My name is Melissa. I am a 39 year old female living in the Pacific Northwest. I have an MBA and work as a Director for a Healthcare System, certified Life Coach, Powerlifter and dog mom.
In July of 2023 I was sexually assaulted by a man that I had just met for a first date. This was something I never thought would happen to me, yet as I began to slowly share my story with loved ones, more and more women confided in me similar horrific assaults. The stories I keep hearing make me sick to my stomach, and quite frankly, piss me off.
I have been asked on multiple occasions why I am so open about my story.
- So many of the women who have confided in me have never told anyone else. Some women did speak up but were not believed. This blog and the actions I am taking are for them. I was only silent for less than 10 hours and that was 10 hours too long.
- I’m open, vulgar, and direct about my experience because we should all be pissed off about rape culture. It will not change until we are. I share in the hopes that those I reach will talk to their kids differently, date differently, and notice what goes unnoticed to most of us.
My hope is that this blog becomes a community of silence shattering men and women that want better and demand better of our current culture around sexual violence. I plan to share the voices of other survivors (with their permission) and be raw about my own experience.
I dare you to read these words and picture your daughters, wives, mothers, sons or nephews (yes, men are victims too) and not become enraged. They all deserve better.
Some of the things written here will make you uncomfortable or be hard to read.
Good.
It should.
Buckle up…. Things are about to get real.
-M
Shattering the Silence 