Blame the girl
Blame the alcohol
Blame the drugs
Blame the clothes
Blame the party
Blame the time that’s passed

Strip a woman of all she is
Take away her dignity, safety, respect
Take away her life
Strip her of everything she knows

Look her in the eyes
Feel her pain
Listen to her
Take her hand and tell her everything will be okay

Then tell her she doesn’t matter
What happened to her, doesn’t matter
Tell her she has spent her whole life traumatized over something that didn’t happen
Explain to her how while lying awake for hours terrified, she must have made up this story

Because he is a straight A student
Because he is the school’s quarterback
Because his mother loves him and he has kids, think about what you are doing to them

He’s not the type, look how nice he is
He could never do something like that

Then watch her close her eyes as images of him hovering over her flash
As she remembers the sting of his laugh, of every thrust, of every second that passed as all she wanted was death

Watch her flash back to every time she’s thought about ending it all because his face, his smile, wouldn’t leave her mind

Watch her remember everyone she has pushed out of her life

Watch as she flinches when her colleague taps her on the shoulder
Watch as she never leaves the house after 8pm
Watch as she can never become intimate with anyone else
Watch as she remembers how she lost herself

And then, tell her it didn’t happen

Take her heart in your hands and crush it will all the power you have

Take her experience and spit on it
Throw it to the ground
Stomp on it

Tell her it doesn’t matter
And neither does she.