Little Rachel Riding Hood, Page 6

Rachel always resorts to violence first. Sigh.

It is interesting being a female. Any time you walk alone past a man or some men at night or in a strange setting, you get tense, like you’re entering hostile territory where you could be attacked at any moment. And yet so many rapes are perpetrated by boyfriends and friends and family, not complete strangers. The world just does not allow us a moment to relax. That’s really shitty. Maybe we need signs that say things like “Friends don’t let friends force themselves on unwilling partners!” in high schools.

I remember hearing a story on the radio once where a law teacher mentioned how after he would cover rape and what it is legally defined as (i.e. any time someone has said “no” and the other person disregarded it), after class many girls and boys would come to him, eyes wide, deeply disturbed that they had been raped or had raped at one point in their lives.

There are many kinds of rape. None of them are consensual. No means no. Teach your sons and brothers. No one else will. Hold them accountable for their actions.