By picking on grandparents, Ireland’s rape crisis sector avoids the hard questions about sexual violence
The nanosecond a friend or acquaintance says hello, I brace for the inevitable: the irksome ritual of being pressed to their fleshy bosom or chest. As I submit, I wonder: what was wrong with a handshake? Must we clutch at one another like drunken apes?
I’m too polite to shove huggers away; it would be ungracious and unfriendly. After all, an embrace is a well-meant gesture. So, despite prickling with disgust, I put up with it. Yet it seems this is a grave error. This week, thanks to a short-lived We-Consent video campaign by Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC), I learned that I have not merely been polite: I have been repeatedly victimised.