Sexual misconduct, inappropriate behavior and even assault are, of course, not new experiences for women or men.

Reports show that 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused by age 12, and it’s usually by someone they know well. These stats are incomplete and inaccurate  as they represent the number of incidents that are actually reported.  The concept of covering up these behaviors, both as the victim and perpetrator, are learned in our youth.

It makes sense that these actions continue into the workplace and at every level and industry. Most recently, lawmakers both locally and nationally are getting their covers blown.

On a recent episode of “Colorado Inside Out,” weekly contributor and Westword founder Patricia Calhoun said it best. After being asked by host Dominic Dezzutti whether these recent reports are the tip of the iceberg, Calhoun said, “Yes … but where has everyone been? This has been common for decades.”

In the same conversation, former lawmaker Penfield Tate III corroborated Calhoun’s statement saying, “If viewers think that some of these incidents that are being described are the first time these things have happened in the state legislature, they’ve missed the point for many, many years.”

Like many other cultural explosions, social media can be the true driver for pushing issues forward. From politics, to Hollywood and now journalism’s beloved personality Charlie Rose, the emergence of the #MeToo campaign couldn’t have come at a better time.

Women and men sharing their stories of being victimized by sexual deviants suddenly became OK.

With all the recent discussions, I talked with eight friends and colleagues asking them straight up, “Have you ever experienced incidents of sexual misconduct, inappropriate conversations or even assault while at work?”

The answers I received from the men and women I talked to was a resounding yes, of course.

Responses such as, “It started when I was 17; I just thought that’s the way it was,” to “My last boss told me without sugar-coating that he wanted to have sex with me,” rolled off my friend’s tongues like it was nothing.

Why was I surprised? I once worked in a family-run business where sexually explicit conversations were happening around me daily and were mostly initiated by the owner and manager. Romantic advances were made in the open, but usually laughed off by all parties involved. I didn’t find out until later that these women were indeed miserable and the actions of our boss at the time truly impacted them, even to this day. The catch, none of them ever reported and tried to stop the behavior. They internalized it and tried to continue working as though it wasn’t happening.

I understand completely and would never blame them for that. The victim is forced to relive the very intimate situation, through the process of reporting and prosecution if it comes to that. He or she has to decide whether keeping a secret is more significant than healing and possibly saving others from being victimized as well.

One can no longer simply focus on protecting themselves, but must automatically become the hero. My hope is that we begin to teach our young girls and boys to advocate for themselves early on, have honest conversations about sex and what should be deemed inappropriate or not.

We can begin to chip away at the our nation’s sickness with sexual deviants and pull back the veil and expose these behaviors at the start.

From the Oval Office to our elementary schools, we can no longer sweep these issues under the rug.  The recent claims of sexual assault and misconduct are, like Patti said, “the tip of the iceberg.”

To boot, we haven’t even begun to take a deep dive into our nation’s issue with sex trafficking.  The facts surrounding that are much more reprehensible, which most recently was reported to begin victimization as early as 5 months old.

Now that we’re on heightened alert to all things sex and politics, weak, subsequent apologies and turning the other cheek will hopefully become a thing of the past.  Let’s all keep in mind that what is done in the dark will always come to light. Act accordingly.