This week I had a discussion with one of my father’s friends about what rape culture is. We nearly got into an argument when he said: “There is no rape culture.” I was about to argue with him when he continued, “It’s always been like this. It’s nothing new and it’s not right.” That’s something I agree with him on. Nothing about rape culture is new; it’s just been brought to our country’s attention more recently due to the Internet, which circulates any and all news. Anything online can go viral. Therefore, these stories of women being raped in colleges have gone viral and they are affecting the way our country views rape and violence against women.

As a woman, I am constantly forced to be aware of my surroundings at all times. I have pepper spray ready every time I leave the house or have to walk around campus. I change my outfit fifteen times in the morning because I’m scared if I show too much skin I’ll possibly be attacked. This is not okay. It is not okay that I have to watch what I wear or have to be scared to walk to classes because I’m scared of being assaulted.

The fact that I’m constantly told that I have to be careful with what I wear or where I walk is completely unfair and sexist. The fact I have to take precaution because there are men who do not understand the word “NO” and do not understand what sexual assault is or sexual harassment, is not something that any person should have to do. But we do it because our society does not have sufficient laws that protect women. Only just recently a bill was passed that makes note that women who are unconscious when raped are still rape victims. The key words are “only recently.”

This is a very important issue to tackle because right now we have a presidential candidate who is accused of sexually harassing women. These claims have come to light after a video surfaced of Donald Trump explicitly talking about sexually assaulting women and then claiming it's “locker room” talk. The fact he uses that term, “locker room” talk, insinuates that men talk about sexually assaulting women to their friends and buddies. First of all, I highly doubt men want to hear locker room talk about sexually assaulting women. It has nothing to do with having a female figure in your life and everything to do with the fact that it’s unsettling to take advantage of someone.

When we vote for a president, we need to take into consideration of not only how he or she will help the country move forward, but also understand that this is the person representing our country. This is a person that represents every woman, man and child in this country. Do we really want to be thought of as a nation that thinks so little of sexual assault? I have friends who say they are not going to vote this presidential election and originally I thought that they could do what they want to do. However, after these last few weeks, it has become very clear how important it is to vote, especially if you’re a woman.