Samentha Moore Rape Analysis

An American is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds, and every 8 minutes, that victim is a child. Only 310 out of 1,000 assaults are reported, but only 6 out of 1,000 perpetrators end up in prison (RAINN). Although sexual assault is egregious, these perpetrators are less likely to end up in prison than other criminals. The reason that is seems to be that victims do not report their cases. So why are sexual assault victims afraid to share their stories? Victims often do not report their assault because of many reasons, including the fear of reprisal, the belief that the police could not and would not do anything about the case, or because they simply did not know how to approach an official.

At some point in their life, every person has been told to “walk in somebody else’s shoes” because they need to be aware of the struggles that other people face, but it is often tough for people to understand things outside of the scope of their own practical knowledge. In her memoir, Lucky, Alice Sebold suffers from this same problem. Throughout the course of her narrative, Sebold thinks of her experience as something that is accessible to be understood by outsiders; in addition to this, Sebold paints her reactions and experiences as a model that she can apply to other victims of sexual assault. Even though Sebold’s story is one of strength in the face of horrible occurrences, her lack of acknowledgement in regards the ways in which other people’s consciousness and coping mechanisms differ from her own makes it far more difficult to sympathize with her than it should be considering the content of her memoir. Evidence of her closed world understanding can be seen from the beginning of the memoir, when she reports her sexual assault to the police (Sebold, 3), later in the narrative, when other people react to her experiences and related feelings (Sebold 146), and finally, and perhaps most significantly, when her close friend Lila undergoes a sexual assault (Sebold 220).

Comaz-Diaz (1995), suggests that value that is placed on girl’s virginity, the shame of the victim, and cultural silence against discussing sexual matters are family values that are invoked to prevent disclosure on sexual assault. Incomplete or inappropriate sexuality socialization in childhood may affect one’s ability to identify abuse and as a consequence delay or hinder the disclosure of sexual abuse in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Many believed that there was no reason to report an abuse because the police or authorities would not believe them. However, they did not believe many until proven truthful, anyone can say someone sexually assaulted them, but they did not. This was to take precautions amongst both the victim and the accused perpetrator. In the article, there were many aspects that explained that the woman felt more victimized because of the courts decision to believe the abuser until proved he/she is guilt. Also, many children blamed themselves for the rape, so they would not tell their parents. To add, as we read throughout the article, we can distinguish that many abused individuals are scared and embarrassed about the sexual harassment. Many factors were brought to attention: youth and woman fell under the micro-level individual factors, and the community and police did not want to really intervene. These factors result in many victims maybe later on abusing others because they were abused, which should not happen. So, therefore, there was a lot of valuable information presented throughout this

Steven Whitacre experienced a very traumatic childhood of abuse from his father which led to a very difficult adulthood. In his book “My Fathers Prostitute”, he talks about his life, starting out when his father first abused him to more recent times in adulthood to where he finally sought help and started to move on in his life started to live the life he should and deserves. This book really opened my eyes on what all goes on in this world that I would have never guessed. “Every eight minutes, a child is sexually assaulted in the U.S., and 93% know the perpetrator” (“Adult Survivors of Childhood”). To me this statistic seems insane and I cannot ever imagine being sexually assaulted by anyone let alone one of my parents that I am supposed to trust and love. When you really think about it, that how every eight minutes a child is getting sexually assaulted it is astonishing. It makes me wonder how many people I know that I have been sexually assaulted but don’t tell anyone. I assume there are many different cases of sexual assault and how there are different levels of how traumatic they are to the individual someone came upon. With some people, the sexual assault only happened once, and with others like the author of My Fathers Prostitute it happens during their entire childhood to impact the individual even more. I am not saying that the individuals who have only been sexually assaulted once came out un hurt or traumatized, but I would just imagine that it would not leave

Often times when children are abused or neglected its by family or someone the child trusts, It often times occurs when the family is in poverty or there are drugs or alcohol around. It is a major problem when family members notice that a child is being abused and/or neglected and they chose not to stand up for the child, most times young children will not even know that there is nothing wrong. It can be hard to notice “[But] Being able to recognize the physical effects of abuse can be crucial in identifying an abusive situation and taking steps to protect a child from further abuse or neglect” (Effects of child abuse). An abuser will make the children think they are playing some type of game or that what they are doing is okay, in some cases abusers will tell the children that they will get in trouble if they don’t do whatever is being asked. They could go as far as threatening the child if the child refuses to comply. It’s important to take care of cases like this immediately “Research has found that children exposed to violence or abuse, if left unaddressed or ignored, are at an increased risk for emotional and behavioral problems in the future” (Describing the problem). No child should ever have to go through these things much less have anyone to talk about it with and help them get through the terrifying

