Boys Like You

Thank You

THANK YOU:
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An update as of 28/3/20-
I sent my version of Jack the letter. This is a massive step for me and I honestly can't believe it. He responded very well indeed which is all I could've asked for really. Thank you for the support I received from you all!

Firstly, I would like to say a huge thank you to anyone who has read, commented or voted on this short story. As it is so autobiographical, this short story has a lot of personal and profound meaning to me. Very few people from my everyday life will be able to read this as I would rather they do not know the true extent to which my experiences have affected me. Therefore, I am hugely grateful to anyone who has read this; I hope you will forgive some unsophisticated language or grammar as some of it is a real conversation or letter that I wrote.

Secondly, I would like to reiterate that, if anyone has been through something similar and is looking for support, I am more than happy to talk to you and provide support or advice or just a friendly ear. If you have experienced anything similar, I'd like to say that it is not your fault. The media, among other things, can often portray sexual assault as the fault of the victim, whether it's blaming their outfit or their mannerisms, victims are often blamed. I'd like to express that this is not the case. Sexual assault is not a choice. If you have loved ones who have experienced it, please be mindful of this and that they may indeed be blaming themself, thinking that it would not have happened if they had done something differently.

This book is not designed to downplay rape, and other forms of sexual assault as none of it should be accepted or ignored. This is just the story of one person. It is our responsibility as a society as a whole to ensure that, one day, people of all walks of life, of all races and all genders can live knowing that they will never have to experience sexual assault, or that they can be sure that their attacker is punished and that they do not have to live in fear anymore. It is our responsibility to ensure that we're doing more than giving them support links and phone numbers. We need to be the ones to ensure that nobody takes their own lives because of what they have been through. We need to recognise that men can be sexually assaulted and raped too. The inclusion of the word 'penetration' in the law against rape in the UK means that only one woman has ever been to jail for raping a man when many others have been raped too. This means that there are men out there who have to live with knowing that their attacker is free to go about their daily life. This is not acceptable. Marriage is not consent. A husband or a wife can still be raped by their partner, even if they are in a relationship. Marriage and a relationship is not consent. Anyone of any gender or size can be raped, and we need to make sure that they get the support that they need and deserve. So please, take on board this message. Not everyone will want to talk about their experience, and that's okay, they definitely should not be made to. But they should know that they can talk if they want to. They should know that they have the love and support of friends and family to fall back on. They should not live in fear. They should not feel the need to take their own life.

Thank you again for reading. I hope it was an enjoyable read, if not educational and eye-opening. The support I have had so far has been overwhelming. I am over the moon that this story is having its desired impact on readers. Thank you to those who have said such kind words of support for me. I'll admit that posting this story was genuinely terrifying, but I'm so glad that I did.