Along with all of the recent BLM movements, protests, and petitions, a new movement has come into play. People all over are taking to Twitter to expose sexual assaulters, abusers, and rapists. One particular area I would like to focus on that affects me is in Orlando. Former students from Osceola County School for the Arts (OCSA) have banded together on social media to try and bring justice to their abusers.
You're probably wondering what this has to do with me since I didn't go to school in Orlando and have only lived there for a short period of time. I didn't even use Twitter as of a few days ago. How could this high school's movement on a social media platform I don't even utilize impact my life? Let me tell you.
While I lived in Florida, I dated a native. I won't go into too much detail over our relationship here, but for the most part, it was not pretty. This guy was a serial cheater and liar and a master manipulator. I thought I was the only one who had been affected by his actions. Until I got the DMs.
Girls from all over, and even some guys, started messaging me. They knew me, but I didn't know them.
It always seemed to start with a "Hey girl, I know you don't know me, but..." or "Have you been on Twitter lately?" I was getting flooded with messages about an ex I really wanted to forget. I finally caved and logged back onto Twitter.
Shocked and appalled are just two of the many words I would use to describe how I was feeling as I scrolled through countless tweets about someone I was with for a good portion of time. There were plenty of stories about how he forced himself onto numerous girls, stalked them, sent them unsolicited material, threatened them, and more.
I was sick to my stomach and felt like I was going to throw up. I am lucky to not be one of the girls who has come forward to allege they were physically abused by him, but my story of emotional abuse was just as important in this case, so I spoke out.
I instantly received many DMs from other girls who shared their stories about him with me. They were devastated to hear that he had not changed at all. I got to know some of them, and I instantly felt supported by them. I was happy to do the same in return.
There were over 30 women.
Thirty-plus women were affected by this boy, most of whom were around 13-16 when he was close to 18. He's not the only one either. The school alone had hundreds of people speak up about dozens of abusers from their area. It was heartbreaking reading each and every story, comment, and screenshot.
My heart goes out to the alumni and current students of OCSA, and I am grateful to each one who reached out to me personally. I know in the end these abusers will receive justice against them, but for now it's just a waiting game. Thank you for being brave and speaking up; I am with each and every one of you till the end.
You are all stronger than this.
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