Op-Ed: Another Day to Fear Womanhood
By Cocoa the Journalist
TW: SA, domestic violence, harassment, gender violence
Being a woman in today’s society has been proved to be the scariest and most dangerous experience.
Every day we’re reminded of what it means to be the 2%. And then we’re reminded of the risk we take every time we wear revealing clothes. We’re all subject to taking precautions 24/7, through crossing the street to avoid a man or purchasing bear mace as self defense.
Women have been the sacrifice to the whole world. Only perceived as an exchange of pleasure.
In the workforce.
In institutions.
In their homes.
Criminal activity against women continues to rise globally. There are countless horror stories of women being followed or tagged for abduction. Predators approach them in grocery stores, or follow them from a distance to locate a woman’s way of travel or route back home. The absolute disregard for a woman’s privacy in today's world continues to be invaded by not just government officials, but so-called vigilantes, street criminals, and even their own families.
“For every 10 victims detected globally, five are adult women and two are girls, according to a report released in 2021 by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (PDF, 18MB).” — Amy Novotney (2023)
There have been many cases where women feel obligated to succumb to this behavior. In domestic violence cases, many women fear the repercussions of confronting or leaving their partners. They believe they will change, and fall into the trap of forgiveness for lackluster behavior in the relationship. They will continue to tolerate narcissistic behavior for a false sense of safety, even though they could ultimately be killed by their partners.
It’s worse when women don’t feel safe to report these actions. Women and girls globally feel and have been silenced about their problems with their partners. In Black culture, assault is rarely brought up in court and historically swept under the rug in private.
“The study revealed that only 18% of the adult women's rapes and only 11% of the assaults of children were reported. For adult women, the primary reason for not reporting seemed to combine a type of guilt as well as embarrassment.” — R.L Binder (1981)
Guilty men continue to gaslight their victims and act as if they are falsely accused. Meanwhile, they are the ones with blood on their hands.
Women deserve to feel respected in every area of their life.
It’s not a “right of passage” to survive being assaulted.
It’s not “normal” to sexualize every single part of a woman.
It’s not a woman’s “job” to submit to a man regardless of their relationship status.
It’s not just a “woman’s problem” when we vocalize our disdain and discomfort to man for his inappropriate sexual behavior.
It’s inhumane to believe that women shouldn’t be under full control of their bodies, politically and socially.
Women are constantly fighting this narrative with little to no support. Then, we factor intersectionality. It’s common knowledge that a white women is more likely to get justice than an ethnic women when it comes charging a sexual assailant. Even then, the justice is slim to none when evidence is unavailable or expenses are not met to proceed in court.
It’s hard to accept this as common among women. And it should be, because it’s inexcusable. It’s horrifying for the next generation of children, exposing them to unresolved problems at the hands of our partners, our families, the people we’re supposed to trust the most. To allow our children to be uneducated on how to defend themselves from assault is cruel. Not doing enough to prevent protect vulnerable women from abduction and assault from is equal to being a bystander to the crime. You’re liable, too.
Another day to fear being a woman, is another day without making progress to protect women.
Meet the Writer
Cocoa is an aspiring journalist and a student with a passion for mental health. She hopes to publish articles centered around advocacy, Christianity, and mental health awareness through poetry and articles.
