A 'Scary Time' For Men, But It Is A Lifetime Experience For Women | The Odyssey Online
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Politics and Activism

As If It Was Ever A 'Scary Time For Men' In America, Women Experience It Their Entire Lives

Imagine being a woman, dealing with traumatic events day-to-day, but I guess being a man during this time is even worse.

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After a night of partying, Kate parted ways with her friends and stumbled back to her dorm. She had no desire to call it a night and go to sleep yet. Scrolling through her Snapchat, she looked for one of her other friends to hang out with her. And, there was this boy she had been talking to for months. She wasted no time and shot him a message, to which he responded quickly since he was also still awake.

Kate did not have any intention nor did she suggest for anything to happen between them. Though she was watching Netflix with the boy, she did not plan to execute the classic "Netflix and chill." Her judgment might have been poor that night because of alcohol and weed, but she knew what she did and did not want.

As far as she could remember, everyone, mostly women, always warned her about being taken advantage of by boys. Kate shrugged it off every time because she thought it could never happen to her. She thought she protected herself enough. She thought she was smart enough not to put herself in that situation. She thought none of the people she knew could be the one to do it to her.

And, it happened. Kate found herself in bed with nothing on her but the boy, forcing himself on to her. Scared and helpless, she repeatedly said, "No!" Panic set in, but there was no other way out. She closed her eyes and hoped for the nightmare to end. It could not have been sooner enough until the boy gave up and left her.

That night became Kate's biggest secret. She could not bring herself to tell anyone because she convinced herself that she was to be blamed for what happened.

If she did not drink or smoked, it would not have happened. If she had just gone to bed after coming back from a party, it would not have happened. If she did not invite that boy over, it would not have happened.

At least 90 percent of assaults on college campuses go unreported by victims. There may be victims that find the strength and courage to come forward, but others may never decide to. Different reasons contribute as to why many cases are reported years later or never at all.

Among the biggest concerns surrounding sexual misconducts are false accusations.

"It's a very scary time for young men in America when you can be guilty of something that you may not be guilty of," President Donald Trump stated. "You can be somebody that was perfect your entire life and somebody could accuse you of something...and you're automatically guilty."

The president also mocked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony against newly elected Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh, who she reported to be her perpetrator.

Despite Ford's efforts to stand up for herself and for women everywhere with comparable experience as her, Kavanaugh was left untouched and moved on to be sworn in to be in the Supreme Court. The so-called "scary time for young men" ended at that moment as well.

Women still have to fight through the scary time they have been experiencing their entire life. They are questioned. They are doubted. They are shamed. They are blamed. So many of them have become conditioned to do those things to themselves as well. They go through the process of self-blame and/or self-shame, preventing them from reporting.

A stint moment of "scare" among men caused actual concerns, but how much more do women have to bare before they are taken more seriously?

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