Rape Culture And Sexual Abuse

Almost two-thirds of sexual assault is committed by someone known to the victim. Yet rape and sexual assault are one of the least reported crime in the united states with only 39% of attacks being reported to the police each year. Rape culture has been present throughout history in the entire world and sadly it continues to exist. Rape culture needs to be talked about more openly, so victims are not afraid to accuse their rapist or attacker. Communities should come together to create a culture of care and stop shaming men, women, and children into victim blaming. Educating society about what is right and wrong while offering victims support can potentially prevent rapes from occurring and putting the sick people who committed the crime into prison.

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)

Thesis: Due to overexposure our society has become desensitized to the effects of rape and sexual abuse allowing a rape culture to flourish.

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.

The term ‘rape culture’ was coined by feminists in the United States in 1970. The term itself was designed to illustrate the ways in which society blamed victims of sexual assault, and how the normalization of male sexual violence was acceptable. Rape culture can stem from the acceptance of rape as a daily occurrence, manifested as a male prerogative. There is a hesitation by the authorities to go against the patriarchal cultural norms, hence linking nonconsensual sex to the cultural disposition of society. The patriarchal perspective of rape culture, embedded with gender inequality and misogyny are passed through generations which ultimately leads to the extensive institutional and social acceptance of rape. Actions which advocate sexist ideals are utilized to justify and validate normative misogynistic perceptions. Rape culture sexualizes violence inflicted upon women, as it serves as a continuum of a society which views a women’s body to be sexually available by default, deriving from the overall domination and objectification of a female. The underlying cause of rape culture is localized as it based upon the social aspects of culture. For example, countries with a prolific ‘war culture’ tend to emphasize violence and masculinity, and therefore rape is viewed as a normal facet of society. I intend to parallel the element of rape culture to the enforcement of social rules and the conditioning of gender roles. I plan on analyzing the notion that within the encompassment of

In the United States individuals of both genders are being sexually violated, yet way too often their offenders often get off scot free or with very little punishment. Rape culture exists because we don't believe it does. The first step to ending such culture is to name the real problem, which is victim-blaming. We treat victims like they’re responsible, which would be obscenely different for any other criminal charge. When a sexual assault is reported on the news the first questions the media asks are about the victim’s sobriety, clothes, or sexuality. The right question is, “What made the attacker think this was acceptable?” Changing a mind set that has been engraved in us for centuries is going to be strenous, yet not impossible. It starts

How many people have to get raped before the United States takes action? “1 out of four female students will be the victim of a rape or attempted sexual assault.” (The Hunting Ground) As this new culture progresses in the world our generation has to incorporate discipline and a new way of thinking to contribute to the new and improved mindset. Another thought being that, the view of sexual assault as well as rape is the victim's fault must be discontinued. We must discover ways that will revive our subtlety to the subjects.

Although the term Rape culture wasn’t coined until the 1970’s the practices associated with the term have been used to mistreat women for several centuries. Rape culture refers to the several aspects of culture such as art, science, and history that tolerates the sexual assault of women; people often mistake rape culture as something that is only seen through music or in the past, but the act of using vituperating language towards women and telling sexual explicit jokes are examples of rape culture. The political, social, and philosophical practices of the American society contributes to the oppression of women in the form of rape culture; although rape culture is deeply rooted in our society it could be diminished by enforcing stricter rape

“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,)

When you’re a star, they let you do it,” he had the gall to say. No, Donald Trump, they didn’t “let” you do it.

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

Rape culture is an expression that was conceived by feminists in the 70s. It was intended to reveal the ways that society condemned sexual assaulted victims. There are movements, campaigns, feminists, and activist trying to change that but they can't do it by themselves. Amber Amour is a feminists that has her own website with other women that talk about rape culture. The website, stoprapeeducate.org, teaches about rape culture itself, 'consent and healthy boundaries'. They enlighten the masses through creative expression such as chalk art that has positive messages on them in New York City (see page ). The 'Stop Rape. Educate.' Campaigns purpose is "to end sexual violence against women,

Each and everyday Americans sit back and watch the daily news and hear anchorman's broadcast news and politics around the world. It is very rare that you hear them discuss rape,the victim and rapist. Rape is becoming more common and most members of society are not taking action. Society members who are aware of the sexual harassment going on, such as teenagers, need to take action to inform the unaware members of society. Informing the uneducated generations about the rape culture will hopefully make them open their eyes, and can provide help towards the victims who suffer. Helping people understand rape will more than likely help the victims get the treatments they need to recover, and the rapists get harsher punishments. Rape, the societal

Southern Connecticut State University defines rape culture on there collegiate website as, “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture ... 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.” Many women know the fear of leaving their homes hoping that their outfit isn’t too revealing, and then having to put on a persona of modesty and propriety in hopes that they are seen as an upstanding member of society so as to avoid being objectified or cat-called by the opposite gender. They know what it is to fear

One might often ask what importance is there to fight against rape. Statistics have shown that the pillage of a person’s personal space have been steadily increasing since before the 1950s. Every two minutes, there is at least one American being sexually assaulted. (www.rainn.org ‘Sexual Assault Statistics”) these are just two of the millions of statistics that have been taking away many people’s privacy, natural rights, and their trust in others. Instead , due to rape culture women are commonly taught that ‘boys will be boys” or [concerning being bothered or harassed by the opposite sex] “ that just means they like you!” rape culture not only teaches women that its normal to be sexually assaulted , but it teaches them not to bother to correct the rapists, just to take it. In news, press reporters mourn the athletic career of two highschoolers’ who raped and nearly killed a 15 year old girl rather than mourning the victim. The only way to stop these situations from ever happening again is to stop