Over the past year or two, the Anti-Rape Culture Movement has gained massive popularity all over the world. This movement has drawn the question, “has rape culture become a societal normality?” front and center as reporters and social movement leaders alike go head-to-head over this argument. Rape culture has been called both a global problem and a fad in society. Fortunately, a huge movement has risen up in an effort to expose rapists and sex crime supporters, but a large amount of people don’t believe that sex crimes are as big of a problem as they are. While different parts of society believe that rape culture isn’t real, it has become more and more apparent in society over the last decade as more people are willing to speak up about it. …show more content…
Caroline Kitchens, a writer aggressively against the idea of rape culture, has worked hard to bash the ideas of young men and women that are trying to fight the rape culture idea. Kitchens has written for U.S. News and Time Magazine, talking specifically about how feminists have poisoned the minds of young people, creating the “false idea” that is the anti-rape culture movement. People that don’t believe that rape culture is real usually have similar ideas on feminism and equality, and chop it all up to a poisonous mindset brought on by media. The people arguing rape culture often try to bring up the idea that women ““cry” rape” and that they classify any type of consensual rough sex acts to be sexual assault. While many news reports and statistics are far fetched (as many are today with so much fake news) it is unrealistic to believe thousands of men and women would make something up so big in …show more content…
Congress has reinforced programs against rape and sexual assault such as the Violence Against Women Act, the Rape Prevention and Education Program, which were administered by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. With so much progress we have allowed those that have been sexually assaulted to come forward with the confidence that they can be helped and can live without the burden of their sexual assault on their
Rape is a virus that infects every nation, culture and society. It is constantly referred to as “the unfinished murder”, because of the deep state of despair the rapist leaves the victim in. There is no common identifiable trend that determines who will be a rape victim. Women are not assaulted because of their attitudes or actions, they are attacked simply because they are present. With rapists, just as with their victims, there is no identifiable trend. The old myth that only “sick, dirty, old, perverted men” commit rapes is a lie that society tells itself in order to sleep better at night. The startling truth is that most rapists work under a veil of normalcy. In order for the percentage of rapes to decrease, we have to change our ideas about rape and let go of the old myths of the past. And until this happens, rape will continue to plague our world at large.
One of the most horrible things that has erupted from the subjugation of women is rape culture. Rape culture is the downplaying of the crime of rape to appease the violator, the accusation that the victim made a choice that led to their rape, or even jokes that suggest rape. According to Jessica Valenti’s, “In Rape Tragedies, the Shame Is Ours,” in today's world many people give in to rape culture by participating in these acts that somehow change our mindsets into believing that, “it is more shameful to be raped than to be a rapist”. Once ...
Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “it would do some women good to get raped,” from a historical perspective, lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Women are still seen as the property of men, are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men are usually more aggressive, and women are seen as passive. (Vogelman) This socialization process is changing, but slowly.
Sexual assault is defined as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and In the United States 80% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 30. Of that 80%, 44% are under the age of 18 (RAINN, 2016). That leaves 36% of victims between the ages of 18 and 30. These percentages become even more alarming when that 80% is of about 293,000 victims of secual assualt each year (RAINN, 2016). It is estimated that 1 in every 6 women in the US has been or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. The risks of sexual assault increase on college campuses. Women ages 18-24 who are enrolled in college are 3 times more likely than women in general to suffer from sexual violence (RAINN, 2016). One would think that with all these women being sexually assaulted, one would hear more about it, or perhaps the police stations would constantly be busy. This is not the case. Sexual assault is one of the most unreported crimes, with 68% still being left unreported (RAINN, 2016). This could be because of every 100 rapists, only 2 will spend a day in jail. Of the 32 out of 100 that would be reported, only 7 are referred to an arrest (RAINN, 2016). Why would men or women want to report sexual assault when the system that is supposed to protect them fails so often, and why does this system continue to fail?
Goals Statement: The goal of the sexual assault service center is to increase health related services. Another goal for the center is to reduce the amount of sexually assaulted victims by providing more preventative education throughout the community and schools. In addition the agency wants to continue to provide current services that can help victims recover, find their power, and voice after being affected sexual assault. Objectives:
Laws have been created to help with sexual assault victims for example, Title IX however laws like these are not good enough to keep students protected; schools need additional policies put in place to help keep their students safe. In 1972 Title IX was passed which was a law that “requires gender equity for boys and girls in every educational program that receives federal funding” (History). The law has ten areas in which it protects students and their access to higher education, career education, education for pregnant and parenting students, employment, learning environment, math and science, sexual harassment, standardized testing and technology (History). When dealing with sexual harassment Title IX requires that schools immediately take action to eliminate sexual assault threats as soon as an incident is reported (studentaffaris). The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or for short Clery Act is another law that is put in place to protect sexually assaulted victims. ...
