Letter to the Editor

Three days ago I published an article talking about what it's like to be a Berkeley Girl amid the disturbing sexual politics that exist on the campus. I have since been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic and supportive responses to the post, and by the number of hits it has received; it's now the most-read article from the entire year.

Yesterday morning I got an email from an anonymous berkeley girl. With her permission I am publishing it on here:

"Thank you for writing that article. It's traumatically accurate. Last October I was assaulted, violently, in my dorm bedroom by a neighbor who lived down my hall. I'd had well over six drinks and was fading in and out of consciousness while he was hurting me. It lasted hours.

When word spread that I'd filed an anonymous police report, I was pressured to keep quiet. I was in denial until spring, when I got wind of rumors that I was believed to be schizophrenic because of my reaction to what had happened to me. 

After this I broke my silence to get a male perspective, and disclosed the details of my story to some male friends. They were horrified, agreed I'd been assaulted, and encouraged me to go to the police properly before it happened to someone else. I never pursued legal charges for fear of a Steubenville-cal firestorm, but the injustice is haunting and I was wondering if you could recommend any online media source that might publish my account anonymously. 

(Something else to note: UC Berkeley Hookups removed the anonymous submissions link after I'd sent in my story of the assault. It was never published. I've considered setting up a "UC Berkeley Sex Crimes" page in the same vein...) 

In any event, I know a lot of other girls who would appreciate that blog entry, so thanks again on their behalf."

Here is a Berkeley Girl who wants to shout back. If you've taken the time to read this post, I hope you can also take the time to give her a small shout-out with encouragement and support. Do it underneath this blog, or send an email or tweet via me. It takes a lot of guts to send an email like that, and I'm pretty sure she'd appreciate hearing that a culture of silence is something that should be broken.

[NB: At the request of the anon. I have created a separate page where she has uploaded her full account of the assault. You can read it HERE. Be warned that it contains graphic and distressing material.]