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Sexual Assault And Sexual Harassment

Good Essays

Sandy Thomas, a journalist of Huffington Post, once stated, “Mainly this country hates women. Unless they are very tall, very beautiful and in close enough proximity to grope.” Thomas exemplifies the ideals of society towards women: the objects of men if they fit into their physical aspect of attractive. In the world, an abundance of women view themselves as ugly, deplorable, unvalued if they do not fit into society’s standards; thus, plentiful amount of men believe sexually advancements compliment them and bring up their self esteem. These thoughts create a state of mind which makes their actions excusable. Although sexual assault occurs more towards women, men experience sexually advancements from others too. According to a new study about …show more content…

The classification of sexual assault and sexual harassment contrast within the law. The Coastguard wrote in their article, “The real distinction between sexual harassment and sexual assault is sexual harassment’s connection to the victim’s employment and/or work performance… Sexual assault is a crime against another person” (COAST GUARD). Sexual advancement towards somebody can be classified into three different categories, one extreme being rape, the classifications allude to the importance of the topic. The differences in definition become blurred to the public and commonly miscategorized. Though both of the grotesque actions harm people, physically and emotionally; however, most perpetrators of these actions are not condemned. These actions, either sexual assault or sexual harassment, occur frequently and in familiar areas, yet many people do aknowledge its prominence. For example, RAINN provides statistics when they state, “Every two minutes an American is sexually assaulted. On average there are 288,820 (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year in the United States” (Victims of Sexual). The statistics given exemplify how actions of sexual assault occur in the country around us though the fact of it becomes hidden to the public. The majority of the public would prefer not to converse about the topic at hand, no matter if …show more content…

Media creates a storm with the revelation of a video of president elect Trump. Amy Wang, a journalist of the Washington Post, wrote, “Their conversation was caught on a hot microphone and included Trump's sentiments that he could kiss and touch women freely because he was "a star” (Wang). Many celebrities tend to believe of themselves to be above the law although we are all people; people who need to appreciate the boundaries between others no matter if you are famous. The fact of what your profession in and the amount of people who know you does not give you more rights than the lesser known; it does not allow you to create a permanent scar on somebody's emotion. Wang later stated, “Trump defended his comments as "locker-room banter" (Wang). The vulgar words should not be accepted to the public with the excuse “locker room banter,” a phrase commonly used. The excuse demonstrates how actions like Trumps become pushed aside and normalized within society. It creates an excuse which everyone can use to talk about harmful sexual actions or partake in the sexual action without thinking about the consequences to those affected. The consequences of Trump’s videos created a storm on social media. Thousands of people began to share their personal stories on social media of being sexually assaulted, many using the hashtag #NotOkay

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