May The Odds Be In Your Favor

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

What do you say when no isn't enough,
What do you do, when actions aren't heard--
And if the odds are not in your favor
How do find yourself when the situation is lost?

If the blame fell on you, simply because
No one believed the betrayal you claimed
And your motives were questioned
Your entire life placed on display
For the world to examine...

How do you cope when the world
Is still deciding what is and isn't--
What you should and shouldn't feel
If you are or aren't responsible,
And the odds are not in your favor?

Do you scream, do you fight,
Do you lock the pain away in a secret box
And hide your shame from prying eyes--
Suffer in silence to avoid the world?

Do you ever become whole again?
If the odds were never in your favor?

Photocredit: Awareness Gallery

References

1. "Sexual Assault Awareness Month". National Sexual Violence Resource Center; visited April 2014
2. "Violence Prevention". CDC. 2012
3. Soraya Chemaly. "50 Actual Facts About Rape". Huffington Post. October 26, 2012
4. Carrie L. Lukas. "One In Four Rape Myths Do Injustice Too". Independent Women's Foruml visited April 2014.
5. "Sexual Assault Fact Sheet from". Office on Women's Health; visited April 2014
6. Michael Winerip. "Stepping Up to Stop Sexual Assault". NY Times. February 7, 2014
7. "Recovering From Sexual Assault". Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network; visited April 2014
8. Emily Yoffe. "College Women: Stop Getting Drunk". Slate. October 2013