Gen Z Will Change the Culture Around Sexual Assault

Gen Z isn’t as likely to stigmatize people who have been sexually assaulted. By Hannah Joseph.

Raisman’s perspective reflects that of many Gen Z girls and nonbinary people because when we speak out about an issue, we expect to be believed, and we have no patience for people or organizations working to silence us. Her comment also shows how systematic sexual assault is, because even though assault was prominent in this major organization, no one took action to help Raisman and her peers.

Women have been afraid of speaking up for reasons such as being labeled as attention-seekers, having their reputation and work criticized, or blamed for what has happened to them. Many men accused of misconduct have faced no punishment for their actions due to male privilege, which grants them a collection of political, social, and economic advantages because of their sex. High-profile sexual assault allegations are not new — Donald Trump has been accused multiple times of sexual misconduct, but unlike Harvey Weinstein, who has been fired from his own company, Trump is still the President. Previously, people turned a blind eye to sexual misconduct, accepting it as part of the patriarchy. But Generation Z won’t let that happen. This generation of young girls can and will change the culture surrounding sexual misconduct by removing the stigma from conversations about it, and instead making our voices heard. Gen Z girls are more open to discussing difficult topics because we want to fight injustice to create a better tomorrow, and have grown up with the Internet, where we’ve been exposed to conversations about race and sex-related issues previous generations haven’t.

Because Gen Z isn’t as likely to stigmatize people who have been sexually assaulted, we’re more likely to openly discuss our experiences on the Internet, and participate in online movements like #MeToo to drive the conversation forward and push the stigma onto assailants. Unfortunately, the outpouring of support for this movement shows how widespread (and nearly universal) the problem is. We need to let girls know that we support and believe them, so serial predators like Dr. Larry Nassar aren’t able to thrive in a culture of silence. We must support survivors’ decisions to speak out and let them know they are believed.

Bullying is a topic that is discussed at my school, but sexual misconduct isn’t really on the agenda — if there were more adult or student-led discussions or assembly meetings on consent, maybe this would help shape Gen Z’s behavior as we come of age. I think Gen Z boys are going to be different compared to men of previous generations because they are growing up in a time where women are more likely to speak out about sexual misconduct, and understand that mistreating women is not acceptable.

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