Every day, women around the world struggle through cases of sexual harassment and assault by strangers, peers and even friends. Whether others know it or not, we have been impacted by the disrespectful actions of those around us. However, in every one of the following eight accounts, we female members of The Wolf staff have persevered and held ourselves at a higher esteem than our abusers. We warn you that these stories may be triggering, but we hope that sharing them will empower others, nonetheless.

“The fears associated with being a woman are larger than rape. It’s larger than assault. It’s the twisting in your stomach walking to your car alone at night. It’s the feeling of your skin crawling when a stranger stares from afar. It’s the freezing chill you feel when a man hollers inappropriate slurs at you on the street. And when it does go the fullest extent, the damage it causes is irreversible. It is a feeling so indescribable that in the moment you freeze, unaware of what is happening in front of you, to you. It is why we are fearful. It is why it is scary to be a woman.”

“As a cross-country runner, I have frequently faced cat-calling while on the streets, but it has never been more than annoying. However, as I was working out at the gym recently, a man whistled at me. As I looked up, I saw him watching me with what seemed like a leer. At that moment, I felt nervous, uncomfortable, even a little unsafe. Most of all, I felt angry that his actions had such power over me, angry that girls like me regularly endure such behavior in athletics. While we have made progress in promoting gender equality, we are far from done as long as female athletes undergo situations similar to or worse than mine.”

“He couldn’t have been younger than 40. I was getting my ears pierced again and was accompanied by my mother, aunt and cousin. We were all gathered into one small room with a table that my cousin or I could sit on as he worked. Dots were placed on my ears to designate where the needle would pierce, and I stood in front of my mother so she could see if they were level. I stared into the eyes of three women that I love as he groped my rear. My family was looking into my eyes, not below. He finished piercing my ears, and I didn’t tell anyone until we were home.”

“I trusted this person deeply throughout my life. He was there when I was starting to walk, to talk. He would walk in on me getting ready, put his hand on top of my chest, even get into bed with me. This is nothing serious, I thought, nothing bad would happen to me. I was in 5th grade when I gained the courage to talk to my grandma. She supported me and told me we need to tell someone about this. I wish I wouldn’t have blamed myself for so long, attained trust issues and grown to hate myself. I’ve learned to not look in the past and to realize that it was never my fault.”

“I was so excited for the movies, and the last thing that crossed my mind was what stranger would touch me that night. The first few times his hand brushed my thigh I took it for an accident until I felt his fingers crawl into my skirt, uninvited. Lucky for me, I had been taught exactly what to do: scream, kick, anything to stop him from going further. Instead, I did nothing. Fear paralyzed my body and the words every girl has rehearsed since the day they learn about sexual assault refused to escape my lips. I went home that night feeling dirty and ashamed. He was a grown man and I was only 16.”

“My body has never fully felt like my own, from many unwanted, wandering hands that have touched it, to many unwanted words trying to convince me that I owed them a piece of it. I remember a day in fifth grade when a boy thought it would be hilarious to come over and ‘scoop’ my boobs. My 10-year-old self was stunned, angry, confused, sad, all of the above. I can still tell you that my 17-year-old self feels each of those emotions every time a guy ‘accidentally’ feels me up, or when I’m alone and get cornered. I’m tired of being seen as a playground and an open invite.”

“Being a girl in this world is hard. All girls know that. We are exposed to something much greater than ourselves. We go through struggles simply based on a gender. What often is ignored is girls’ experiences when they are young, when in reality that is sometimes when the most traumatic experiences happen. When I was little, I was molested by a friend of my parents. I was touched and assaulted. My rights were violated when I was too young to even comprehend it. Don’t ever say being a female gets hard at a certain age. The struggles begin the minute we take our first breath.”

“I always felt safe in my work environment. Never once did I presume that wearing a swimsuit would be an excuse for boys to touch me. An 18-year-old coworker whom I had never worked with previously introduced himself to me – his face inches from mine. Feeling uncomfortable, I tried to back away but he stepped closer. ‘You have such pretty eyes,’ he said as his eyes traveled up and down my body. I replied with a quick smile and walked onto the deck to relieve the other lifeguard of duty. As I sat in the lifeguard chair, the boy approached me again putting his hand on my thigh asking if I would like to see him swim. Feeling completely paralyzed, I nodded – afraid of what he may have done if I had said no.”