#metoo

Me too.

For those of you who don’t know, the ‘Me Too’ campaign was started by Tarana Burke as a means for women who had been sexually assaulted to speak up about it, while going into as much or as little detail as they’d like.

This is yet another issue that isn’t spoken about nearly as much as it should be, for both women and men who are affected by this issue - and unfortunately it’s such a huge issue that it’s ridiculous there isn’t more information/ support/ empathy/ concern about it. I know countless women/ men who have been sexually harassed in one way or another, and people forget that sexual harassment doesn’t necessarily mean rape, or stalking etc; it can be things such as cat calling, whistling from vans, unwanted sexual messages etc. It’s such a wide issue, that I really can’t think of anyone  who hasn’t had an encounter with it. I mean, even in sleepy old Norfolk, I’ve had encounters with people sending messages that made me uncomfortable, people shouting things across the street, people thinking they can look up and down my body as they please. These things don’t compare one bit to some of the things that people go through, but it’s still disgusting that these things happen. 

It’s scary seeing how many people have tweeted/ posted the #metoo hashtag, so many people have had an experience of some kind or the other which made them uncomfortable, and quite frankly it’s disgusting. How hard is it for people to just respect others privacy/ wishes?! If only it was as simple as giving them a slap on the wrists and it wouldn’t happen again! 

This probably won’t be much longer as I don’t have enough knowledge about the subject to ensure that I’m not making mistakes and giving any false information - it’s purely a platform for me to rant and be angry. Ps, it’s SO good to be angry about issues like this, cause when you’re angry you’re so much more likely to do something about it/ talk about it - and talking HELPS.

Anyway, here’s a couple of helplines in case anyone needs them:

NHS Direct Helpline - 0845 46 47

Victim Support - 0845 30 30 900

Male Rape and Sexual Abuse Support - 0845 122 1201 

George xx