“Abuse is not a mistake. A mistake is a lapse in judgment. Forgetting to silence your phone during a movie is a mistake. Ordering curry from a Thai restaurant without any reviews on yelp? Mistake. Abuse is a CONCIOUS DECISION. Stop making excuses for abusers.”— Franchesca Ramsey, twitter.com
“There is no shame in being a victim of sexual violence. Shame belongs to the perpetrator alone.”— Dani Bostick, twitter.com
“Sexual violence does not happen in a vacuum and victims do not suffer in a vacuum. First, a perpetrator commits an unspeakable act, then individuals and organizations embolden perpetrators & discredit the victim by creating an alternate narrative of disbelief and doubt.”— Dani Bostick, twitter.com
“Perpetrators commit the sexual assault, yet the victims are the ones punished, discredited, and questioned.”— Dani Bostick, twitter.com
“My hope is that we create a world where it is safe and comfortable to disclose sexual violence. But that cannot happen as long as organizations & individuals enable perpetrators at the expense of survivors -- past, present & future.”— Dani Bostick, twitter.com
“Let me make this simple: If you hear about sexual violence and your reaction is to impugn the survivor's character and make baseless assumptions about the victim's motives, you're doing it wrong.”— Dani Bostick, twitter.com
“Women have been speaking up for years about harassment and abuse. 'Me Too' has just created cover for those who didn’t feel safe enough to speak up. The movement didn’t *create* the concept of speaking out. it just allowed people to hear us better as a chorus and not a solo.”— Tarana Burke, twitter.com
“The movement is about people owning their truth and releasing the shame associated with sexual violence. That is not a NEW concept. What’s new is that there is some accountability now.”— Tarana Burke, twitter.com
“Too many survivors try to report, but are ignored, invalidated, or even attacked by people in a position to help. That response sends the message that abuse is not a big deal, which is sometimes easier to believe than facing the true horror of sexual violence.”— Dani Bostick, twitter.com
“Sexual violence does not happen in a vacuum and victims do not suffer in a vacuum. First, a perpetrator commits an unspeakable act, then individuals and organizations embolden perpetrators & discredit the victim by creating an alternate narrative of disbelief and doubt.”— Dani Bostick, twitter.com
“There’s lots of online information about sexual violence, but there’s not a lot of information about how you as an individual can start dealing with the trauma.”— Tarana Burke, glamour.com
“If we’re ever going to heal in our community, we have to heal the perpetrators and heal the survivors, or else it’s just a continuous cycle.”— Tarana Burke, thenation.com
“That’s another reason why I center black and brown girls. There are nuances in our community around sexual violence that are informed by centuries of oppression and white supremacy, but we have to confront them.”— Tarana Burke, thenation.com
“Being an awkward girl with a big nose never protected me from harassment. If anything, especially when you're young, not being 'conventionally attractive' can mean you're treated as if you should be grateful for the attention. I know it makes some women feel safer if they attack other's choices - th…”— Jessica Valenti, twitter.com
“It’s really frustrating to watch women decry sexual violence and harassment unless their friend has been accused. Then, suddenly there’s more to the story.”— Roxane Gay, twitter.com
“I wish women didn’t have to rip our pasts open and show you everything and let you ogle our pain for you to believe us.”— Lindy West, latimes.com