Whenever I speak out against sexual harassment, rape, abuse, and other forms of gender discrimination, the response will always be a sly smile, along with the question: "You were raped, weren't you?" They like to nod their heads all-knowingly, as if to say, "I know your type. You wouldn't be this way if you were lucky enough to be one of the girls totally unaffected by this."

There are so many things about that type of response that bug me, especially because it seems to suggest there are some women who have never experienced any forms of gender discrimination. Well, that's just not true. Every person on this planet is affected by some form of gender discrimination, some so subtle or so ingrained in the culture that they don't even notice it.

Take sexual harassment in my home country of Malaysia, for example. Many is the time I've heard people (both male and female) excuse the men who honk their car while I walk to work saying, "Boys will be boys." Once, when I related to a male acquaintance the story of how my younger sister was manhandled in a club, he responded, "Well, I've met your sister, and she does send out those signals, so what do you expect?"

When I attended a recent workshop on writing issues relating to women's rights, I heard much more stories relating to sexual harassment from the participants. Everyone in the workshop was, like myself, a young woman. When it came to my turn to talk about my life experiences, I was stunned to realise I was crying whilst I recounted the sexual harassment I'd experienced back at secondary school. I thought I'd left behind being the school slut when I left high school, but then the Wise Words of The Jocks started ringing in my ears: "Once a slut, always a slut." The sexual rumours spread about me so damaged my self-esteem at the time it took me ages to pick myself up. The way my body was treated like open territory made me desire to act as prudish as possible. Today, I know I will never apologise for my sexuality, but the guard's still there; whenever I encounter someone I went to high school with, I feel as though any questions are too intrusive, and my response is always vague, disconnected.

A few days into the workshop, five of us sat around the table and started discussion on forming a group against sexual harassment in a learning environment; Tiara, out of personal interest, later opted to join. We all knew that sexual harassment was not a workplace myth, and that young people are affected by it, and in a learning environment, too. We could see that so long as there was gender inequality, people would continue to be stereotyped based on their perceived sexuality.

Students Against Sexual Harassment committed themselves to offering information about sexual harassment in a learning environment; to offer support to those encountering such harassment; to make available to any interested parties resources relating to sexual harassment in a learning environment; and to fight for an end to the gender inequality that exists in our world.

We want to hear what you have to say on sexual harassment, as well as gender equality in general; we want youth power to be very much evident on this blog and we want you to know that sexual harassment does not have to happen. Sexual harassment is not just a problem for those against whom it's perpetrated; it directly impacts everyone of either gender. SASH very much looks forward to your thoughts on this project, and look forward to some interesting contributions and talks. You can contact us at my.sash@gmail.com for any information regarding our policies.

Dahlia
Administrator

The world has never yet seen a truly great and virtuous nation because in the degradation of woman the very fountains of life are poisoned at their source. - Lucretia Mott