April 24 is being called “national rape day,” which in itself is absolutely appalling.

There are different theories of the origin of the awful day. One theory is a group of boys from TikTok started it, while another is it came from a group chat from Exeter. 

But one thing people must realize is, for women, every day is national rape day. 

We just have some warning this go-round. 

Women walk with their car keys in between their fingers.

They check the backseat of their car before they close the door and immediately lock it.

Have an unspoken curfew to make sure they’re home so they don’t walk in the dark alone.

Have recordings of fake phone calls off the internet saved to their phone to make another person think someone they know is tracking them.

Tasers, mace, and pocket knives are in their Amazon cart to make sure they have good enough protection.

They can’t go to the bathroom in a restaurant without feeling like they need to get a new drink because they left their old one unsupervised. 

Every day for women is national rape day, but people are only going into protection mode for the one day it’s announced. 

Of course, there have been men trying to calm women down, saying “it’s just a joke.” Well, you know what? That’s not something to be joked about. It never should have been something even thought into existence in the first place.

April is sexual assault awareness month, which basically just adds to the horror of this atrocious “holiday.”

April should be a time when people are learning what women go through and how to put a stop to it, not adding to the worry that they already deal with.

On Saturday, please stay safe and keep yourself protected.