If you have been living under a rock for the last week and a half, you might have missed multiple Trump scandals coming to the surface. The scandals began with a video from 2005 leaked by The Washington Post and have only snowballed this week with multiple allegations from women who have claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump. Whether or not these allegations are true, their implications will have lasting impacts on our country.
Via The Washington Post
We have a little social problem in our country; this little thing we like to call "rape culture." We like to think that this is only a college problem - drunk kids not thinking about what they're doing, but low and behold, we have a presidential candidate who has taken part in this mess.
His defenders are saying things like "Oh, this was 11 years ago, it doesn't matter anymore." It would be one thing if he was just some Joe Shmo, but he's running for the highest office in the nation! To argue that the past doesn't matter is not valid because most voters look to the past to influence their outlook on the future.
Not too get too far off topic, this article is not about whether or not Trump's candidacy is still valid, but instead about how a Trump presidency will negatively influence the young women in America.
In an interview with Jessica Leeds, the woman accusing Trump of touching her inappropriately on a plane to New York, she says the following:
"I don't think I said a word during the late 60's, 70's, and into the 80's - culture had instilled in us that somehow it was our fault. The attention we that we received from men, that we were responsible for their behavior. You didn't complain to the authorities, you didn't complain to your boss; if something happened to you, you bucked up and you went on."
This phenomenon has not gone away. Young girls and women are taught that sexual assault is their fault, based on what they wear, how much they've had to drink, or "being flirty."
Wearing a skirt is not an invitation for sex or "easy access."
These women coming to the surface to tell their stories in the national spotlight will help others. Narrative is one of the most powerful forms of persuasion. When our children go to school and learn about the 2016 Election, will they be learning about how President Trump got away with it or will they be learning that even Donald Trump was punished for sexual assault?
Hopefully, the second will hold true. When our children learn about this election in school, they will learn how devastating sexual assault can be both on the victim and the aggressor. Once we teach our children how sexual assault can flip your world upside-down, maybe rape culture can be a term only in our history books.
