imagine that you live in a world that you couldn 't just say no. Where you were forced to do things that you didn 't want to do. Imagine that just because you said no, that wasn 't enough. That you were worthless, that what you say not matter. This is how 293,066 Americans feel per year(“How often does sexual assault occur?”).They are victims of sexual assaults, there refusal wasn 't enough for someone to stop. No one can truly understand how these people felt until they realize what the problem is, why it 's happening and some solutions to the problem. The problem of rape has been going on for centuries. Not just narrowed down to specific places, some of the countries with the highest percentage of rape are all of the world, for example, …show more content…
For the majority of victims it is hard to express they have been raped. The victims may feel guilty because they “asked for it” or they may feel “nasty”, as if they did something wrong. They might keep asking themselves what they could have done to avoid the attack or stopped it from happening (“Common reactions to rape”). If the victims feel this way about themselves, then what makes them think that other people won 't feel the same way. This is why many do not tell people or talk about the event. When Kathleen was raped she said she got called everything under the sun like "crazy", "nuts", "losing it", "pimp", "sl*t". She said she lost a handful of people to this event. People that didn 't understand that this was not her choice and how much it changed her (Kathleen Mary Fitzpatrick). Many people also do not feel comfortable having sex after the assault. Even being touched could be too much. It could bring them back to the event of being raped.For some people they could be suffering from PTSD, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Of course the victims will try everything not to remember the horrific event. “While I’m having sex I have to keep controlling my mind so I can hold it back from having a flashback. Throughout the whole process, I’m scared of these memories coming back, I’m trying to reign in the feeling of nausea.” Says rape victim Jo Heath. She sums up what many rape victims feel while they are …show more content…
In 2013 they renewed the VAWA act, Violence Against Women Act, the main point of this act is to ensure women 's rights. One of the biggest things in this act is that the attacker cannot use the victims past sexuall conduct against them (“Senate Passes the Violence Against Women Act”). I believe this is great, just because someone gives consent once does not mean that they will give consent every time. When the Senate renewed the bill he also added the “Safer Act”. This will help try to eliminate the backlog in the untested DNA in rape trials. Another act that was passed in efforts to stop backlogged DNA was the, Debbie Smith act or Public Law 108-405-oct. 30, 2014.Debbie Smith is a victim of sexual assault. She found justice through DNA testing, if the DNA was put in backlog then her attacker would have gotten to go free. She decided to make this act and try to help other victims. This act is expanding the DNA testing technology and try to expand the training professionals have to do. Laws and acts are not everything that will help stop rape. Rape devices are being created to put an end to sexual assault. A group of Swedish teenagers has created the “Anti-rape belt”. It requires two hands to unlock the belt, which would lessen the control of the rapist. It gives the person wearing it the most control (Murano, Grace). This idea seems great because it is very discreet, it 's just a belt. Thats one
Rape is a physical attack, not sex. Rape crisis counselors and researchers define rape as an act of violence in which sex is used as a weapon (Benedict 2). A woman is raped in this country every two minutes. Between 1996 &1999 7,787,00 rapes were reported. The actual number is much, much higher because only 26% of rapes are reported. Husbands or boyfriends assaulted 28% of these women, 35% of these women were raped by people they knew; 1 in 4 of these rapes took place in a public place (Grady 4). Rape is a problem that infiltrates all countries and cultures; a Muslim woman who has been raped is disowned by her fiancé and her family for having brought them shame by becoming dirtied and thus not a candidate for marriage (Benedict 2).
In a study done by The Journal of Clinical Psychology, “the primary reason for not reporting seemed to combine a type of guilt with embarrassment.” With the help of utilizing support groups, clubs, and other programs among college campuses that are designed to make the victim’s experience a little easier, the victims may not feel as embarrassed to come out and may feel safer in their decision to move forward with their case. One of the most notable effects of rape is the psychological impact that it has on the victim immediately as well as long-term. Many victims feel depression, anxiety, and other sudden onset mental illnesses as a result of their attack and can last for years post-attack. The Journal of Interpersonal Violence reported that in their study of 95 victims over a 12 week long period, “by 3 months post-crime 47% still met the full criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.” This prolonged experience of emotional trauma can weaken the person’s overall mental wellbeing and cause the trauma to stick with them for the rest of their lives, especially if there are no support resources around them. As cited in the Journal of Clinical Psychology study previously, the number one reason for not reporting is the feeling of embarrassment which causes the victims to not talk about their experience and to shut out those around
McGylnn C, Munro Ve, (2010) Rethinking rape law: an introduction. Rethinking rape law international and comparative perspectives. USA:Routledge, 18 - 30.
What is date rape? Is date rape different from rape? In a traditional date, a man and a woman meet for dinner and hope that it goes well so they can continue to see each other. In some cases, things go terribly wrong causing law enforcement to get involved. According to Paglia, all women have want men want. Thus, we must be extremely careful when meeting someone for the first time, as we do not know if we can yet trust. We cannot trust that they will not place a drug in our drink when we go to the restroom. Some may argue that men should be taught to never to that to a woman. But shouldn’t a woman be taught to not leave a drink unattended during a date or during a party?
Have you ever been encountered in a circumstance of being raped or knew an individual that was a victim of rape? Every one-hundred and seven seconds an American is sexually assaulted (RAINN). Rape has become a continuous problem causing controversy due to the way colleges cover up or simply hide incidents of rape throughout campus. More college students are also being raped by their own acquaintances rather than random strangers. Students, parents, and politicians question the way schools protect students and how their campuses can become more effective and efficient in preventing further occurrences of rape. Over the past years there has been a series of incidents where rape has been an extreme problem on college campuses in America that have been kept quiet until something traumatic happens. The prevalence of rapes on college campuses is continuing to rise due to lack of security, surveillance and awareness.
