An Assault On The Body And Mind

Sexual assault is sexual intercourse, or any sexual act, done without consent. It is often violent where victims are being physically forced to engage in the act against their will. It may involve a stranger or someone familiar. All forms of sexual assault are crimes, even if the parties involved were drinking, taking drugs, given drugs, or unconscious. Hundreds of Americans are affected by sexual violence everyday. Although there is a lot more attention being given to this topic than there was previously, many people still do not believe that it is a big deal. I see a lot of jokes about rape and sexual violence, and viewers find them to be epigrammatic. Also, men make claims like “asking for permission is a sign of weakness” or “forcing yourself on women makes them love you” as an excuse

“Rape is unique. No other violent crime is so fraught with controversy, so enmeshed in dispute and in the politics of gender and sexuality… And within the domain of rape, the most highly charged area of debate concerns the issue of false allegations. For centuries, it has been asserted and assumed that women “cry rape,” that a large proportion of rape allegations are maliciously concocted for purposes of revenge or other motives.”

Last week, the White House released a short, celebrity packed, 60-second public service announcement (PSA) on the topic of sexual assault. 1 is 2 Many addressed those who are in control of preventing sexual assault as its intended audience was those who can put a stop to sexual violence: the perpetrators or would-be offenders. Although this one minute announcement completed the task of bringing sexual assault to the forefront of discussion, it failed to encompass the central issues concerning the culture of sexual assault: societal misperceptions, the victims, and the justice system. Sexual assault is a phenomenon that has been around for centuries; the culture of sexual assault is rooted in both legal practices and societal perceptions.

Sexual Assault described in technical terms is defined as any sort of sexual activity between two or more people in which one of the people involved is involved against his or her will. (3) The description of "against his or her will" extends to varying degrees of aggression, ranging from indirect pressure to a direct physical attack. While sexual assaults are associated with the crime of rape, it may cover assaults which would not be considered rape. What constitutes a sexual assault is determined by the laws of the jurisdiction where the assault takes place, which vary considerably, and are influenced by local social and cultural attitudes. Every year, an estimated 300,000 women are raped and 3.7 million are confronted with unwanted

In the 21st century, the U.S culture teaches women to accept violence. Young ladies are told about dress codes to not distract boys from their education. Young ladies are also taught that they are not allowed to show their skin because it's inappropriate and it shows “too much”. Examples of rape culture are sexual jokes, blaming the

(US Department of Justice- Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2014). While the numbers are startling, what is most alarming, is that it took eighty years for the government to change a definition that was wrong from the beginning. Moreover, this attitude of ignorance and apathy towards rape victims has trickled down and can be seen in the attitudes of the American population. While many feminists have suggested that rape is a tool used by a patriarchal society to maintain a status quo, and rape myths are tools used to justify this violence against women, what I believe is that rape myths are more pervasive than this explanation. Rape myths and their acceptance is in fact a part of the status quo, determined by the gender role construct reflected in current American society, Without a radical change in views towards gender roles rape myths will continue to be widely accepted, and victims will

America has a proud history of being a country that has many different ethnicities and cultures living within its borders. But one of the most prevalent cultures is one that transcends race or country of origin, rape culture. The term used by modern day feminist and gender activist defines a culture which normalizes rape and sexual assaults because of the deeply rooted societal attitudes towards gender and sexuality. In a rape culture the instances of rape are accepted as everyday occurrences and even as the prerogative of men, resulting in the stigmatization and blame placing of rape victims. Although the phrase “rape culture” is relatively modern, the

Shows like Game of Thrones can’t get through one episode without showing off a woman’s body or implying rape (5a). Even sitcoms like “Two Broke Girls” join in on it. This is especially surprising as the show is about two women and co-created by a woman. It sports such jokes as, “Stop fighting it, give in to it. I don’t know why I’m quoting a rapist.” and “Somebody date raped me and I didn’t think I would live through it but now I’m stronger and still needy.” (6a). Most people would just laugh the joke off and think nothing of it. Walter Moseley, said “Rape Culture exists because we don’t believe it does.” (6a). In a study conducted in 2009 by David Lesak and Paul M. Miller, they found that male college students would admit to raping others as long as the word rape wasn’t used in the questionnaire (6a). This is a byproduct of rape jokes in the media which trivialize rape and make rapists themselves not correlate what they did to rape.

