You sat there
My palms were sweating
You grimed at me in court
My anxiety increasing
You laughed at the ruling…
I feared what could’ve happened
You have no idea what you did…
The hope you took away
The fear you instilled
Constantly looking over my shoulder
Constantly fearing if I really got away
Painting walls, rebuilding the cupboards
Hiding in oversized clothes
Nothing worked…
Because you took the most valuable thing,
And
That
Was
Me…
-fear of a woman…. A.Jansen
The above is a poem written by myself expressing the fear instilled. Wounds were reopened whilst scrolling through my cell phone as I usually do before getting out of bed. I came across the post of Uyienne. It raised fear which later during the day became anger. I then came across the post regarding the female student that was raped at UWC and how comfortably the university swept it under the rug; it infuriated me further because she wasn’t the first girl, I have came across many females who has experienced some form of sexual assault on campus. I came to realize we are no longer safe as females . At campus this caused a stir and a guy in the passing said “ bud , these females are dressing inappropriately and drinking with their friends , it’s their own fault” , I was so disgusted at this statement.
The following day on clinical rotation, my mind was in constant thought- how many times as a woman in the workplace has had to endure inappropriate behaviour of men ? As woman in the healthcare setting the inappropriate behaviour has become a norm, we lean towards it’s the medication or injury causing the aggression of a patient. I have seen and experienced how patients say sexual things towards the nurses, doctors, physiotherapists and other members of the multi-disciplinary team, especially students in the medical field. As students we are told to treat everyone with respect and dignity despite their behaviour, but there is so little focus on the right of the health physician .
2 thoughts on “We are the change”
hi Alysha
loved reading your poem, it grabbed much of my attention as a women living in times like this. i feel the very same way about a statement you made about how our university didnt take much about the raping of a fellow student who by the way was not drinking, dressed inappropriately but was working for the university.
with regards to gender based violence i am sure we are not the only country experiencing this which is why i would suggest that you not only look at what we only we are going through as a country but involve other countries. this would also help with referencing.
i can very much relate to this piece because i stay at an off campus rez and i have to walk minutes to catch a shuttle to make it to block. in winter it is quite dark in the morning and trust me when i say, i woke up every morning asking myself if I WAS NEXT.
lastly i would suggest that you add literature and find a few articles to reference.
great read.
Hi Aly
Thank you for your writing piece. Your poem is really touching and I am sorry that you have to live in constant fear. I feel that a lot females can relate to what you are saying in this piece. Your piece truly reflects what is going in our country and especially university regarding violence against women. Your description of what’s happening in the country and how you feel about it is. However I suggest that you write about specific things you encountered in the work place or things other females encountered. You can also try and find literature on ethics in the work place regarding inappropriate behavior towards females.
Your piece reflects what we discussed in class however it needs to be explored more and the ethical dilemma needs to come across stronger.
I think that an appropriate title and adding a picture will grab the readers attention. Your sentence in paragraph one line does not flow as the third word starts on the second line and with a capital letter.
All the best on writing your final piece.
Kind regards
Robert Bantham