I knew that our society was unequal. I was aware that sexual assaults happen to women much more than they happen to men. What I did not know was the drastic contrast between what a woman goes through versus what a man does. Until Jackson Katz pointed it all out in his book The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help, where, upon being asked the precautions taken to avoid sexual assault, men come up with nothing, while women consistently come up with a long list of things like making sure to keep their drinks in sight at all times and watching what they wear.

Having heard all of these cautionary advice that other women had given in that list for the past 20 years, when I hear catcalls and feel stares on my body as I walk down the street, I had come to think of it as a common occurrence and that the best way to handle the situation would be to avoid conflict and ignore it. I wouldn't want to get into a situation where the other side would have any incentive to physically hurt me.

Before going out with friends at night the first thoughts that pop into my mind when I'm out at night are whether I stand out or could become an easy target. When someone calls me "pretty girl" on the street and asks me if I wanted "a good time", the first reaction is to blame myself for not covering myself up more. This type of thinking is so prevalent among women that it has become almost accepted in our lives.

When Trump tweeted that "I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents...", it is clear that he has probably never been harassed to the extent that women have in his life.

He has probably never felt the fear that women have felt when someone who had the power to ruin our careers exhibits inappropriate behavior towards us.

He has probably never had to worry about whether others will believe his accusations when things like this do happen.

In the 72 years of his life, he probably has never experienced being catcalled randomly while walking alone on the street and having to speed up his steps to try to reach a more populated area before anything unimaginable could happen. He has probably never felt multiple pairs of eyes staring up and down his body as he's sitting on a bus and felt the need to cover himself up with his backpack. He has definitely never felt a paralyzing fear while waiting on a street corner for an Uber because in the three minutes that passed by while waiting for that Uber, numerous eyes have scanned up and down his body, and someone had asked him "hey handsome boy, do you want a good job and a good time?" while smiling in the creepiest way possible. In that moment, his first thoughts would definitely have never been "Why did I wear shorts today?" even though it was a 90 degree summer day in Los Angeles.

He was probably not taught to avoid wearing certain clothing to attract too much attention, nor taught that it was his responsibility to not fuel the sexual desires of strangers by wearing anything slightly revealing. His first thoughts when a new acquaintance requests to meet at a relatively private location is definitely not whether this person could be a sexual predator who means him harm or not.

If these powerful men in Congress had never experienced any of this, what gives them a right to question the legitimacy of a woman who came forward with an initially confidential accusation to a newspaper, who would only receive public scrutiny and criticism if she came forward with her story?

What gives them the right to assume they would have reacted differently in her situation?

What gives them the right to discredit our voices?