26 okt The straightforward is never quite what it seems,

Not exactly sure what the title means, to me or to you. I guess .. Well, I guess .. When I travel, I get to spend a lot of time by myself and my mind, at certain moments, just simply switches to an automatic philosophical mode. Especially when I get the chance to read great books. And that’s exactly what I did in New York City. As you might know there are all kinds of bookstores hidden in Manhattan and one of them offered a one dollar, orange, paperback. ‘Unreported’ immediately grabbed my attention and I’m glad it did.

Once I travel,

I obviously find myself in different places, surrounded by different people, in touch with different cultures and encircled by strangers. Oh, and I don’t want to jinx anything, but I forgot to add ‘submerged in luck’. The main reason I tattooed ‘angel’, in Arabic handwriting, on my right shoulder. At the age of thirty I came to the understanding that I was lucky in life. Very lucky in life. It occurred to me that while traveling to all kinds of places, making decisions, good and bad .. I’d always made it home safe.

The human behind the headlines,

Sexual violence is what the orange paperback was all about. A taboo topic. A difficult topic. One that brings out opinions combined with judgement faster than the cars of Dominic Toretto. The people that have endured sexual violence often view others casual and relaxed behavior in a way they no longer know how to be. Something was taken. I don’t really think that I am able to wrap my mind around it in the most accurate way .. Because think of it, it’s impossible if you have never endured it yourself.

Don’t speak with certainty about things that you could never imagine,

Because if you do, dialogue is off the table. Even though sexual violence in all its forms is a taboo topic, it needs dialogue. It’s a topic that needs conversations that aren’t necessarily more complex, just more free. Without the uncomfortable pause where one another realizes they’ve stepped over an invisible etiquette line. Conversations without judgement: “If that would’ve happened to me, I would’ve definitely reported it”, well fun fact, you don’t know. Kaley Roberts uncovers why 75% of people do not, I repeat DO NOT, report sexual violence. Just take a moment will you .. If sexual violence is being described as an injury, just like a cut, what would be the first thing you would do? Stelp the bleeding, right? And let it heal. Kaley also compares sexual assault with an actual invasion. Like I’ve already said, something gets taken and that something is the control of your own body.

People only see the truth if it is close enough to their own reality,

“Cheer up, love, it might never happen to you.” Oh no my love. Be aware, constantly, ‘cause it is out there. Still. Not entirely sure if the cancel culture really works. Also, something Kaley writes about. The doubt that the actual victim carries with him or her, is often incomprehensible. And once they let doubt creep in, the cancel culture and the exposure that goes with it, influences the entire decision of reporting the assault or not.

So, a friendly reminder: 75% of people that get assaulted don’t report. And statistics show that with each assault the possibility of that actual person committing another assault, repeating what he or she already did, is most likely.

Source: Unreported – Kaley Roberts | MUST-READ, how can we combat sexual assault