General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: ?- is there a woman here at DU who has not experienced sexual violence? [View all]LiberalEsto
(22,845 posts)I escaped because my roommate heard my yells, opened the door of our dorm room and locked it behind me. We pushed dressers against the wall and leaned on them as he pounded on the door. I yelled, "Get out or I'll call the cops." He left.
This was in 1970, when women were afraid to report rapes for fear of being accused of leading guys on. I felt bad that I didn't report it, and remained ashamed of not reporting the incident for many years.
In the 1990s I met Marty Langelan at a women's self-defense workshop in Maryland. She was collecting stories for a book on women successfully fighting off rapists, and used my story, though she changed my name. She told me I should feel proud that I fought back and got away. The book is called "Back Off", but I don't know if it's still in print. http://www.amazon.com/Back-Off-Confront-Harassment-Harassers/dp/0671788566?tag=duckduckgo-d-20