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And with blood dripping from his hands.
He faced a jury of his peers, looked at them imploringly.
She was asking for it, with her come hither eyes and her stab worthy clothing.
She clearly wanted his blade to go through her heart.
He says, I am not responsible for my actions when she tempted me so.
Watching from the gallery, I cannot decide which is worse.
That his excuse is so pathetic, or that the jury are on his side.
Around the world watch many stab victims, wounds in various stages of healing.
As one, we cry. Once again being told that our very existence was to blame for our injuries.
Once again, held responsible for the actions of another.
Look what your justice does to us, and tell me how it is just.
Was Lincoln responsible for his own death, sitting there without bullet proof clothing as he was?
Was John Lennon to blame for his death, having signed his name so provocatively to David Chapman?
A horde of broken people are more broken each time the people who uphold the law tell us we are to blame.
We wore too little, we were alone, wore the wrong underwear, too drunk, too much bra strap showing.
We were not actually stabbed, but for the pain that feels like a thousand knives at once.
Our wounds open some more each time a judge passes a non-guilty verdict for a guilty person.
We build jail cells in our own heads, keeping locked in all feeling, all trust, our old selves.
And then you ask why we don't report people more.

Closeyclo you write so beautifully. I am fed up of people saying it’s the females fault because of what she wears. Our school even teach our daughters this. On none uniform days my daughter’s school as a long list of what they can’t wear like spaghetti straps or shorts because it might cause the male teachers problems. How is that right they are working in a school and can’t cope with a young girl in spaghetti straps in the summer

Booklover wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:18 am Closeyclo you write so beautifully. I am fed up of people saying it’s the females fault because of what she wears. Our school even teach our daughters this. On none uniform days my daughter’s school as a long list of what they can’t wear like spaghetti straps or shorts because it might cause the male teachers problems. How is that right they are working in a school and can’t cope with a young girl in spaghetti straps in the summer

Agree with feeling fed up with that too Booklover! As a society we have a terrible way of treating those who are brave enough to come forward, but we have a terrible way of treating (particularly girls) in general in teaching them from an early age that things as arbitrary as their clothing can be responsible for the despicable actions of others. We start victim blaming before there are even victims. Its disgusting. And it's a poor excuse - if those males cannot control their urges they ought to find themselves a different profession! I hope to be part of the discourse that aims to change societies attitude as a whole towards this!