Brett Ratner, David Guillod, Terry Richardson, Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly, Bill Cosby, and Donald Trump. All men in Hollywood who are accused of sexual assault. Recently, Harvey Weinstein became the talk of the town when more than 75 women came forward accusing him of sexual assault. However, this abuse of power that is coming to light in recent months has always been there, just hidden under the cloak of fame and fortune.

Sexual assault: According to Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence is “A general term that includes sexual harassment, unwanted sexual contact, child sexual abuse, insest, and rape. Sexual contact becomes sexual assault when one person is unable or does not consent to an activity.”

Clara Gale, a fiteen year old student at Beacon High school, she has dealt with situations, like catcalling,  where she feels powerless from the actions of men around her. During one situation where she was catcalled by a much older man, she stood up for herself and the man then responded by saying, “ you’re going to be raped one day.” Clara has said she has faced numerous situations like this one.

Harvey Weinstein, an accomplished film producer, and a man of power, recently came under fire when 78 women accused him of sexual assault. Many of these women being big names in Hollywood, such as Cara Delevingne, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lena Headey, and Ashley Judd.

Lily Krug, a sophomore at the NYC iSchool, talked about the sexual assault accusations in Hollywood: “ I was not surprised by the amount, or the people involved.”

Actress and model Natassia Malthe recalled a situation between her and Weinstein after the BAFTA Awards. She accuses Weinstein of  barging into her hotel room, uninvited, and then proceed to pin Malthe down and rape her. Afterwards, she claims Weinstein then masturbated in front of her.

Every 98 seconds an American women is sexually assaulted, and one in every six woman has been the victim of attempted or completed rape. Women like  Angelina Jolie and Natassia Malthe who Weinstein sexually abused.  

In 2016 Donald Trump was accused of sexual assault by over ten women. Women like Jessica Drake, an actress in adult films accused Donald Trump of offering her $10,000 and use of his private jet for a night with him, with the implication of sexual acts. The list of women that have come out against Trump continues, from women like Ninni Laaksonen, former Miss Finland to Jessica Leeds, a reporter working at The New York Times, who was sexually assaulted by Trump when he groped her breasts and tried to stick his hands under her shirt. Donald Trump now sits in one of the most powerful seats in America; he is President of the United States.

“It makes me feel powerless because, how can I have equal rights and how can I make progress in this world and be encumbered by my gender when our president is sexually assaulting women and then bragging about it,”  Gale argues when asked about the position and actions of President Trump.

Mr. Whittaker, a math teacher at the NYC iSchool, states, “In the back of my brain, I always felt like it (sexual assault in Hollywood) was happening and was just about time that people came forward”

99% of people who sexual assualt someone will walk away scott free. Just like President Trump.

Each one of these men had power over the women they sexually assaulted. This pattern of power over powerless does not just occur in Hollywood, but everywhere, including prisons and and jails.

According to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network an estimate of 80,600 women are sexually assaulted in prison or jail. 100% of these interactions between female inmate and prison guard are illegal and non consensual.

Ultimately, we live in a society where sexual assault is prevalent and abused in situations of power, whether that be power in career or in age or size.