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April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. (SAAM). Let's look at what we all can do to prevent sexual assault as well as create an awareness of the problem.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. (SAAM). Let’s look at what we all can do to prevent sexual assault as well as create an awareness of the problem.
Trigger Alert: This post has descriptions of violence against women, specifically sexual assault, and may be triggering for survivors.
Sexual assault is a bigger pandemic than COVID, and is a symptom of the rape culture a ‘traditional’, patriarchal society perpetuates directly through abusive behaviour – either through action or speech; and indirectly through things like controlling choices / voices/ sexuality/ bodies of women, and conditioning everyone to think this is normal.
Here are some critical points everyone must be vigilant about to create a safer society for everyone.
Take action before sexual assault happens. Act against stalkers and eve teasers. They aren’t romantic. Don’t believe the popular entertainment that disguises invasion of privacy, harassment and domination as love. Sexual assault should be nipped in the bud.
Talk to teenagers of all genders. Tell them that no matter how desperate they become, they can’t control someone else’s body, whoever that someone is.
Sexual assault is equally wrong when your best friend/gang member/bff/bro/sis/bae (or any cool term) does it. It doesn’t matter who they are to you or how decent you think they are.
Don’t become a part of the problem by cooperating with them and justifying them.
No means no. If they aren’t in a position to say anything freely, it is a no. Consent isn’t for you to understand or assume. It is for them to give. Read that again.
Sexual assault isn’t rape alone. It is unwanted sexual contact. Sometimes, what we brush up saying it is common or normal (casual) could be sexual assault.
Nothing can justify or be an excuse for sexual assault. It was, it is, always avoidable. Onus is on the assaulters to NOT assault. We can’t push the blame on victims or survivors for letting it happen or for not fighting back.
No form of sexual assault is trivial or forgivable. So if you have ever assaulted someone sexually and the world has forgiven you, you are still a criminal.
Survivors don’t owe anyone anything. Their life is still theirs and will remain. Those who’ve been watching everything from a comfortable place can keep their opinions to rest.
You need not wait for a particular month to become aware and spread awareness about sexual assault. It is a bare minimum expectation from a human being.
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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