The topic I chose to address within my creative media project was over the issue titled “little rapes” presented to me through Heather R. Hlavka’s article “Normalizing Sexual Violence: Young Women Account for Harassment and Abuse”. I chose to address this topic because despite the severity and the reoccurrence of this type of violence only a few victims reported their experience to authorities or to people who can help. Andrea Nelson and Pamela Oliver state (under certain rules), “…any girl who permits herself to be persuaded into sexual activity is weak and to blame, as is a girl who voluntarily enters a situation where she can be raped.” The justifications of these acts need to be stopped and solutions for these sexual acts are long overdue.

When most people think of “child abuse”, the disturbing news stories of young girls being raped or sexually exploited come to mind but that’s not the only side of it. People seem to only consider physical abuse armful when emotional and mental abuse is just as bad, if not worse.

At times it can be difficult for even the most loving parent to recognize and take protective action for their child. An exceedingly large number of child victims never disclose what occurred to them. A sex offender on average molests 120 victims, many of which are never reported (Child Abuse Statistics,

More than one speaker at the event highlighted that their experiences with rape and sexual assault do not define them, their bodies, or their lives, highlighting the ability to transcend—while also accepting—bodily pain and suffering. The statement “I am not my experience” was spoken more than once, however, the women who repeated these words also

How could someone go everyday living in fear because of getting repeatedly beaten close to or to death. Many helpless innocent women go through life getting abused by their partner. Yet no one seems to do anything to prevent it from happening again. The excuse of not noticing is not probable considering that there are many signs that one is getting abused. Not noticing is one thing but pretending to have not seen anything is another thing. Many people are too scared to speak up and put a stop to it. Such trauma is long lasting effect. It is treatable but takes time and inner strength.

Charles Blow in the article, “Surviving Child Sexual Abuse”,argues that child sexual abuse should be taken serious, so other could speak out to their lives. Blow supports his argument by explaining that children will be afraid if they don’t see the help they need because an adult has already harmed them, so they see the rest as a threat. The author purpose is to persuade to help children that are being abused in order to help them understand that not everyone is evil in this world. The author writes in informal tone for the victims of this

As stated before, media of the time promoted passive and submissive behavior in women—particularly in the situation of a sexual assault, but even outside of dangerous situations, in a normal relationship. The feminine movement of the 70s began to recognize and rail against the patriarchy that demanded women’s role as a second-class citizen, often viewed as an object or, at best, an inferior dependent. The traditional role impressed upon women was that of “a sexuality that is passive and lacks concern for the woman’s pleasure”. Unfortunately, even today, this idea of women’s sexuality has not been eradicated, as evidenced by literature published years after this time—Daniel Shank Cruz focuses on the book The Good Vibrations Guide to Sex, published twenty-five years after “Rape Fantasies.” Good Vibrations contains scenarios of women’s rape fantasies, in which the women in the fantasies are immobilized and raped by attackers, but they inwardly enjoy it despite their outward appearance. Cruz points out that the problem with these fantasies is not that the women in the fantasies enjoy their encounters, because these women claim their sexuality by finding pleasure in a sexual situation. However, the problem lies in that the women in this book are disempowered, allowed to be used as impersonal sex objects, denied any control over their

Child abuse is a prevalent thing in communities and often time the victims are suffering in silence. We, as a society, have a bad habit of “turning our heads the other way” or “not wanting to get involved.” The mentality of “it’s none of our business” is an extremely dangerous mind set to have. It is time for America to step up and start helping the ones that are not able to fight for themselves. The children of our country.

Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year, but the number of unreported instances is far greater, because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry). Childhood sexual abuse is a traumatic experience affecting the lives of not only the victim, but those close to the victim as well. Many think there is only one person truly traumatized, but in fact, everyone involved is affected. The victim has to deal with their experience the rest of their lives. They may be more at risk for other mental issues as well, including depression. The family involved has to deal with its pain, often causing hardship and discord within the family. This is especially true