

I’m sorry that you had to go through that, and I must emphasize that I do not wish to “let” anyone be exposed to this. However, I remain unconvinced that it’s “more common than I think”. The amount of sexual assault that women are exposed to is unfortunately far, far more common, and a bigger problem that should take precedence in being dealt with.

I find this question quite fascinating: Culturally, there are countries where this gets asked indeed as a form of greeting, not a genuine question.
In Slavic countries, I feel like if you get asked this question, it’s generally considered to be of genuine interest, and you’ll get a genuine reply. Nothing offensive or informal about saying “Things are bad.” or “I feel bad.”, or any variant of such.
This might be my perception however, and feel free to correct me. I myself think that if someone asks how I’m doing, I have no need or responsibility to “remain positive/pleasant”.