Imagine this you are in school and there is someone you like you don’t know whether you’ve made it clear or whether they you are really dying for some attention from that person. Lately you’ve noticed that person has been hanging around you a does that person know you wonder. They also have been touching you a lot you try and make it clear that you are not interested but they continue. You try and tell an adult and they say that the person likes you. Is this Sexual Harassment? Yes it is whether you or others think that it isn’t. Sexual Harassment needs to be addressed as the serious issue that it is. The only way that we can prevent it from happening is by education people need to be informed of the environment that we live in and how sexual assault is just accepted and not combatted. That is what we need to educate people about.

Sexual Harassment is an issue that up to now has been glossed over and forgotten about. Sexual Harassment or any form of sexual assault is devastating but beyond the actual grueling incident the effects are truly worse than the incident. In an article by Rachel Rettner it was said that youth victims of sexual harassment were very likely to experience some form of depression later on in their lives. Sexual Harassment has even went beyond leaving negative effects on victims it has begun affecting people close to victims and bystanders. In an area where sexual harassment has occurred a cold and hostile environment is created causing decreased work ethic at school or at work eventually leading to victims and others to either quit jobs or school. Sexual Harassment if the proper punishment is not taken victims may buy into the idea that they are trashy. Or s***s which makes allows victims to be consumed by the negativity of rape culture. Beyond depression sexual harassment may have another major mental illness and that Is PTSD ( Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). In the same article by Rachel Rettner she said that in a study done about military victims of sexual harassment it found that victims were more likely to get PTSD from sexual harassment than a military expedition. This reinforces the idea that youth victims of sexual harassment can get PTSD and it can severely affect their lives.

Victims of sexual harassment may face all these emotional and mental effects but does not begin to explain the physical tolls it can have on your body. One major physical issue is elevated blood pressure. In a study including 1,200 union workers they all had elevated blood pressure but the catch was that they all reported incidents of sexual harassment. With the results of this study researchers found a direct correlation between elevated blood pressure and sexual harassment. Researchers also found that sexual harassment triggered reactions such as stress and reactions like those added on with elevated blood pressure can significantly raise the risk for Cardiovascular Disease. Sexual Harassment also affects sleep it causes sleep disturbances and the reason is said to be that the stress and anxiety of the event is the reason and those two factors can also be the reason for nightmares. One reason that sexual harassment is so common is because of rape culture. Rape Culture is the acceptance and tolerance of sexual assault and sexual violence. Whether you know it or not rape culture is part of our everyday lives and will continue to be unless we do something about it. It is in our schools because our dress codes are made on the basis that girls dress for boys and we should make sure that what a girl is wearing doesn't sexually arouse every boy within a 5 mile radius instead we should be teaching that boys should not sexualize girls. Girls are not allowed to be sexual beings because when they are our society calls them w****s, s***s, tramps, and etc. Pop culture adds on because pop culture makes sexual assault and violence into a glamorous thing. We can all see the harrowing and devastating effects it has on our youth and adults so why do we continue to let this happen. We need to say no this climate of sexism which leads to sexual assault and embrace that any form of sexual assault is not the victims fault. In an unknown study it was said that three fifths of men saw sexual harassment as not that big of a deal. What does that say to you? It really brings into question do these people even know the repercussions of these heinous offenses. I have a personal encounter with sexual harassment because three of my friends were sexually harassed really horribly and the school district did not punish him because they said there was insufficient evidence the evidence was three testimonies from the three victims testimonies from me and another witness but still it was deemed insufficient evidence and that is because the system is built against victims and continuously finds ways to deem sexual harassment as acceptable. Why is the fate of our youth left up to some bureaucrats who care about nothing but their money?  We need to stand up and decide our fate for ourselves. Is it not surprising to anyone that the acceptance is based on our political climate. Sexual Harassment has been around forever so why are people only talking about it now. People are angry at the system the system is built to destroy the disenfranchised which is us. Sexual Harassment is just not ok so why is it that ?ths of men think that it is ok that is actually sickening. And another thing is that sexual harassment perpetrators are in a overwhelming majority male nearly 99% of all cases where male. Now is statistic correct or is it that sexual harassment is not recognized when it is the other way around. Now beyond males it is white males 6 in 10 of all perpetrators were white males. Sexual Harassment seems to stemming in certain communities should we focusing on only those communities or everyone. That is a serious question we need to think about.

In Conclusion, Sexual Harassment is a serious issue that we need to combat with education. It needs to stop being viewed as a non serious issue because it is a serious issue and has negative effects that might even be worse than the actual incident. We need to combat rape culture and inform people about the truly devastating effects of sexual harassment. People need to be informed about the environment and political climate and how that influences what happens people need to know what sexual harassment is because that is the only way we can stop any form of sexual assault or harassment.