Sexual assault is defined as a type of behaviour that occurs without explicit consent from the recipient and under sexual assault come various categories such as sexual activities as forces sexual intercourse, incest, fondling, attempted rape and more (Justice.gov. 2017). People often become victims of sexual assault by someone they know and trust (Mason & Lodrick, 2013) which is conflicting to the public’s perception and beliefs that offenders are strangers. Women are the main victims for sexual assault and are 5 times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault from a male (Wright, 2017, p. 93). Men are victims of sexual assault however only 0.7% of men, compared to 3.2% of women, experience some form of sexual assault which highlights how vulnerable women are compared to men. Sexual assault is publicised and exposed in the media, however is often
The statistics clearly show a group of people who’re affected by the heinous acts of sexual assault. Everyone knows that sexual assault isn’t a topic that’s on the top of the list to talk about; people usually even try to go as far as to hide it or to cover it up. Though, it’s clear for certain; covering something up doesn’t make it alright – It won’t make it go away and the problem is still there. For that exact fact, it is the very reason that sexual assault is something that needs to be brought to the
Sexual assault and rape on college campuses is a serious public issue. Before applying to these accredited institutions most students do not look up the school 's past records of sexual assault and rape on their campus.College campuses have failed to keep students safe the system they use has failed to protect and obtain justice for those that have been victims of sexual assault. Society plays a huge part in how young adults view sexual assault. From young age girls are told “if he’s bothering you it 's because he likes you”, and boys aren 't held accountable for their actions because “boys will be boys”. At what time does it stop being a game. At what age is it not acceptable for boys to mistreat girls, when is the line drawn and, what is the punishment for when this line is crossed.
Sexual assault is something very serious and dangerous and can mess a person’s life up both physically and mentally. Females are feeling unsafe on the grounds of places were they are going to get an education to make a dream come true. Why should they feel unsafe and why should they have to worry about being a target. Also many people need to realize how big of an issue this is and it shouldn’t be brushed under the
According to rain.org 44 percent of rape victims are under the age of 18 and 80 percent are under the age of 30 years old. Every 2 minutes an American is a victim of rape and about 240,000 of them are reported each year. Only 60 percent of assaults are not reported to the police renders that 97 percent of the perpetrators never spend a day in jail. The less the people report the crime the less they are likely to catch the perpetrator. Sadly 23 of the victims know the person whole is assaulting them. Almost 40 percent of the rapist know their victim. This is a very uns...
Sexual assault is an offense that plagues many U.S. citizens. Although some studies show that rape is on the decline, other studies report that the phenomena actually occuring is that less rape victims are reporting the crime. In fact, approximately 68% of sexual assaults go unreported to the police according to the U.S. Department of Justice in a National Crime Victimization Survey from 2008-2012. It is common knowledge that rape victims are usually severely traumatized after the event, which leaves them susceptible to various emotions such as shame, anxiety, numbness, fear, denial, and guilt. Because of this, many rape victims decide to repress their experience and let it go unheard. However, not only does this prevent them from healing emotionally,
There are so many things that I have never found really interesting to me or at least something that could make me want to try and change it. I still don’t understand why people want to hurt kids. This is not something that should be a norm in our culture, but it is. This should be changed instead of just letting it happen sure it is going to be hard to charge, but there are still things that we can do to help kids that have gone through it and their parents. It also does depend on who abused them then they can go to jail. There are still things that we do not have a real understanding as to what sexual abuse is in general. It is not a well-known topic unless some has been abused. We assume that the victim is to blame them for what happened to them, but it is not their fault. We blame people because we do not want to see the perpetrator as the one who should be in trouble. In this case we do not have the knowledge as to what sexual abuse really is. The definition of sexually abuse is a sex act that is non-consensual and this could be anything. This does not mean that consensual sex is
This is because they believe that they could’ve fought harder or screamed louder so someone can hear their cries of help. Instead of just sitting there as if they were a lifeless rag doll that anyone could controlled. I find it quite outrageous when others who have not experienced this, tell you to just move on. They do not know how it is to have your innocence torn away from you within seconds. They do not know how it feels to think you did not give your everything to stop them. You slowly lose all your friends and family, fall into a crippling depression, and feel as if they are the only ones who understands. “94% of women who are raped experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the two weeks following the rape,” (2). But you are not there are thousands of other women and men going through the same thing… “On average, there are 321,500 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year in the United States,” (2) …You are not
Survivors often find it difficult to recover fully after they are sexually assaulted. The feel like the should have done something to prevent what was happening to them. Kimberly A. Lonsway, PhD and Sergeant Joanne Archambault from End Violence Against Women International stress that victims often disassociate. “Many victims describe experiencing a feeling of paralysis during the sexual assault that is often referred to as “frozen fright.” With this type of reaction, victims feel as if they are paralyzed during the sexual assault and are unable to think, act, or respond in ways that they would if they weren’t experiencing such significant trauma.” They don’t know what to do, and so they do nothing. Looking back, it seems painfully obvious to them what they should have done. However, even when someone fights back, that sometimes doesn’t do anything. Sexual assault is not about sex. It’s about
What is it that makes people want to rape? What does the rapist get out of it? Do they like to see the person in pain, the fear in the victim’s eyes, the screams, to see the victim cry and beg? No-one will ever know the answers to these questions. Rape is a serious crime that needs to be spoken about more. A lot of victims do not report or speak about the incident. Society sees rape and sexual abuse as a taboo subject and it makes people very uncomfortable when mentioned or talked about, especially women who have dealt with this crime.