Hearings, Amandla Stenberg Writes a Searing Op-Ed on Sexual Assault

[sheshe2]

snip

In response to the testimony and treatment of Dr. Ford, Stenberg writes that “My heart can’t help but feel sore that, once again, it has become a survivor’s responsibility to sacrifice self in the name of public safety.” She also references multiple instances of her own assaults, both in situations that began as explicitly or implicitly consensual. In doing so, she reveals a fundamental and frighteningly common nuance in which many instances of sexual assault occur—and why so many aren’t reported.

When people come forward with stories of their assaults, they are often met with “Why didn’t you speak out sooner? If this really happened, why did no one know?” As if, amid trauma, we would want to reaffirm these events and make them even more tangible, real, and dangerous; give them shape and power by affording them words and uttering our feelings out loud. ... The moment you speak out about assault, you’ve entered a battle where you’ve been appointed defender of your own legitimacy. You are given the responsibility of, after having just been subjected to devastating trauma, navigating impossible protocols, lest you be charged as the culprit in your own attack. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Damned to subject yourself to physical and public scrutiny, more vulnerability and social repercussions, or damned to allow the residual feelings to fester inside. Either way, you sacrifice comfort and safety within your own body, and sometimes it’s easier to just keep that pain to yourself and hope it goes away. And that is understandable and OK. We should not be condemned for being unsure of how to move through pain.

And how to move through the pain of publicly watching yet another victim be denied justice—a perfect victim, at that? In the end, it’s yet another phase of trauma visited upon victims, as one woman’s report became just another box to tick off in the march towards her alleged predator’s inevitable confirmation to the Supreme Court—an appointment that will, ironically, give him even more power over women’s bodies and autonomy for generations to come. What message does that give 15-year-old victims today?

In the face of what has begun to feel like indefatigable (and undefeatable) heteropatriarchy, Stenberg’s message is loud and clear:


“It is not your fault."


"Consent is continual.”


https://theglowup.theroot.com/in-the-aftermath-of-the-kavanaugh-hearings-amandla-ste-1829598494

Women were betrayed.

[Cha]

1. KR!!!

[OhNo-Really]

2. Excellant! Male victims were also betrayed! Anger is a great motivator! Spend that energy

Last edited Tue Oct 9, 2018, 07:31 AM - Edit history (1)

defeating the last century thinking.

We have turned a corner.

Stay loud

Stay focused

With your courage to Speak Out, you invite others to do the same.

Shame is no longer a tool to keep victims of sexual assault silent.

We will no longer be silenced.

#MeToo is my sister, aunt, mom, grandmother, son, husband, dad, brother

Sexual Assault has to stop!

[sheshe2]

3. +++