The way this thread has gone has prompted me to get on my soap box a bit, because one poster has really taken us back to the dark ages I think.
I really believe that a sexual predator is a sexual predator. Doesn't matter if they target women, men or children, we need to believe and support all victims.
And if society was a bit more receptive to believing and supporting both male and female victims of sexual violence, of any age, we would be a huge step closer to ending it. Because then we would see just how many people are directly affected by it. We would also know how many people are affected indirectly when they help their loved ones pick up the pieces, or know that something is wrong but don't know what it is.
Feminism has done so much heavy lifting to get combating sexual violence on the agenda, and to help and support the people who suffer at the hands of aggressors, and that work has to continue with the whole of society behind it.
Just how many women suffer from sexual aggression is starting to be better known. I think many, many more men keep sexual violence and attempted violence against them secret than we realise. Once we realise how widespread it is against both sexes we will be in a better position as a society to present a united front against it.
One of the biggest weapons of the perpetrators is the shame and silence they force onto their victims. Disbelief and questioning just plays into the hands of the aggressors. It's just another type of division and suspicion.
The people who should be ashamed and called to account for their actions are the perpetrators, no-one else. They are the only people who need to be investigated and cross questioned.
So for MuddyWellyboots and for everyone else on this thread who has been affected or seen a loved one suffer
and belief and love and strength.