Sometimes, all it takes is one tweet.
On 8 October 2016, The Washington Post released a 2005 video in which Donald Trump talks about forcing himself on women. Trump tried to brush aside the shocking remarks as “locker-room banter”.
The leak can potentially damage Donald Trump’s presidency. It also prompted Kelly Oxford, a Canadian best-selling author, to ask women about their first sexual assault to combat the stereotype of "locker-room banter".
She ended up getting about 1,800 responses in an hour. By midnight on 8 Octobe, she had received around 8.5 million replies.
At the Doctor’s, In School, At Home... Assault is Not Just “Locker-Room Banter”
Trump described his lewd comments as “locker-room banter" between men. But many people, including the women who came out with their sexual assault stories, said it was reflective of an ingrained psyche of a rapist.
Also Read: QSatire: Five Places You Thought Are Rape-Free... But Aren’t
The anonymity of a tweet and the support offered by other Twitter users led to a storm of responses from across the world.
What was interesting to note was that sexual assault was reported almost everywhere, even in seemingly safe spaces like at home, at work or in a family gathering.
The Quint’s ‘Call to Action’ Sparks a Response
Noticing a lack of an India-specific context in most of the experiences being shared by sexual assault survivors, The Quint decided to ask Indian women to share their experiences.
Some women chose to write to us about their experiences.
On a train between Jaisalmer to Delhi, I was woken up in the middle of the night by a man who grabbed my ass. At first I thought it might have been a mistake, but when he touched me two more times I knew I wasn’t imagining things. I yelled at him, then spent the rest of the night scared he would try it again.
If you wish to share your experience of everyday sexual assault in India, tweet to us @TheQuint with #notokay. Or you could write to us anonymously on our Facebook page or Whatsapp us at +91 9910181818.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)