As a male, I'm able to live my life with not as many issues that the common female would deal with daily.

I don't have to look over my shoulder much when I'm walking around at night because, in all honesty, not many people want to mess with the big guy. (let alone a guy at all) I don't have to be as wary of what I wear because men's clothing is not as sexualized. I don't have to worry about every move I make and how people interpret it being worried I'm seen as a tease. I don't have to worry that every step I take everywhere I sit, everywhere I lay, has a high potential that I could get assaulted. While I am thankful that I do not, women have to deal with such things every single day.

Did you know that on average every 98 seconds in America alone someone is assaulted sexually? That means by the time you've finished the average song around 3 minutes, It has happened twice in America alone. Yet, it gets worse, because the majority of sexual assaults don't even go reported.

So a question one might ask is what do we do about it? Rather than make sure women are able to feel safe and secure, rather than listening intently, the blame is often put on their shoulders. We tell them "maybe you should act more assertive." They're told, "Well if you hadn't dressed so slutty maybe it wouldn't have happened."

Tell me this, are you going to tell the young girl who's raped before she even hits junior high or learns what sex is, It was because she didn't assert herself? Are you going to tell the girl who wears a t-shirt because of the hot weather that she was asking for it? Someone walks around without a hat because they're not wearing head protection are they being asked to be hit in the head?

Assuming the answer is no, what makes these girls seem like they were in search of getting hurt? Or tell me is it that more men are scared that when they know they push too far they do not want the title of "the rapist" so it's now ok for them to push off the blame?

The world around us is sickening, and I will never understand how people continue to let this stand as the norm. Instead of always blaming the women, make sure its firm that is is intolerable and will have immense consequences. Make sure an investigation is actually followed through with, not just pushed off to the side because one says they didn't do it.

It's already bad enough that people are so scared to report what happens to them that police estimate only 1 third of them are reported. And though yes some reports may be false that is only proved to be about 2% of the time. That means maybe once out of every 50 REPORTED cases are they false. But definitely, let's keep blaming the women.

Going over this information personally has really bothered me, and has pushed me to write a poem on the issue. This is:

The Issue That Remains Unchanged

My best friend has depression because at 5 years old

Her dad didn't always get what he wanted from her mother

My neighbor has a guard dog

Because her fear of man upsets her

Times I walk with my friend from her job

Because she is frightened of what's known as a "creeper"

And it's terrifying that half of whom I meet

Ignore their trauma to feel better

Everyday people just like you or me

Have to walk tensely aware and unsure

Because what may seem a smiling face

May take control of them because of their gender

And yes I get it happens to both

That indeed is no question

But tell me how much a man has to be scared

When it happens 10 times less than

On average there are 321,500 victims

And that is just Age 12 or older per year treated unjustly

Who don't know who to talk to because of someone

that might say trust me

"TRUST ME!"

"I'M HERE FOR YOU"

"USE YOU? I'D NEVER DO"

Who don't even listen to what they are told

Because with them, consent means nothing

Yet still, with all that goes on

there are some that claim I'm bluffing

While people have walked day to day

Like Brock Turner and Ted Bundy

I hate having to wonder

If each day my sister is safe

If my mom will make it home

And I can't sleep so I lay awake

Waiting

Waiting for the crack of the door when they get home

Waiting for the sense of comfort

To know that they aren't alone

Especially when I'm not near

I worry with each call

The rings start to sound like sirens

When I see the videos In Social Walls

To know that everything is fine

Because I know that some might cross that line

Someone's sister, Someone's mother

All I can pray is it's not mine

It is 2018 and still, the situation just won't quit

I know some might hate the judgment

But what are we doing to change it

You tell the girls to be assertive

Boys get a small trial then slap on the wrist

5 days later then they're out and it happens again

But you blame her for provoking it

A simple No means nothing

Because they'll just pester until it's a yes

But wouldn't you say yes too

If it avoided a bullet to your chest

Wouldn't you say yes too

If they're pushing and grabbing and threatening

You know it's the only way they'll leave

So the numbers rise instead of lessening

why not tell guys to stay home at night

You don't want them getting accused

But if you enforced for this to happen

You'd probably have nothing to say on the news

You'd probably finally have uplifting stories

Not as many weight filled issues holding you down

But you let "Locker Room Talk" become reality

While they leave others mentally drowned

And don't let them say anything about it

"you're lying and seeking attention"

To you it's ok they're too traumatized to say a word

But you fake upset when it only later gets a mention

The same women who give us life

Are pushed to the side as insignificant

So I'll be damned if you think for a minute

That I'm not hellbent to change it

I recognize that all the world

Is never going to share my view

But I ponder If you see the issue

I only wonder what you would do?

It's easy to recognize that there is an issue. It's harder to think of how one can ignore it when it surrounds us and clogs our views daily. Maybe it doesn't bother you as much as it bothers me. But I've always hoped to see an end to these issues since this is the "land of the free." I'd think that we all have loved ones we would hope never have to face this. But nothing comes without action, so instead of telling women to be wary, maybe take a stance to change it.