Let's talk: Sexual Harassment

There really isn't a light way of talking about sexual harassment and that's simply because it's a subject that should NEVER be considered lightly. 

So I've decided that I'm going to talk about it in the most honest and brutal way I possibly can.

Let's start with a definition that way we can all begin on the same page. 

Sexual Harassment is the *"unwanted physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature...the conduct must be done with the purpose of, or have the effect of, violating your dignity, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for you". 

Yes folks,(Sam Pepper)that even includes a "prank".

Now that we're a little bit more established on what sexual harassment is, think back to anytime you may have experienced it. It could have been at school, work or just by a random stranger that you happened to walk past. 

Think about how it made you feel.

It certainly made me feel degraded the countless number of times it had occurred to me. It made me feel like an object, that my body was not my possession but was simply a product for other people's enjoyment. After a while I learn't to stop becoming so "sensitive" to ignore the cat calls strangers were giving me and to just accept that it was a part of my life that strangers would touch me on the tube and stare at my chest and bum and that senior work colleagues could make those sly comments about my body. I became extremely conscious about what I would wear,ensuring that my outfit wasn't seen as provocative and that my clearly large bottom and bosoms were covered by longer loose fitting clothing. 

I made myself believe it was "normal".

I am here to tell you that it is far from it and that NOBODY should have to be made to feel uncomfortable what ever gender you identify with.

Long overdue,but it is time for sexual harassment to

STOP!

This morning I watched a video by a popular YouTuber in which I saw him approach random girls harmlessly asking for directions. Little did they know that the guy whom they thought they were helping had an ulterior motive to "pinch" their "ass" and then blame it on people walking by whilst being secretly recorded! 

ERM IS IT JUST ME THAT SEE'S THIS AS WRONG?!

Not only was the video shocking but even worse was the comments that came after it. 

Some people were actually justifying his actions, suggesting that there was nothing wrong with the video and that only raging feminists were getting upset over it. 

EVERYONE should be getting upset over it. 

Some were even saying that the girls didn't even make a fuss, but have you stopped to think how many girls he edited out of the video to make his actions seem like they were okay? Yes, although those girls weren't loud you can clearly see that they were unhappy. One even said "I don't like that" even when she found out it was a joke. So NO it's not justifiable, not any of it.

Let's try to make a change, it won't happen over night but we can take one small step at at time. We need to educate ourselves(not just boys) that only we have ownership of our own bodies and that we need to say when someone makes us feel uncomfortable. 

So stand up for yourself, don't ever let your "STOP" or "NO" be ignored, don't let your voice be smudged and fade into the background. No conduct of a sexual nature should be experienced unless you have explicitly given consent. 

I hoped you enjoyed the post, please share if you did.

I think I'll start a series called "Let's talk" on issues that we all have growing up.

I'm just getting use to blogging and have no idea how to link any social media so i'll just list it down here.

Twitter: AishaOlivia

Instagram: AishaOlivia

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Thank you

*http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/your-rights/equal-rights/gender/sex-discrimination-your-rights-at-work/sexual-harassment/sexual-harassment-your-rights