According to the SACHA Sexual Assault Center, rape culture involves everyday phenomena that “make violence against women and sexual coercion seem so normal that people believe that rape is inevitable” (“What is rape culture,” n.d.). Common examples of rape culture include: telling women to always travel in groups at night, asking survivors what they were wearing or if they were drinking during the time of the assault, and ignoring or stigmatizing males who are sexually assaulted (Ray, 2013). On college campuses, rape culture can contribute to the underreporting of sexual assaults, as survivors may be ashamed or afraid of humiliation. Furthermore, the presence of rape myths perpetuates the overall rape culture by shaping public opinion towards blaming survivors and discounting the actions of offenders. Largely cited myths, such as women falsely reporting rape to protect their reputations or because they are angry with the accused perpetrator, are based on a kernel of truth that is unrepresentative of the realities surrounding these issues (Burnett et al., 2009). Rape culture is alive and well on college campuses, despite being a broader societal issue. While this socially ingrained behavior is difficult to reverse, universities are major institutions that must accept partial responsibility for the perpetuation of rape culture and consequently need to devise programs for change that circumvent this erroneous
In the 1970s, feminists coined the term Rape Culture. The term is a combination of Rape, a form of sexual assault involving sexual penetration without consent, and Culture, the ideas, customs, and social behavior of society. When put together, Rape Culture comprises of a collection of beliefs that encourage sexual aggression and supports violence against women. Rape Culture allows the justification of rape and allowing rape to flourish. While some find it difficult to identify elements linked to Rape Culture, the examples below will highlight everyday occurrences that show its prevalence.
Rape culture, a term created by feminists in the 1970’s has some serious connotations behind it. Essentially this phrase explicitly states that within our society due to sexism women are blamed for their sexual abuse. This belief, that a woman is to blame for the harm caused to her is not only believed socially but enforces politically. Men are one of the most dominant groups in society. Thus, in this particular case men are the bourgeois and women and the proletarians. These men in power are able to control what civilians read, hear and see everyday meaning they are able to push a cultural hegemony, cultural hegemony is the domination of society by a ruling class that purposely influences the thoughts and beliefs of society for their benefit.
Susan Griffin’s Rape: The All-American Crime touches on many issues within American society. She begins by recounting how she was taught to be afraid of strange men from such a young age that she had not yet learned what it was she was so afraid of, and then goes into her experience with harassment, an experience shared by every woman at some point in her life. Griffin recounts the belief that all rapists are insane and the proof that they are just normal men and dispels the myth that rape is normal activity that is prohibited by society. However, she goes on to clarify that our culture views rape: “as an illegal, but still understandable, form of behavior” (Griffin 514). It seems that the wrongness of rape is determined by the situation in
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
According to Marshall University, Rape Culture is defined as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in media and popular culture.” In American society, it is not hard to find examples of rape culture. In popular movies, music, and current events there is an undeniable notion of victim blaming, and sympathizing with male perpetrators. People have begun to use the term rape as a casual adjective. For example “I just raped him in that game,” could be used to describe two people playing a game and one winning easily against the other. American society uses pop culture and current events to promote and justify the prominent rape culture.
It is very troubling to hear that 1 in 5 women in University will be victims of sexual assault, and even more so that less than 60% of cases get reported. The purpose of my paper is to put emphasis on how important it is that more people be informed about rape culture, but to also explain how men are just as important in working towards prevention as are women.
Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “women secretly enjoy rape,” from a historical perspective, can lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Much stems back to the idea that women are still seen as the property of men, and are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men a...
The society we live in is rape-conducive, rape-friendly, if you will. Despite the anger I feel joining those two words together, I know the sad paradox holds within it a great deal of truth. We are a violent society that has shrouded rape in mystery and shame. To stop this nightmare’s venomous crusades, all people must wage a private war to eradicate their own acceptance of the savage crime. While it is only a minority of men that actually commit rape, it is everyone’s silence that tells them it’s ok.