No matter what news you read, watch, or listen to, the words “sexual assault” have probably been used multiple times recently. The accusations against long-time FOX News reporter Billy O’Reilly have given rise to a closer look at sexual assault in the workspace. Here’s a rundown of the accusations against O’Reilly and a look at how sexual assault is still being seen in the world today.
Dr. Wendy Walsh, a regular on FOX News, went for a friendly dinner one night in 2013 with occasional colleague O’Reilly. He assumed sex was obviously on the table afterwards, but she denied him. After dinner at a hotel, he told her to go back to his suite with him. When she said that she could not do that, he told her to forget any career advice he had given her. Immediately, he got aggressive and hostile when he realized sex was not an option for him with Walsh that night. He even stooped so low as to complain about the price of the drink she ordered and call her bag ugly. As if that would make them equal in some way.
Walsh recounted the events of that evening in a press conference at the beginning of this month when the accusation first came out. Even though it has been some years since the incident, this was finally released by Walsh because she wanted to set an example for her daughters that men attempting to make sexual advances without consent is never acceptable. She never found it her place to report the incident to Human Resources at FOX because she was not an official employee.
The idea of O’Reilly making these types of inappropriate advances is not too far-fetched considering five other women received a whopping $13 million to keep quiet about previous inappropriate and unwanted sexual encounters with the FOX News host. Yes, paying off women to keep sexual assault accusations to themselves is still a thing in this day and age. But wait, it gets worse.
In Memphis, Tennessee, a rape trial came to a conclusion at the end of April. The lawyer defending the accused male rapist decided to degrade women, and not only by calling us liars. He states that people lie, but the act of lying is especially common in women because we are the “weaker sex.” The best part is, he told this to a jury that had eleven women on it.
Sexual assault is no joke, and there need to be consequences for anyone who thinks making unwanted sexual advances is completely acceptable. The most important thing to remember is that just because women do not like to submit themselves to whatever some man wants to do to her does NOT make her weak. Coming out about inappropriate encounters with others makes you strong. Never be afraid to tell the truth and show your power as a woman.