I Experienced Physical Sexual Harassment for the First Time and It Destroyed Me

We stay quiet about the things that we need to raise our voices most about. For the first time today, I experienced physical sexual harassment in the unwelcoming streets of my country. I was walking with my friend, and out of the blue, he touched me. I swear, my mind went blank, empty. I stood still, unable to move or speak, the only thing that came out of me were screams and cries, and by the time I acknowledged what had just happened, he flew off on his tuktuk.

I felt naked and alienated. I wanted to drown beneath the cores of the Earth. I can still feel his disgusting grope. It destroyed me. My skin burned from his touch, it ignited a fire of anger towards him, if only I could have reacted faster and shot him with my resentment. Oh God, the things I could have done and said. But I did not and it is killing me. The “what if” thoughts are screaming in my head, trying to defeat me. I have a flowing rage of anger inside of me and there is nowhere else to explode but here. The only way to seek revenge for every girl who has been unwillingly touched or forced to hear sickening words is to speak out. Use your voice for those who fear uttering a bit of their experience. Our silence reassures the continuance existence of sexual harassment in the streets of our country, supposedly our secure homeland. 

For the rest of the day I’ve heard a fair share of filthy stories from family and friends about their own experience of sexual harassment. It is beyond me how unfinished we let these stories end without fighting back. Please fight back. Please don’t walk away. There is so much you can do and don’t you dare think that it is your fault or believe anyone who thinks you’re overreacting, you have the right to feel however way you feel!

WE SAID THIS: If you experience sexual harassment or witness it, please pick up a rock and throw it at the harasser. Please don’t let them run. Please don’t let them get away with it.