Who knew Trump could be so inspiring? After a series of moronic tweets about sexual assault, many survivors are finally reaching out to get help.
The whole thing started when Dr. Christine Blasey Ford bravely came forward with her story of sexual assault at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. In case you’ve been living under a rock, the incident happened in high school while the two were at a party. When Kavanaugh was initially nominated by Trump, Blasey Ford wrote to Senator Diane Feinstein to share her story:
“Kavanaugh physically pushed me into a bedroom as I was headed for a bathroom up a short stairwell from the living room. They locked the door and played loud music precluding any successful attempt to yell for help. …Kavanaugh was on top of me while laughing with REDACTED, who periodically jumped onto Kavanaugh. They both laughed as Kavanaugh tried to disrobe me in their highly inebriated state. With Kavanaugh’s hand over my mouth, I feared he may inadvertently kill me.”
Since going public, she’s received numerous attacks from members of the GOP, including Mr. Trump himself, who tweeted:
“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. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!”
This is, of course, a completely idiotic statement. According to the stats, 7 in 10 victims don’t report their rape or sexual assault to the police for many reasons, including fear of retribution or not being believed, not knowing if it technically counted as rape, being too young to understand what happened, and more.
After Trump’s tweet, many women took to Twitter to share their own stories of why they didn’t come forward with their own assault. But more importantly, many victims decided to finally reach out for help.
According to RAINN, the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the U.S., calls to their hotline increased by a full 42%.
Since receiving an increase in calls, RAINN has started out tweeting advice on managing flashbacks and self-care.
To learn more about RAINN and how you can get involved, check out their website here.
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