My mother in law calling me and asking me for our marriage certificate. Why can’t my husband provide it? Why must the burden of proof always rest on the woman?

My local vet hands me my small dog back after her examination and insists on brushing my breasts when he does this. He hides it very well and because of that I had never been able to speak up or say “don’t do that please”. When he escorted me out of the examination room he put his hand on my lower back. Thats when I noticed it wasn’t a silly mistake, which was what I had been telling myself every time he did it. The reason I haven’t said anything to him is I feel I would be a bitch to make him, the vet, look bad but I would be far happier going home and crying at my weak attempt at protecting my dignity.

“Sex education” at the turn of the millenium – what a joke. While the boys went off separately with one of the male teachers and apparently had a great time, the girls got a lecture about crossing our legs when sitting at school because “male teachers had complained about the distraction”, about “not laughing or being too affectionate with friends in public because you look like an easy target”, and about how “it’s the girl’s responsibility to make sure things don’t go too far, because boys can’t control themselves”. I hope things have changed but am not optimistic.

I’m a single female home owner surrounded by homes owned mostly by male heads of household. Whether I am home or away, my home’s boundary is constantly being invaded by these male home owners who think that they can do whatever they want to my property simply because: 1) I am a single Asian female, and 2) I do not have a man to tell them off otherwise. They have taken my trash bin from within my property for their own use, thrown their garbage in my backyard during their parties for fun, constantly parked in front of my property driveway, and used it as extra road space since most of their numerous vehicles are parked along the curbs of the entire neighborhood, and not inside garages where vehicles normally belong. None of these harassments ever took place when my grandfather lived in this house. All of these macho bullying behaviors came about after they found out my grandfather went on vacation. The absence if a male in this household has made me a target of sexist bullying. Respect is only among the males, and since I am not one, I am a free for all. This male behavior is fascinating in that these male heads of household are showing their “maleness” to their families by bullying a single female home owner, sans the grandfather. What are they teaching their wives,and most especially,their daughters? That females cannot survive alone? Cannot be home owners/heads of household? That women “need” men to provide the roof over their heads? In my opinion, the fact that I am a single female home owner threatens their pathetic view of women. I sucker punch them everyday that I go about my life in my home.

I always felt safe in my area..until one day.In my area we are all friends I would say…We are knew each other so I never thought anyone would do something like this. They was a new guy in town,he was someone’s cousin. I was jogging like I often do,he walked by me and grabbed my butt and said “Nice ass! Wanna come party with me?”.I tried to get away but her wouldn’t let me leave.He would say things like “Come on! Lets have some fun!” I told him “No!” but he wouldn’t let go.I kicked him the balls and ran as fast as I could.A week later he left and I reported him…But no one did anything not even the family of the man.I was 14.What kind of man would hit on a 14 year old!? I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe in that area ever again.

Your story sums up everything that happens at university. (Or what Americans call college.) I started university in 1984 in a really sexist campus of the University of Florida. It horrifies me that 34 years later you have to put up with the same horse crap that I had to tolerate. I thought UF is just a backwater place (despite a student body of 35,000 people). NO sexism has no age no boundries no sense. It is everywhere.

My classmate has basically been harassing me all year and nobody seems to believe me. They all claim he has a crush and he’s and mice guy and all. But the guy follows me, insults me, touches me, gaslights me. I’ve told him repeatedly to leave me alone. I’ve repeatedly told people around me that he’s bothering me and harassing me and they just look at me like I’m crazy. Besides him I get groped, pushed around, held against my will by almost every other male classmate I have. Yesterday one of them locked me in a room filled with other guys and said, “someone break the ice. Let’s have fun, who’s first” how could he not see that was insane

While running along quite a busy main road of my town, the owner of a bakkie driving along began shouting at me out his window as he drove, forcing me to jump out the way to avoid being hit. He was driving at about 70-80km/hr and I know that if he had hit me, I would have been seriously injured or quite easily killed. While I’ve experienced catcalling and prolonged staring by men I’ve run past, this is beyond unacceptable behaviour. I run with mace and the mindset of being continously conscious of my surroundings, but how am I supposed to protect myself from something like this?

My first serious boyfriend would often tell me that he had had sex with other partners before we started dating. I was 15-16 and a virgin. I felt really pressured by him. One day I gave in, but I wasn’t ready and I soon pushed him off and started crying. I went for a walk and returned to find he had stolen a bottle of vodka and downed it. He spent the afternoon in a pile of tears, snot and vomit on his knees gripping my legs. He confessed that he had been a virgin all along. I felt so manipulated. I wish I had been wiser and left him. The relationship lasted a few years and got worse. I was lucky my mom put me on the pill, he refused to wear a condom. He got another girl pregnant.

When I was 21, I got raped by a boy who was helped by his 4friends to pin me down, while he beat and raped me, meanwhile they robbed me of my phone and left me there with him in a huge dark field. I did not want to report it, because I was ashamed and I had had the misfortune of having to deal with the South African police department 2years earlier on an attempted rape charge, where a boy who lived in the same student accommodation as I did, broke into my room in the middle of the night, ripped my clothes off, strangled me & announced that he was there to rape me…… I thank God that I managed to get away from him and let’s just say, nothing came of that…. So with this guy who managed to get it right the second time around (I guess) he got a 5year suspended sentence and house arrest… that’s it. I still bump into him on the street from time to time. Forgiven him? Sure…. Confused about what justice actually is? Most definitely… Oh well. Jesus heals everything:) God bless you for creating this platform. I learned a long time ago that the truth will always set you free, but 1st, it will piss you off.