Before the emergence of the Westernized “anti-rape” movement, there was a distinctly rape supportive discourse in our society, supported by myths and justifications for the act of raping another human being. The resulting trauma for the victims of rape was greatly ignored as society

A crime in America that is committed all too often is the act of forcible rape. Forcible rape is not a crime only against women. The definition was recently changed to aid in gender neutrality and to account for forcible rapes among same gender (FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 2013). Forcible rape in now defined as, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) (2013), “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” Although the act of forcible rape is a serious crime, many incidents go unreported for one reason or another. Some reasoning of why a rape may go unreported include, being embarrassed to tell somebody that you were forcibly raped, the victim knew the criminal and is afraid that further injury may occur if they report the incident to the police, or the victim was possibly drugged and was not aware of the situation. I will describe some of the statistics and trends involved with the act of forcible rape, explain some of the reasoning behind why one feels the need to commit forcible rape on another person, how the social learning theory shaped those individuals into the criminals that they are.

Merril Smith’s Encycolpedia of Rape defines the term “rape culture” as “one in which rape and other sexual violence against women . . . [is] both prevalent and considered the norm” (174). Rape is not a new subject in today’s society, its origins reaching far back into history. What causes rape, though? Is it the primal drive of men to exhibit dominance over all women, or do the women share the blame because of the way they dress, act, or do their makeup? Modern American culture would place the blame on the woman who “provoked” the attack; however, a woman should not have to park closer to the building she is entering, nor should she have to carry protection just in case a sexual predator decides that she is his next victim. Men are just as

Many people are under the impression that rape culture is a made up thing, created so that people, specifically women, could get attention. When in fact that is the complete opposite of what it is. “Rape culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women’s bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women’s rights and safety.” (Marshall University).

Rape also known as sexual assault is having sexual intercourse or any form of sexual penetration against a person’s will or consent. It could be carried out by coercion, the use of physical power or abuse of authority. It is an act many societies, if not all discourage, and attracts different form of punishment in different geographical locations. There are many consequences of rape; some people suffer from depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Suicidal tendencies, and Anxiety Disorder. It was not a surprise when the Mr. Cosby’s alleged case of rapes were waved and flooded to the entire media channels in the USA and other countries. Majority of people can recall number of such cases where some prominent African – Americans were sued

Rape culture is an environment in which social attitudes have the effect of normalizing sexual violence against women and excusing it in the media and other popular cultures. Rape culture attempts to rationalize a continuum of sexual violence that range from sexist remarks to unwanted sexual touching, and rape itself. Rape culture has become so desensitized by society that perpetrators may not be aware of their wrongdoings and victims may not realize they are being victimized. It is a culture in which victims are suppressed when they decide to speak up about their traumatic attack, because they are seen as being dramatic or untruthful while the perpetrator's actions are left unpunished. While the majority of victims are women, rape culture is not solemnly an issue of female oppression, it is a general disconnect between human beings. It is a culture that many of us refuse to accept exist, however there are numerous examples that normalize rape and sexual assault on a daily basis. Rape culture is not a new topic. The term was first used back in the 1970’s by a group of feminist to raise the awareness of the normalization of sexual violence in society. In recent years the topic has become a popular, controversial issue and has come to permeate virtually every aspect of our lives through media, song lyrics, and everyday jargon.

The concept behind the word, action and idea of rape is a scary thought. Rape is defined as a type of sexual assault, usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person’s consent (Kelland, 2011). Rape is a demoralizing crime that can leave the victim with lasting negative psychological affects. This paper will discuss the different types of rape, the cause and effects with rape and the harm rape can cause to its victims.