Women are not a toy that you can pull out to play with only when it’s convenient for you. We are more than your late night, drunken “you up?” text. We are not your prize to be won. We are more than another object you can use to boost your starving ego. I am not a trophy; you cannot strip me of my dignity and hang me up on the wall of your “conquests”.

My short skirt does not mean I’m saying yes; my clothing does not equal my consent. I walk with my phone in one hand, and mace in the other. We stay in packs—never go to the bathroom alone, the mall, or anywhere else for that matter—you never know who might be there, waiting to attack. We stick together at parties, just to be safe. But we’re also told to make sure that we don’t drink too much, or show too much skin, because someone might take that as an invitation.

We are so tired of being afraid. We grew up learning to be paranoid, always looking over our shoulder to see who might be watching. But why is it that women are being constantly told to be safe? To take the precautions necessary to not get raped? I, for one, am sick of feeling like women are the problem.

Why don’t we start raising men with the common decency to understand that rape and sexual assault is not okay? We need to teach boys that respect and consent are serious things. I want to see a change in this country. I hope that one day, consent will be a conversation that families will have with their children, and that it will be taught in our school systems.

I am a woman; I am strong, smart, and resilient. And I, just like many other women, am done with the bullsh*t.