The talk of sexual assault has focused on the effects and fears that occur to men and women on a day to day basis. For many women this fear shapes the way we live our lives. Things simple as walking down the street, getting into a car, and getting the mail is a hurdle. At a young age we’re taught to avoid strangers and at any cost older men, all out of fear of being assaulted.

Growing up I feared any man on the street that looked remotely mad or angry. My mother always taught me ways of how to get out of an uncomfortable situation that can lead me to harm. She had to go out of her way to teach her daughter to never sit in the middle of an airplane seat with two men, to never walk in an empty parking lot at night, to always ignore the men who holler at you in the street, and never in any circumstances do what they tell you.

Girls are taught a young age to learn these things, and it’s only a fraction of the accommodations we have to make all in order to live our lives safely. We carry things like pepper spray, whistles, pocket knives, our keys in between our fingers all to protect ourselves from a possible predator. Walking out of a store at night we ask friends or security guards to walk us to our own car to feel safer. We shouldn’t be having to do these things in order to live a safe and healthy life.

Women and young girls shouldn’t be having to take masses amounts of safeties to protect themselves. As a society we should be aware of the struggles and hardships women go through. Being aware of these issues can help educate and teach others to respect women in not only the workplace but in the public.

Senior Jessica Jones, shares her experience being harassed, “I would get harassed mostly by freshmen and sophomores, because a lot of the guys are immature and just didn’t care. I some what get annoyed by it but at the same time high school boys harass their guy friends so it’s understandable that they have this mentality that it’s just okay to touch people.”

Along with Jessica, senior Harmony Johnson shares her times of being cat called, “There’s times where I’ve been cat called and it’s obviously uncomfortable but I usually have to keep a straight face to ignore them.”