Definition Of Rape Culture

Rape, which is defined as the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse, has always been a problem in society but it recently has become something bigger than just a fight about proving whether someone raped the other person or not. (Dictionary.com) Recently, cases have come to the point where if the victim was a female, she is questioned on what she was wearing and whether or not she was intoxicated. When people question the victim based on what scenery she/he was in and whether or not she was showing more skin than she should have it is called rape culture. (Dictionary.com) Rape culture is defined as a concept which links rape and sexual

According to Marshall University’s Women Center, the definition of 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.”) This can be found in ideas such as victim-blaming, trivialization of assault, and pressure for individuals to adhere to strict gender roles. This culture is

Many individuals might wonder, what is rape culture? “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.” Most women limit their behavior because of the existence of rape. (Marshall University)

Rape culture, which was coined as a culture during the second wave of feminism during the early 1970’s and was, according to the encyclopedia of rape, “often used by feminists to describe contemporary American culture as a whole.” Rape culture, by definition though, is “a culture in which rape and other sexual violence (usually against women and gender diverse peoples ) are common

Not a day goes by where we don’t see or hear about a story of sexual assault; whether it be on the news, someone we know personally, or a story we see on social media. Sexual assault is any unwanted sexual act against a person or without a person’s consent. Sexual assault refers to any sexual, physical, verbal or visual act that is forced upon a person. “Every 107 seconds, another American is sexually assaulted. This is an average of 293,000 victims each year” (Statistics). The culture in the United States can be defined as a rape culture. Emilie Buchwald, author of Transforming a Rape Culture, defines rape culture as “a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. It is a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent… In a rape culture both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life” (What is Rape Culture?). Examples of living in a rape culture include things like blaming the victim and teaching women to avoid getting raped rather than teaching men not to rape. Factors that play a role in creating a rape culture is the gap between men and women, gender roles, and the porn industry.

In the United States and across the world, rape and sexual assault are becoming common. Each year anywhere from 300,000 to 1,300,000 instances of rape or sexual assault take place, but only about three percent of rapists are imprisoned for their crimes (Chemaly). In the United States, every two minutes a person is raped or sexually assaulted (“Statistics”). It is estimated that one in five women will be raped in her life (Chemaly). These numbers are only estimates, and the last is likely conservative because about 54 percent of victims choose not to report the crime (Chemaly). Why? The decision to report is personal for each survivor of assault; however, more often than not, there is an external influence—rape culture.

“Rape is called the most underreported violent crime in America. In a large national survey of American women, only 16% of the rapes, approximately one out of every six, had ever been reported to the police.” (aardvarc.org) Another issue that goes along with rape culture is the fact that it is not reported very often. This is usually, from my knowledge of volunteering at a rape crisis center, because the victim is embarrassed, is scared of retaliation from the rapist, or is emotionally traumatized by the experience. This causes an issue for the victim as well as other members of society. When a rape is not reported the rapist is left free to assault someone else, or even the victim again. To say that only one out of every six victim’s reports being raped leaves five rapists enabled to assault others.

“rape culture includes jokes, TV, music, advertising, legal jargon, laws, words and imagery, that make violence against women and sexual coercion seem so normal that people believe that rape is inevitable. Rather than viewing the culture of rape as a problem to change, people in a rape culture think about the persistence of rape as ‘just the way things are’” (Wavaw,)

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), approximately 207,500 rapes occur annually in the United States (“Statistics RAINN”). If we were to spread that out evenly over the 365 days of a year, that would equate to a sexual assault occurring every two minutes. Although the amount of rapes occurring annually has decreased by 60% since 1993 (“Statistics about Sexual Violence”), that’s still an incredible amount of sexual violence occurring yearly--- a facet of American culture that must be addressed. Although women are not the only victims of rape, and men are not the only perpetrators of rape, this essay will strictly refer to male-on-female cases of rape. The factors present in a society that naturalize or rationalize rape and sexual violence are known in Women’s Studies as ‘rape culture’. Many would deny its existence, but here in the United States, ‘rape culture’ is prevalent in the media, social roles, and in the way we educate our children about rape prevention. This gives rise to a society wherein rape is tolerated and even ignored, and it absolutely must be stopped. I will first outline the problematic facets of society that perpetuate rape culture, and then identify solutions to help eradicate the problem.

Rape is one of the crimes committed in the US. Rape is also one of the most underreported crimes in America and has low prosecution and conviction rates compared to any other violent crimes in America. "Rape Culture" has become a popular term when it comes to rape prevention education and advocacy; it refers to a society that contains within it practices and beliefs that minimize the negative impacts of victimization while accepting and continuing the perpetration of acts of sexual violence.

Rape Culture is when society normalizes rape, supports it and claims that it is okay. Rape culture was created by American feminists around the 1970’s (“Rape Culture”). According to Transforming a Rape Culture, Rape culture is “ a complex of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. It is a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexually as violent. A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm” (Buchwald, Emilie, Pamela R.

It is quite evident that such popular culture is the most influencing for the rape culture. Rape, as defined by Merriam-Webster is, “An outrageous violation; unlawful sexual intercourse or any other sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, another body part, or foreign object, without the consent of the victim.” Thus, if we were to combine the definition of culture and rape, then the definition would state, in short, rape culture is an integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior. Now that we understand the definition, we must now look at the influences.

The concept of rape culture posits that rape is common and normal in American culture, and that it is one extreme manifestation of pervasive societal misogyny and sexism. We are believed to live in a society where all daily activities among heterosexual relationships lead to the existence of rape culture.

Imagine, a woman, walking home alone, wearing a short clubbing dress after a night out with her friends. A man pulls her aside and sexually assaults her. This scenario will occur often in today’s court. The victim is blamed because of what she is wearing and for being alone at night. This is often known as rape culture. What is rape culture? “Rape culture is a term that was coined by feminists in the United States in the 1970’s. It was designed to show the ways in which society blamed victims of sexual assault and normalized male sexual violence” (WAVAW). In today's society, rape culture is normalized and completely overlooked instead of thoroughly examined by the many examples of rape.

What is rape culture? Rape culture, a term created by feminists circa 1972, ‘…is best defined as a culture in which rape is prevalent, pervasive, and