for prevention efforts. 

Statistics

Effects of Rape

Victims of sexual assault are:

·         3 times more likely to suffer from depression.

·         6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

·         13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.

·         26 times more likely to abuse drugs.

·         4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.

The Rapist isn't a Masked Stranger!

These numbers are real, but they don’t tell the whole story. They don’t tell of the broken trust when the attacker is a friend, a trusted colleague, or a family member.  They don’t tell of the suicidal feelings, the depression, or of the PTSD. And, they don’t tell of the courage that survivors demonstrate when they work every day to put their lives back together.

200,000 a year. That is 200,000 lives affected. By various factors such as post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, self harm, Stockholm Syndrome, depression, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, flashbacks, borderline personality disorder, sleep disorders, eating disorders, body memories, dissociative identity disorder, suicide, and military sexual trauma.

Two hundred thousand lives. You may already be one of them. Trying to fight your way back to life; or you could easily turn into one of them any day. Together, we need to work to change our culture so that one day, we don't have to fear men. The ultimate goal is to stop sexual violence before it begins.

Protect the girls in your life. Not because we are weak, but because often we believe we are too strong for our own good and choose to internalize issues of this magnitude. Each of us who are affected by these difficult situations have different mindsets and sometimes we don’t choose the right path to take. More often than not, we need help, but sometimes we are too afraid to ask for it.

 If this cause matters to you- don't be afraid, speak out. What will influence people is your story and the chance to make sure that future women never have to tell stories of rape again.

By:

Farzana Palathingal

1st Year BOT