This world needs to change

Every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted.

In this world the word “no” is not taken seriously. When you take off our clothes and we say “no” that’s considered harassment. When you touch us and we say “don’t,” that’s considered sexual assault. When you decide to have sex with a woman and she does not give consent, that’s considered rape.

Women have the right to stand up and get justice for what you put us through. When you decide that it’s OK to rape someone, you are taking away our control and giving us trauma that we will never forget. Women shouldn’t have to worry about what they wear out in public; women are not asking to get raped. Leave us alone.

There are more than 800,000 cases of suicide every year, and more than half are women who were victims of sexual assault. Women are not play toys, we were not put on this Earth to be used for men’s sexual pleasure. As women we need to stick together and stand up for ourselves. As a 15-year-old survivor of sexual assault, this world needs to change.

Kaitlyn Lambert

Spokane