Rape Culture and Victim Blaming

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To find rape culture in today’s society all you need to do is look to the radio. Musicians such as Robin Thicke and his song “Blurred Lines” show how pop culture is laced with bad messages for today’s media consumers. The definition of rape is forced sexual intercourse, meaning unconsented vaginal, oral or anal penetration (“Who Are the Victims?”). Unlike other well-defined crimes, rape comes up in today’s culture as something that has many grey areas between rape and sex. These ‘blurred lines’ lead to a prevalence of rape culture and victim blaming. Victim blaming and turning a blind eye to victims of rape and sexual assault cases is not only supporting rape culture but is also dangerous for the mental state of the victim.
Rape and rape culture is a prevalent occurrence in modern American society. In America one out of every six women and one out of every 33 men have been a victim of a rape that was completed or attempted (“Who are the Victims?”). Unfortunately not many of these are recognized or even reported to the police. In 100 rapes 40 will get reported to the police. Only 10 of those reports will ever lead to an arrest and eight will be prosecuted. An average of four rapists will receive a felony conviction and only three will spend time in jail (“Reporting Rates”). This shows that somehow throughout the trials 97 suspected rapists never spend a day in prison. A major problem stemming from this is that are are now 97 possible rapists let back into normal society. This could lead to more rape cases or lead more people to rape because they know they can get off without going to prison. Rape culture is also an event that is more prevalent in American society than one may think. An example of this is Robin Thicke’s chart to...

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...2014.
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Najumi, Mohadesa. "We Live In A Rape Culture." The Feminist Wire. Http://thefeministwire.com/, 9 June 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
Payne, Ed, and Ted Rowlands. "Child Custody Rights for Rapists? Most States Have Them." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.
Raphael, Jody. Rape Is Rape: How Denial, Distortion, and Victim Blaming Are Fueling a Hidden Acquaintance Rape Crisis. Chicago: Lawrence Hill, 2013. Print.
"Reporting Rates." Rainn.org. | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
"The Offenders." Rainn.org. | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, 2009. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
"Who Are the Victims?" Rainn.org. | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.

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