Consent is like Tea

 

If you offered someone tea and they said “No thank you” would you go ahead and make the tea? I thought so too, you wouldn’t. Why is it that people especially men think it is okay to carry out any sexual activity with a woman who has already said No. Back in later 2017 if not early 2018 one big brand did an informative advertisement on television and one of the skits said “ Causes of rape- Men who rape”.

 

Being a woman for me equal a volcano waiting to erupt, it doesn’t really matter where you are; how you walk and the kind of clothing you have on. There’s always something that can be taken away from you. And anyone who ever thinks it’s a woman’s fault that she was sexually assaulted or raped , that person is part of the problem in South Africa.

 

Rape does so much to a person that to hurt their physical being, it has the potential to destroy their emotional wellbeing,  sending them into depression or some even start thinking they deserve it and opt for prostitution. A victim can be infected with all kinds of STIs/STDs and /or find herself pregnant.

It is advisable that a rape victim reports the crime , do they ever get justice ? Only a few do, most are subjected to their sexual lives being questioned and used to justify this degrade act,  mocked and blamed for walking late at night or for agreeing to meet with a guy in a private space.

 

There seems to be not enough education around sexual assault and rape, we are constantly teaching women how to avoid being raped instead of educating men not to rape on the first place.

 

Sexual violation can happen anywhere to anyone , it is unfortunate we still teach women how to not be victims and let men think it’s justifiable to be a perpetrator as long as she was wearing something short, walking home late, drunk or in a relationship with them. No consent means NO !