I have to echo what others have said, here. Hearing the accounts from other survivors reminds me that I'm not alone, I didn't deserve it, and that our voices are collectively needed to stop it from continuing to happen to others.

However, I want to add a few things. I didn't begin to finally come to terms with what happened to me until 3 years later...the relationship itself had been over for more than two years, at that point (and yes, I had a degree of Stockholm Syndrome for about six months after *it* initially happened). My eventual breakdown was triggered by an abusive boss, who was treating me much the way my ex had (except it was "abuse on steroids," since there was no romantic component present between me and my ex-boss).

Two years later, the #MeToo movement arose. I found it empowering, initially, because so many voices of survivors began coming forward to shine a giant spotlight on the problem.

But, as the months passed, and 2017 became 2018, I found myself repeatedly triggered all over again. Male survivors were continuously told, by certain public figures (I'm looking at you, Minnie Driver and Mazie Hirono!), to "shut up" and let female survivors drive the narrative. We were told our voices amounted to essentially the #AllLivesMatter equivalent of #MeToo's social importance. I was even told by one "friend" on Facebook (a female rape survivor, herself) to "start your[my] own movement" and quit coopting "hers"/"theirs."

The focus on a rigid female/male binary, when examining rape and sexual assault, really does a disservice to the culture as a whole. Memories came flooding back of the sexualized taunting/violence directed at me during so much of my childhood and adolescence. I reflected upon a female Special Education instructor in my school district who had been overly-touchy and vocally sexually-suggestive...and then I thought of all the students with severe cognitive disabilities whom she was allowed to work with, unsupervised. I had an "Oh shit!" moment, reflecting upon how I knew there was something "off" about her even back then (as a child), how I was "bratty" enough to get myself ejected from continuing to be under her authority (during my 6th Grade year and beyond) -- and how I most likely dodged a bullet, in that respect, during my childhood.

We all know that there are so many cases of women being raped/assaulted that go unreported. Just imagine how high that quantity of unreported cases could be for MEN who are too afraid to speak up!