Just a few of my thoughts on sexual assault as I have been disgusted at the responses of people the past few days. First and foremost, it IS NOT easy to come out and talk about sexual assault. The victim has every right to tell their story whenever & however they feel comfortable

Whether a victim comes out the day after it happens, a decade after it happens or never wants to tell their story, that is THEIR decision and their decision alone. Do not ever say, well they're lying because they "waited too long" to talk.

Additionally, if a victim does not want to report it to the police, that is absolutely their right and does not invalidate their experience. I am disgusted by how many people are saying "Oh it wasn't reported to the police, so it's obviously not true."

Many victims do not want to be re-traumatized by allowing testing with a r*pe kit or by retelling events to officers when there is little justice for these crimes in our current judicial system. Especially as some officers have been known to victim blame.

Next, it is much better to defend a potential liar than a potential r*pist. Every single time a story is shared, almost every response I see is "well they could be lying". No, this is what keeps victims from sharing. Believe the victim. BELIEVE THE VICTIM.

Scientifically, from many studies it is known that false allegations are no more common for sexual assault than any other crime, yet the perception that they are harms sexual assault survivors.

The next thing that comes right after that is people who demand "evidence" from the victim of the assault, but never seem to demand evidence of innocence from the perpetrator. This is completely unacceptable and if you find yourself doing this, you are apart of the problem.

One of the most important things that you can do is believe your friends when they feel comfortable retelling their trauma. "Why does every woman known another woman that was r*ped, but no man knows a r*pist" It's because people want to sit there and say "not my friend."

And with that, never EVER blame the victim. Do not ask what they were wearing, if they were drinking/doing drugs, if they consented to some things so they obviously wanted it all, and the list goes on. No action of a person ever validates the opportunity to sexually assault them.

Lastly, if I am following your abuser/r*pist, DM me and let me know and I will block them. I don't need to know what happened, but I do know that there is no room for that on my timeline.