Rape Culture: the Unseen, Unspeakable, Unheard Truth
Rape culture is a phrase that dates back to the seventies. It was originally contrived by feminists to put a name to the trivialization of male violence, and society’s inclination to place blame on the victim in cases of sexual assault.
Just like the many cultures that permeate American society, rape culture has its own language and belief systems. When you hear someone telling jokes about rape and sexual assault, that is rape culture. When someone suggests that a girl who was raped, “was behaving like a slut,” that is rape culture. When the media and advertising sexually objectify women and men’ that is rape culture.
There are a number of myths about rape that perpetuate rape culture. The best way to defy this issue, is to know the facts.
The Myths vs. The Facts
Victim Blaming
Sexual assault remains the most under-reported of all violent crimes in the world. Studies show that approximately 2 out of 3 sexual assaults go unreported. This is due in large part to our society’s tendency to place blame on the victim rather than the assailant. Often, feelings of shame, guilt, and fear that no one will believe them, are reasons victims say they choose not to report when they have been assaulted. Every time someone says, “she was dressed like a slut,” or, “she shouldn’t have been walking alone at night,” we are essentially blaming the victim. Anytime someone asks the questions, “was she drinking,” or “what was she wearing” it suggests that somehow the victim was “asking for it,” that somehow he or she could have avoided it.
“Most commonly, rape is a crime of opportunity; the victim is chosen not because of her looks or behavior, but because she is there. “
Helen Benedict, Virgin or Vamp, 1992
The fact however is that sexual assault doesn’t just happen to drunk beautiful women in mini skirts, nor does it always take place with strangers in dark alleys and parking garages. Rape can happen to anyone; regardless of age, looks, race, or sex. RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), reports that the “majority of sexual assaults occur at, or near the victims home.” And more often than not, the perpetrator is someone the victim knows.
Sexual assault happens to people of all ages from children to the elderly. It happens to both men and women, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or transgender. Even the disabled fall victim to sexual assault.
Click here to listen to a podcast featuring an interview with my friend Stacy who is a victim of sexual assault.
CAMPUS ASSAULT
Statistics show that women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four make up the largest age group of those who fall victim to sexual assault. Based on these numbers, it’s no surprise that campus assault is a growing problem, many of whom are “date-raped” by someone they know. And although alcohol and drugs are known factors in many campus assaults, we must remember that being under the influence should never be a reason excuse anyone from sexually assaulting someone, nor should it ever be a reason to imply that that a victim was somehow responsible for it happening.
One of the most recent of campus assault cases to gain widespread attention was in the case of Stanford University student, Brock Turner, who was charged with five felony accounts of sexual assault after two boys found him sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster on Stanford University campus grounds. The case garnered further public outrage when Turner, now 21, was sentenced to a mere six moths in jail and then released after serving only three months of his sentence. In a letter imploring presiding Judge Aaron Persky to sentence his son to probation, and no time in jail, Turner’s father, Dan Turner wrote, “His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.” There is no question that this is precisely the kind of language that perpetuates rape culture.
In response to the these events, Turner’s victim, who has been named, Emily Doe in order to protect her identity, wrote a powerful essay which was published in Glamour magazine. Below is a video in which the cast of HBO’s hit series, “Girls” reads Emily Doe’s essay. Emily Doe was named Glamour’s 2016 Woman of the Year.
http://www.glamour.com/story/women-of-the-year-emily-doe
WAYS YOU CAN HELP PREVENT RAPE FROM HAPPENING, and WHAT to DO IF IT HAPPENS TO YOU or SOMEONE YOU KNOW
While there is no fail-safe method to guarantee that you will never become a victim of sexual assault, there are measures you can take to avoid situations that render you vulnerable. Rapists prey on the weak and the vulnerable. Carrying yourself with confidence and avoiding compromising situations are helpful ways to protect yourself from becoming a victim of sexual assault.
THE COSTS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
In addition to the physical and mental costs of sexual assault, there are financial burdens as well. These burdens not only affect the victims, but society as a whole. Below is a video featuring a report from CNN that outlines the various costs of sexual assault for both victims and society.
Rape culture, although very pervasive in our society, is often something to which people turn a blind eye and a deaf ear, while sadly, many victims of sexual assault wish to hide themselves away. Fearing they’ll be judged, blamed, criticized, and simply not believed, are why many victims choose not to speak about it, not to tell anyone, not their friends, not even their family. But as my dear friend who is a victim said to me, when we talk about it, we begin to heal.
