Readers share horrific #MeToo stories
Readers have shared #MeToo stories that range from shocking to horrific, leaving deep emotional scars and the fear/shame of not being believed. As a result, many have never before told their stories:
#MeToo: “I was in my mid-20s walking towards Ottawa’s Parliament Hill for some Canada Day festivities, among crowds of people.
“A drunk man of similar age passed me walking in the opposite direction and pulled my shirt down. I was wearing a halter top without a bra, so he exposed my bare breasts and nipples to an entire crowd in broad daylight — maximizing my humiliation.
“I lost him in the crowd and couldn’t confront him. This was a decade ago. He may be a father now.
“I hope he reads this and realizes that what he did was sexual assault, not a funny drunken prank.”
#MeToo: “When I was a young married woman in the early 1970s, I came home from work to find my husband playing poker with some friends.
“He ( jokingly, I thought) said he’d wagered me in a hand and lost, so I’d have to have sex with each of his friends. I told him that wasn’t funny.
“I went into the bedroom to change from my work clothes, and suddenly was thrust face down on the bed with my husband tying my wrists to the headboard.
“Each of his friends raped me in turn. My husband then beat me, on the pretext that I ‘had enjoyed it.’
“I spoke to our parish priest, who told me that my husband was entirely within his rights to do what he’d done.
“I soon discovered I was pregnant. I still don’t know who is my daughter’s ‘father’ — my husband or one of his friends.
“I left my husband shortly after my daughter was born.”
#MeToo: “I was eight, walking home from elementary school with a friend.
“An older boy from the high school next door came up behind me, put me in a choke hold, pulled me backward and whispered in my ear that he wanted me to take all my clothes off.
“He then let go and walked away. I was crying. My friend and I never mentioned it.”
#MeToo: “At age five, I was molested by a stranger who pulled me into his van and made me touch his penis.
“At eight, I was raped by a stranger who lured me to his home and took me into his basement.”
#MeToo: “At 14, wearing my school uniform riding home in a bus, the man sitting next to me appeared to be asleep.
“I fell asleep, too, but woke up feeling his hand on my thigh. I moved to another seat. ”
#MeToo: “I was 16 and feeling sick. My mom took me to a medical clinic. The regular doctor was away and a locum doctor checked my heart by moving his hand all over my breast instead of using a stereoscope, right in front of my mother. I was so embarrassed.”
#MeToo: “My sisters and I regularly went to the beach as teenagers but we couldn’t swim. One guy offered to teach me.
“He helped me float on my stomach, then proceeded to rub my vagina. I did not speak up.”