Throughout British history, women have always been portrayed as having a lower social status than men. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that women could even vote in an election which proves this societal divide.
You might think that in the 21st century we have forgotten and moved on from these inequalities so that women can be treated fairly in Britain. However, this is not the case.
An article published by The Guardian mentioned that 97% of women aged 18-24 believe that they have been sexually harassed.
This shows that men have the tendency to forget about women’s feelings, and many are in denial about this, an example being the #notallmen trend on Twitter shortly after this research was released.
The point of showing this statistic was to send a message that the way women are treated in society needs to change. But by getting defensive about the message, some men are making it more difficult to get this message across.
Now is the time for men to listen to women and learn about what makes us feel uncomfortable.
The poor treatment of women has been seen recently in the media itself, with the hatred thrown at Meghan Markle after she married Prince Harry.
Are people scared of a woman having power? Are they frightened that Meghan is not afraid to use her voice?
In my opinion, society needs to become more accepting when women choose to voice their opinions on a topic they feel passionate about, whether it be about harassment, their sexual health or general female empowerment.
In an article written by openaccesswomen.com, it was stated that 96% of the 97% said they would not report their experience of harassment because they didn’t believe it would change anything.
This is exactly why they should report it.
If more women speak out about their troubles and their experience of harassment, people will at least begin to understand the problem that we are facing as a society.
Now that more attention is being drawn to the way women are being treated by men, there is a great opportunity for women to start speaking out. It is crucial to keep this momentum going so that people don’t forget that this is still an issue.
This statistic should not become another social media trend.
Edited by Victoria Sales