5 Songs Written About Sexual Assault

Presented by KUROS

Photo by Bravotv.com

By Jilianne Scamperle
Jcs203@txstate.edu

Women around the world continue to face alarming rates of sexual assault, violence and
rape. In the hopes of putting an end to sexual assault, music artists have used their songs to
bring awareness to these serious issues and remind women what they are truly capable of.
Telling stories of pain, reassuring women in their feelings and encouraging them to
continue to fight for their rights are some of the common themes in these empowering
songs. Here are five songs written about the sexual assault of women.

1. “Till it Happens to You” – Lady Gaga

The song is centered on the feelings of loneliness sexual assault victims often face, and
deals with the frustration of receiving advice from people who have never been sexually
assaulted. Using examples of someone downplaying feelings and encouraging victims to get
over it, Gaga sings that no one can fully understand the severe feelings of a sexual assault
victim until they are sexually assaulted themselves. This also implies that in this world
assault is seemingly inevitable.

2. “Praying” – Kesha

This song emphasizes the horrible feelings a victim struggles with initially, but how they
can eventually overcome those feelings to become stronger in the end. Kesha mentions that
she is not only proud of who she is and what she has conquered on her own, but that she
forgives her attacker by wishing that he is praying, finding peace and changing. She
courageously thanks her attacker for making her stronger, and hopes that nobody else will
be hurt by the same man.

3. “Forever Changed”– Vince Gill

Inspired by events that took place when he was a young boy, Gill writes the song about a
man who inappropriately puts his hands on a young girl who is permanently changed by
the actions. This song brings attention to girls who are sexually assaulted by adults and
struggle with it for the rest of their lives.

4. “Polly”– Nirvana

After a 14-year-old girl was kidnapped, tortured and repeatedly raped by a convicted
rapist, Nirvana released this song based off of the real-life events. It takes a different
approach by being sung in the perspective of the attacker, and shows an interpretation of
twisted and sickening thoughts the rapist was thinking during the act.

5. “Gatekeeper” – Jessie Reyez

Reyez sings about her experiences in the music industry, and brings attention to men who
would tell her she had to have sex with them in order to be successful. Singing that she was
expected to get drunk and naked, Reyez says men in power treated her horribly, and as a
woman she was expected to allow them to. Although she was never physically assaulted,
the remarks emotionally damaged her and discouraged her from her dreams. Through the
song, Reyez brings awareness to sexual assault and the abuse of powerful men behind the
attacks.

KUROS is a company that works to give free pepper spray to women in developing
countries dealing with high levels of sexual assault. By giving women the ability to protect
themselves, KUROS believes women are also given mobility, empowerment and a better
quality of life. For more information or to support KUROS, go to https://kuros.com.