My fairly corrupted view on life :(

CoViCtIoN?

Sexual assault against men and women is  a prevalent issue yet still for most a hidden problem. Most victims of these crimes wait in deafening silence for years before ever speaking about what happened and some never say anything.

For most of us this crimes are a concept that we cannot grasp, seemingly you dont understand unless you have been through it. It's a concept we have a hard time imaging even when it is rooted deep into our lives and we are surrounded by people who are silently struggling.

But why are they struggling in silence? Why as a society have we made it such a taboo topic to talk about ? And why are so many offenders not convicted?

As I stated sexual assault crimes are frequently left to be a private crisis owing to the isolation that many victims feel because of the lack of support or the tendency of some of society and even the police blaming the victims themselves. This creates a unique and difficult set of reactions and while no two people react in the same way many feelings are common among victims. 

Feelings of self-blame and guilt are among the most common reactions due to the false myths portrayed in the media. Victims feeling humiliated, ashamed or embarrassed.

Another common feeling is fear and terror ;a feeling of unease. Many fear the perpetrator will return and others feel they will their job. A publicised example would be the Harvey Weinstein scandal in which he abused his Hollywood power and physical strength to pressure women into what he wanted. The women were mostly young actresses looking for advice onto how to become acclaimed actresses. However , he abused their passion and forced them into his trap and claimed they would never become actresses otherwise. Many of his victims made a name of themselves through hard work and never said a word of his actions because they feared they would lose all they had worked for.

In addition to this , many become isolated , feeling as though no one could ever understand. Many therefore get to a point where they don't want to talk to anyone and fear opening up due to the fear of not being believed and rejected.

Now you are aware of the common feelings for victims you're probably thinking why they don't tell the police for example? As I already stated police officers almost seem to blame the victims themselves, but that's only a small reason behind why many don't tell the police. Only around 15% of victims report it to the police , why is this? The main reason many don't report it to the police is that the conviction rate for rape is exponentially less than other crimes , with only 5.7% of reported cases ending in a conviction. Also for the 15% who report it only 2% will go to trail. For many victims these statistics make it seem as if even if they were to report it , justice would never be achieved. The false medial impression on sexual assault also adds to this. For too many cannot help them , even when the victims know the perpetrator ;which is 90% of cases  . That stat alone makes it seem like the police should be able to do more. 

In conclusion , approximately 85,000 women and 12,000 men (aged between 16 - 59) experience sexual assault crimes in England and Wales each and every year, that's roughly 11 every hour. And yet this is still seen is a private matter. The only people who can change this are you; society is defined by the people in it. We all have a voice and the power to change the world. They are not victims they're survivors. Each day and night fighting the mental and physical effects of these crimes. Be the voice not an echo and be the change you want to see in the world.