LOUIS BURKE | Culture | Contact

In an effort to raise awareness, local woman Leslie Tillard (26) shared her sexual assault story on social media and has since been met with an outpouring of support. One such statement of comfort came from Tillard’s friend Brian Pierce (28), who soothed Leslie’s pain by reminding her sexual assault also happens to men.

“Thought that’d make her feel better and maybe she’d even learn a thing or two. Just the kind of guy I am.”

While Pierce states he doesn’t speak to his old friend Leslie Tillard as much as he used to, when he read her description of being used by a sexual deviant, he felt beyond compelled to point out that women also do this to men in some instances.

Having never been the victim of sexual assault before, Pierce also responded by describing his experiences where he was bullied at school and had is backpack stolen in Thailand as if they were somehow related to Tillard’s traumatising recount of sexual assault.

“Sometimes, men get falsely accused of rape as well. It all kind of balances out in the end. Just saying, everyone’s pain is the same isn’t it? How about we say no to ALL assault in general.”

Unhappy with representation in politics, culture, media and journalism, Pierce started a Men’s Rights Facebook group titled Men for Men where he has conversations with like-minded individuals on a daily basis.

“We want to end ALL rape culture, not just the type that happens to women that I know and consider to be friends. Yes, that is a problem but maybe not as big a problem as thinking sexual assault just happens to women.”

“Basically, we’re about fighting ignorance and if you look in the comment section you’re probably going to see a lot of ignorance in action.”