#Metoo Trend Shines a Light On Sexual Harassment

Twitter has been flooded with the #Metoo trend after actress Alyssa Milano has encouraged women (and men) to speak up about sexual harassment and assault by sharing the hashtag 'Metoo.' The actress suggested on Twitter that 'all women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted should write 'Me too,' as a status, so we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem'. The campaign came after American film producer, Harvey Weinstein was accused and is currently being investigated for sexual assault after numerous allegations from Hollywood actresses.


To be honest, I was not surprised to find the social media giant, Twitter, flooded with sad and powerful stories of sexual assault and harassment from women. What did surprise me, was the extent to which the campaign had spread.
I found it incredibly heartbreaking and distressing to find that sexual harassment and assault was much more common than I first thought. It came to light that most women have experienced some sort of sexual harassment or abuse, either as a child or a young woman, and this result is mind-blowing!

It makes me wonder if most males in this world are purely nothing but predatory underneath their professional and friendly facades, and I wonder what makes them think that they can do whatever they want with a woman by downgrading her and making her feel disgusting, embarrassed and dirty about herself.
Some of my good friends are male, and I know that deep down they will never do anything like this... but then I wonder about the remaining percent of the male population.
Are all men only after one thing?
What makes them think that they can treat a woman as they please?
Is it in their genetic makeup?... Nah. Its the fact that they think us women to be the weaker sex. That we won't push back against their disgusting behaviors, because we are small, vulnerable and too easily damaged and broken that we feel that there is nothing that we can do afterwards but carry on with our lives.
The fact that the #Metoo campaign has flooded Twitter, shows me that if we women stick together and join forces with our experiences, then we can push back against men. The same men who rip us apart piece by piece until sexual assault and harassment is just another common occuring darkness that envelopes our world.

I once went out clubbing with friends to celebrate my birthday on Halloween and we quickly heard ourselves being wolf-whistled at from a moving car. The same night, a man who looked to be in his thirties thought it to be funny to pull at the cat tail around my waist (I was dressed as a cat), and let go so that it whipped at my bum.
There was another incident where I had joined Tinder and found myself bombarded with gross and inappropriate messages from guys. One male had asked for pictures and my bra size, whilst another had sent me images of his own genitals. They were immediately blocked and I haven't accessed Tinder since. I find it sad that I now view dating websites as a predatory playground for sick males who wish to do nothing but sexually harass young women who are just looking for a nice guy to date. It truly sickens me that up until this campaign, I hadn't realised that I had been a victim of sexual harassment, which is why this is so important.
It is important to educate females about the different forms that sexual harassment and abuse can take, and maybe, they are more likely to realise that they have already been a victim.

This whole experience has made me much more wary of men, which is heartbreaking considering that not all men are as disrespectful to women as others.
I applaud those brave women who stand up against their abusers and challenge their behavior. Who take the first steps to realising and admitting that they have been victimised, who continue to live and enjoy life; blotting out the horrendous events that they have endured at the hands of men who are nothing but monsters. Because that is what these men are; monsters who hide in the shadows and hurt women to satisfy their own needs...because not one brilliant, intelligent, beautiful woman will look at them twice. So why should we think about them twice?