Lena Dunham Quotes

Let's suppose somebody abused you sexually. You still had a choice, though not a good one, about what to tell yourself about the abuse.

When I was raped I lost my virginity and almost lost my life. I also discarded certain assumptions I had held about how the world worked and about how safe I was.

I have since talked to some of my girlfriends sexual assault and found out that they had their own experiences that they never shared at the time. It was never talked about it. And I think it's because of that normal response - you feel badly, you feel responsible, you feel guilty, you feel like you did something wrong, you feel ashamed.

If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

It is wrong for any person to ever judge someone in any situation saying, 'Well, why didn't you try to run? Why didn't you scream? Why didn't you try to do something?' That is so wrong and, frankly, offensive to even ask that question.

I was part of a growing community of women who were secretly dealing with harassment by Harvey Weinstein. But I also did not know that there was a world in which anybody would care about my experience with him.

The ultimate credo of capitalism is to exploit people. It's not like this is just an incidental problem; it's inherent in the system.

When working at Women's Aid, I met countless women whose families had not believed them when they spoke of their abuse at the hands of another loved one.

Homophobia, racism, and sexism are all rooted in the same oppression that causes a group of people to internalize the oppression they've experienced and then continue the cycle of abuse. Simply put, hurt people hurt people.

I'm asked daily about how and why I don't have PTSD. I'm probably the last person on Earth you should ask about this stuff.

I still ask myself the same questions every woman asks. Was it my fault? Did I say or do something to make him feel like such an advance was welcome? And like most women, I never told anyone. Instead, I just quit.

If you go into a police station and report a burglary the first question is not: 'Are you telling the truth?' If you are the victim of a sexual offence, very often in the past that has been the first question.

When the very people that you been taught to believe in - the police, the D.A., these are the people that are supposed to stand for justice - and when you know that they lied to you, it's hard for you to have trust in anybody.

Mr. Trump has tapped into the frustrations of many Americans who feel the effects of a dismal economy and believe the political system is rigged and owned by the establishment.

When I was growing up as a kid, it was always, 'Oh, you're being bullied. Well, toughen up. Get some tough skin and deal with it.' That's how we were told to deal with it, and it's not that simple.

I think our criminal justice system has two problems. We have systematic problems and we have people problems. So if the hearts of people are not about justice than any system you have won't work.

I know just about everything that really goes on with domestic violence.

A political and economic system that only works for a small group at the top is a system that needs to change.

If a woman comes out saying she has been abused or assaulted, we should not start finding flaws in her character or try to dig up her past for murky details.

If someone has behaved badly with a woman. and she hasn't spoken about it for ten, 20, or 30 years, it's her prerogative when she wants to speak.

New York City has no need to move on from 9/11 because, in a sense, it moved on days after, moments after.

People always say the abused abuse and it is not true. I am totally the opposite.

Paranoia: the gift of the survivor and the burden of the overtired, stressed, and terrified.

A lady of honor may be raped once, but it strengthens her virtue.

We have to stop arresting prostitutes and not arresting traffickers and pimps. It's absurd. We're arresting the victim or the survivor and not the oppressor.