ELISE (2nd year)

“I was really inspired by the “Me Too” movement. As a sexual assault survivor, this movement helped me to feel supported and acknowledged for my own experience. The fact that women were openly talking about it made me realize that I wasn’t the only one, that it wasn’t this detached experience but that I could be heard. It really encouraged me to talk about it with people around me, and I don’t think I would have said something if I hadn’t realized it was such an important issue that could be talked about and taken seriously. I guess it also helped many people to realize that you never know what the person in front of you has experienced and that we need to be more careful about what we consider as ‘normal’ nowadays. Rape culture is a big part of our society, and no one should think that ‘when girls get drunk, things get easier,’ or that rape jokes are appropriate. As most women are said to have experienced any type of sexual harassment and sexual assault, I believe that providing a proper sexual education about consent at a younger age would make a huge difference, and would definitely reduce this constant threat.

I believe sexism does exist and still has real consequences in today’s society. Things such as the wage gap, street harassment, sexual assault, and domestic violence are very present in women’s everyday life. People tend to forget that most women are impacted, which sometimes results in very careless remarks or even the normalization of such issues. Feminism is often presented as this dirty word, with a negative association to it. But it’s a reality that concerns everyone and I think that through open conversations, we can acknowledge this societal issue altogether.

As of today, I’m still learning about it in my own time and I try to inform people on my Instagram so as to address these issues more directly. In the future I hope to be more involved in feminist organizations and deal with the lack of education about consent which exacerbates the whole issue.”

(Elise, 2nd year, Chile)