Sexual violence and assault allegations have come forward quite often recently in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations. After those were revealed, there has been a constant onslaught of stories in the news, at least one every single week since the Weinstein victims have come forward, and one thing that all of these have had in common was that they all featured men as the attackers. However, recently, Melanie Martinez, known for her alternative album "Cry Baby," has been accused by an old friend of sexual assault.

Timothy Heller, an aspiring singer and old friend of Martinez, came forward recently on Twitter to reveal that she was sexually assaulted by her. She is only now coming forward with this story after living with the trauma for years, unsure whether to come forward or not. In her account, she details how Martinez wore her down over a period of two days until she gave in to her advances, though it was anything but consensual.

Martinez did respond to this accusation by saying that she was "horrified and saddened" by it and that she went on about their friendship and how they had helped each other through their personal problems. She did write one line that seems to be most directed at the allegation, which was "She never said no to what we chose to do together."

In my mind, that line is chilling. When one reads Heller's account of what occurred, she did say that she repeatedly tried to give excuses as to why she didn't want to talk anymore or get involved in anything sexual with Martinez. Also, Martinez is not even saying that Heller consented at all to these acts. She doesn't say "she agreed to what we chose to do together." She said "she never said no," and that idea that one has to say no in order for an act to be considered rape is a very unhealthy idea. Sexual coercion is defined as "the act of using pressure, alcohol or drugs, or force to have sexual contact with someone against his or her will," and Martinez definitely used pressure and repeated advances in order to wear down Heller until she was unwilling to put up any more fight.

Heller is very brave to come forward with this accusation against someone that she once cared about as a best friend, especially because of how people disagree with the idea that women can be perpetrators of sexual violence. Many people have tweeted in response to Heller's account saying that they do not believe this allegation and that women can't commit sexual violence against one another. This is a very worrying and common idea by people that men are the only people who can rape and commit sexual violence but these heinous acts are not linked to gender. They can be committed by anyone, regardless of gender.

Everyone is familiar with the stories of female teachers preying on young teenage boys. This is often laughed off by men who say that those teenage boys were "lucky" that they were able to have sex with an older woman, but this is no laughing matter. If it had been a male teacher seeking sexual contact with a young teenage girl, no one would be laughing or applauding her for being able to land an older man. This double standard is dangerous for young boys who have been raped by an older woman and are not taken seriously, as well as these comments almost trying to normalize older women preying on children.

There are also those that argue that women cannot rape men because men are stronger and cannot be forced to have sex, but they can through sexual coercion. All of these allegations, including the Martinez one, have something in common, as do most accounts of sexual misconduct and rape. They all feature someone who is definitely of a higher status than the other and they use that power to get their way. Martinez used her power over Heller to have her way with her. Heller felt indebted to Martinez because she had taken her in when she needed a place to stay. She was dependent upon Martinez in a lot of ways and when one is in that kind of situation, one cannot help but feel that they owe the other something, especially if they really want it.

Female teachers use this same tactic on teenage boys. They know that they are in a powerful position in which the teenage boys cannot ignore. Their grades depend upon this woman's judgement and so in a lot of these cases, those women will use that against the boys so that they will give into the teacher's sexual advances. Men will crow about how older women are perfect for young men because they teach them what is best, but that is not the case when the sexual experiences are rape and illegal even if it had been consensual. Women can be just as sexually dangerous as men can be and this should not be overlooked by society.

Sexual assault allegations by anyone who was harmed by a woman should be taken seriously because rape is not only conducted by men. Rape can be caused by anyone with a selfish, evil desire and the mindset that they matter more than this other person. Sexual assault is never okay and harms the lives of the victims severely. Heller said that she felt that she couldn't come forward with this because Martinez was a woman who had raped her and that is such a sad thing to hear. She should have always felt that she had the option available to her because she has had to live silently with this trauma always following her around.

Anyone is capable of rape, regardless of gender, so why do we keep allowing rapists to walk free of any consequences for their actions?