What patriarchal men—and complicit women—don't comprehend about rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, harassment, molestation, etc., is that the victim NEVER FORGETS. Never. It doesn't matter if they were a child, a teenager, or a grown woman. #WhyIDidntReport 1/16
There is something so elementally vile & shocking about another person—boy or man—violating your personal space, your body; your safety & sense of autonomy, that the minutia of the incident—the sounds, smells, moments, emotions—stick w/ you. They impact you. #WhyIDidntReport 2/16
One @GOP woman actually said, "but there was no intercourse, there was just a touch," as if "no big deal." What she left out—beyond the egregious details of the attack—was the fact that even "a touch," if unwanted, if refused, if forced, is a violation. #WhyIDidntReport 3/16
A woman feels powerless, terrified, overwhelmed. A hand held over a mouth to prevent screaming triggers a sense of true danger, terror, as Blasey Ford felt. It portends potential death. You are at the mercy of violence. You don't forget that, ever. #WhyIDidntReport 4/16
Because women quickly learn—in the patriarchal world in which we live—that their privacy, autonomy, rights & independence are NEVER more important than those of men, men who excuse predatory behavior because they've been mentored to believe they're entitled. #WhyIDidntReport 5/16
Which convinces them that the women they abuse WILL forget. If they don't, just deny, say they're wrong, hysterical, misguided, lying, or memory-challenged. Being entitled men, know that other entitled men—& complicit women—will believe you. #WhyIDidntReport 6/16
Which means the woman who DARES to report—whenever she's finally able or compelled to—is subjected to men like @ChuckGrassley & @OrrinHatch, who denigrate, dismiss & demean as a first response. Which means death threats, trolling & viral excoriation. #WhyIDidntReport 7/16
Which means moving your family, enduring ridicule, insults & pillorying. All for the audacity of believing that a man, who—EVER in his life—thought attempted rape was acceptable behavior should NOT be given a lifetime seat on @SCOTUS. #WhyIDidntReport 8/16
The @GOP's stance on this speaks volumes about the rape culture within their party. Their willingness to excuse the repugnant words & deeds of their @POTUS, to treat Kavanaugh as the one victimized, to bully & batter Blasey Ford like a slutty opportunist... #WhyIDidntReport 9/16
...tells women of America that even in 2018, the violator gets the benefit of the doubt. Whether Anita Hill, a rape victim from NYC, your college roommate; yourself, it's the man who "touched," raped, assaulted, attacked, or violated who's coddled. #WhyIDidntReport 10/16
Any boy with a moral code that allows him to do what Blasey Ford experienced does not just shed that entitlement like a skin. It's who they are. I have a son. If he did such a thing—at whatever age—I'd be terrified that I'd raised a sociopath, a rapist. #WhyIDidntReport 11/16
That Kavanaugh's act is dismissed as "just boys" tells us why rape is such a prevalent crime & why victims don't report: they've already been violated; given how they'll be treated after reporting, they're simply trying to save themselves further hurt. #WhyIDidntReport 12/16
I remember every single incident when a man crossed my boundaries, injured me, touched me, attempted to rape me; I remember every face, every circumstance, every excuse, every feeling. I never reported because I thought none of it was bad enough. #WhyIDidntReport 13/16 #MeToo
I'd been led to believe I was somehow complicit; too flirty, too open, too trusting, and so I wouldn't be believed; I'd just be causing more trouble; I'd only make things worse. But, still, I remember to this day every face, every man. You never forget. #WhyIDidntReport 14/16
Prof. Christine Blasey Ford didn't forget either. She carried it with her, as every victim does. Ultimately she was moved by civic responsibility, by the fear that a man who could rape was being steamrolled into @SCOTUS. And so she spoke up... #WhyIDidntReport 15/16
...at great expense to herself & her family. She spoke up as an ethical citizen of integrity & courage. SHE IS A HERO. The men bullying & denigrating her? They are partisan cowards & rape apologists of the highest order. They are why women don't report. #WhyIDidntReport 16/16
