sexual assault Archives

Why Bill Cosby’s Early Release Is A Step Back For The MeToo Movement.

The news broke yesterday, Bill Cosby who was convicted of sexual assault in 2018, and today the news broke that because of a technicality, he is being released. This comes even after the parole board denied his parole. So where does this result fit into the MeToo Movement?

Today, as I have shifted through and read some of what the survivors have said about this, the only thing that I can think is …

This is part of the reason why women do not come forward. Knowing that you can bear your soul on the witness stand, tell a story that is so gut wrenching and relive every moment of it, and someone is found guilty and can be let out on a technicality, or not be convicted at all is very, very hard to swallow.

This case I can say feels like a, below to survivors today. It was a failure on those who prosecuted this case. They knew that they were not allowed to use his deposition and did it anyway. They knew this could potentially come up again, and because of that have allowed Cosby’s victims to be re victimized today. We have to do better. Our justice system has to do better.

It is time that we make laws that ensure that when a victim comes forward they are protected. These people are coming forward with one of the most vulnerable and traumatic times in their lives. That needs to be honored and protected. Telling this story is not something that is easy to do. It is also not something that is easy to hear, which is why I believe that we need to honor this reality that one and four women go through.

I am calling on our lawmakers to make laws that protect victims. Being a victim is already such a huge responsibility to oneself. One that requires someone to work on healing, and knowing that there is a really high probability that you will come forward with your story, and try to get justice for a crime that was committee against you, and it could end up being thrown out, or worse the person who victimizes you could receive a light sentence, no sentence at all, or be released because someone did not do their due diligence hinders crimes of sexual assault being reported.

So tonight one man is celebrating a win legally, his victims I can assure you are not sleeping well tonight. They will be up tonight thinking how the justice system failed them. Either because he is out, or it will be a reminder of how powerless they felt to come forward in the first place. It will bring up the regret of not speaking out sooner. It is a hard reality that a lot of survivors feel, and are feeling tonight. While one man sleeps soundly and gets to go back to his life. These women, his victims, and many more around the country, and world are just trying to survive tonight.

Stay Safe.

RAINN HOTLINE 1800-656-4673

They also have a chat box on their website, if you need help reach out! You are believed and you will survive!

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Practicing Safety in a Rideshare Service

Since rideshare services like Uber and Lyft were first introduced in 2009, many women have seen them as the safer alternative to drunk driving or walking home alone after a night out. And while rideshare services are often a great option for getting where you need to go, it’s important women are practicing the safety basics when using an Uber or Lyft service.

Verify Your Ride

One of the most important safety practices when it comes to Uber and Lyft is verifying that you have the right car before you get in. This means checking that the car’s make and model, license plate number, and driver match the description offered in the rideshare’s app.

Asking the driver, “Who are you here for?” or “Who are you picking up?”, is also an important part of the verification process. Rather than supplying your own name that the driver can just agree to, this question ensures the driver is working within the app and is not just an unknown driver looking to pick up women in their car.

Avoid Solo Trips

If possible, avoid riding in an Uber or Lyft by yourself. Though Uber has long marketed itself as a safe option for solo female travelers, especially at night, a lawsuit filed against Uber in September 2020 argued that these marketing tactics created an inaccurate perception of safety for female riders. This false perception opens the door for increased risk to female passengers and therefore it is still recommended that women use rideshare services in groups when at all possible.

Track Your Trip

Following a series of lawsuits related to rider safety, both Uber and Lyft have updated their apps to include more safety features. These features include in-app sharing tools that allow riders to share their trips with people in their contacts and a direct call button for emergency services in the app.

Calling someone (or even calling your own voicemail) and confirming you are in your Uber and on your way home is another good way to let your driver know that people outside of the car are monitoring your trip. You can also follow the progress of your trip with Google Maps to ensure your driver is taking you home on the correct route.

Trust Your Gut

While trusting your gut may seem like the most obvious piece of advice for personal safety, it can also be the most difficult. A ride share trip can feel intimate and sometimes the idea of being impolite to your driver can deter women from speaking out when things aren’t adding up. However, if something feels off with your driver, their car, your route, or any other variable that makes you uncomfortable, it’s incredibly important to speak up and end the ride. Instruct your rideshare driver to drop you off somewhere well-lit and populated so you can call another driver or other service.

Rideshare services pose a number of risks to riders who are trusting drivers to get them home safely. Understanding the basic safety practices of rideshare services will help ensure that your trips are a safe and reliable transportation option.

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95-Pound Dog Bravely Turns On Owner As He Sexually Assaults His Assistant

Dogs are loyal and reliable pets to have, especially in times of crises. Our dogs can sense danger and, they often times know when to protect their owners and loved ones. However, when their owner is in the wrong, they can notice this, too. Recently, Bored Panda shared the story of a woman who was sexually assaulted by her boss, and how his dog came to her rescue.

The woman in question worked for a man as his personal assistant and often times, took care of his dog. She found out about the job from her dad, who was a colleague of the man in question.

“I learned about this job through my father as he occasionally works for this man, and he adores my dad’s work and persona. My boss is an older gentleman and has recently become single which leaves him in need of help either around the house, driving him, or walking his dog. I first met my boss in May of this year when I tagged along with my dad to renovate his kitchen. On my off days from my other job at the time, I would help my dad with his work despite being a girl.”

Obviously, after she gave the dog so much love and affection, they developed a bond.

When there’s a dog in the room, I give all my attention to the good boy or girl. The main duty in my job description was to take care of this man’s dog: walk her, feed her, play with her. I bonded with her when we first met and we reconnected around 2 weeks ago. She’s very sweet and always wants affection which I provide.

The woman shared that when she started working for him, things were normal. She had barely been working for him for a week when things got really inappropriate.

The first two days were normal because I still did not see any red flags and things were going great. Now my boss is a man who always gives hugs to ANYONE he greets. Male, female, child. So I didn’t think anything weird of it until I started to feel his hand brushing against my thighs, my hips, my lower back… Then it got to the point where he wouldn’t let me go from a hug and hold me in place and despite my protest, he combated it with, ‘don’t worry, I know you enjoy it.’ He had liked to make comments on my body and say how he enjoyed viewing me. I usually tried to laugh it off and walk away because I’m not a confronting person and am scared to hurt other’s feelings.

One day, the man took things way too far.

I was sitting on the sofa tying my shoes with the dog laying by my feet and I became surprised when I suddenly felt hands pulling on my hips. I moved forward and told him no. He came around the sofa and started walking straight towards me saying how he’s going to ‘tickle’ me.

She called on the help of the man’s dog.

I panicked and called the dog’s name along with, ‘help me’ or ‘protect me’ to distract him for a little longer before he touched me again. To my surprise, she got up and stood guard growling & barking at him. He was surprised but also laughing and told me to make her stand down and reward her by saying ‘good girl.’ My boss then walked away and didn’t touch me for the rest of the time I was there.

She shared that the dog is around 95 pounds and big, especially can be intimidating when angry. She was, however, surprised that the dog would disobey their owner.

I’m not an expert on dog behavior and I don’t understand why a dog would disobey its master over someone it barely knows. But from what I have gathered, dogs have a tendency to protect those in distress so she probably detected something was wrong and that I was panicking. Some people could say that she may ‘feel his wrath’ after disobeying him, but he really loves his dog and I don’t see any signs of an abused animal. She’s just as healthy and bright as I met her.

Unfortunately, the woman in question has not been able to quit the job. She revealed she lives paycheck to paycheck and has nothing lined up yet. She also needs the benefits. But, people online have some advice for her.