As time passes on, people tend to gravitate towards whatever is currently making headlines as their conversation starters; however, this practice unfortunately leaves some important headlines in the dust once something else takes the spotlight.
More importantly, this case specifically pertains to the #MeToo movement, because as the months continue on, this hashtag is beginning to die. There are fewer posts, fewer discussions about the topic, and it seems as if the problem is now being pushed to the back of people’s minds as if it were a simple trend. But this cannot remain a trend; this movement must be pushed to grow, to last, to gain greater ground so that it may become a historically significant change in
our culture.
If this trend dies, people will continue to accept and condone acts of sexual abuse and rape. If this trend dies, people will stop sharing stories and will forget what impact their story can have. If this trend dies, we are setting ourselves back decades. And it’s not the time for setbacks — it’s a time for change.
As college students, we are beginning to hear of accounts of sexual abuse and rape almost on the daily.
Almost all of us can recount stories of people we know being victims of rape, sexual misconduct or date-rape drugs. One would think that this movement would have given victims of sexual assault more ground to stand on and more confidence to defend themselves and share their stories — but there is nothing of the like. Instead, we see the same attitudes that existed before the movement, the same attitudes that were documented in the college rape documentary “The Hunting Ground,” where victims feel powerless and worthless when it comes to sharing their stories.
As members of the younger generation, we should be astounded by the lack of push from older generations to persecute these acts of sexual assault. It seems as if there was a much more accepting culture from older generations. As multiple victims acknowledge that this has happened in the past, they admit that the norm has been to simply brush off these acts as if they were a part of growing up.
Therefore, it is up to our generation to end this culture of condoning and even promoting this behavior. We need to continue sharing stories, continue fighting those that think sexual assault is a part of our culture and our life, and only then will we have a chance at making a difference in how we battle this horrific aspect of
our times.
So refuse to stop talking about sexual abuse. Refuse to stop sharing people’s stories. Refuse to let these acts slip by, like generations before have done. Refuse to be a bystander in this movement, because this is not just a trend — it’s a time for change.
