The Importance Of Rape For American Women

In the documentary, The Hunting Ground, there is an exploration of rape on campuses throughout America. According to the film, more than 16 percent of college women are sexually assaulted while in college (Dick, “The Hunting Ground”). Interestingly, the woman actually ended up complaining of two traumas: the first being the actual rape, and the second being the method in which the Universities decided to handle the complaints. Within the documentary, the numerous women that were interviewed complained vehemently that instead of pursuing the predator that raped the victims, the victims were blamed and silenced. The women were asked whether they were drinking alcohol, what they were wearing, if they said no, and if they

Rape culture creates myths that victim blame the survivors of sexual violence. For example, a victim of a crime may be asked a question by police that suggests the victim was too drunk or wearing revealing clothing that provoked the perpetrator and resulted in the sexual violence against the victim. Rape culture silences victims who feel that law enforcement and the judicial system do not protect them or hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions. The stigma of sexual violence continues to silence students who choose to not report incidences because they are in fear of stepping forward or believe the judicial system will fail them when they

Rape is a violent crime that involves forcing sexual acts on a person. Sexual assault is a serious problem and should be stopped. It can happen to anyone: no one is safe. Every one out of six Americans are raped each year. This includes men,women,and children. Some people believe that rape isn’t a prominent problem, but statistics show it occurs more frequently than we could ever imagine.

Although it is important to be prepared in the case of sexual harassment, this method of teaching coincides with victim-blaming. The idea places the burden of sexual assault on the victim rather than potential perpetrators. In reality, teaching people about rape culture and how to avoid partaking in it places the burden of sexual assault on those who commit the act which more effectively helps eliminate the stigma around the issue. An article called, Rape and Sexual Assault, concisely paints a picture of the issue by explaining, “Sexual assault has nothing to do with how attractive a girl or guy is. It has nothing to do with desire or passion. Rape and sexual assault come from a need for power and control. In rape, sex is a weapon. It is used to overpower, humiliate, and inflict pain on another person,” (Rape and Sexual Assault). The author of this article asserts that the victim of sexual assault is never at fault, and details specific examples of rape culture to help the audience better understand the topic. In another article, Society's Response to Survivors, the author, Sarah Ullman explains the concept and effects of rape culture. She contends that victim blaming often leads to unstable mental and physical health for the victim. She mentions that many times when victims attempt to tell their

Rape is a topic that has been well discussed in today’s society, as well as throughout history. Rape tends to be defined or categorized as many different things. Campus rape is an increasingly apparent issue, in which there have been several different methods of action taken to help reduce the risk. Even though rape is one of those things that we will never be able to be put to an end to completely, there are ways to fight it and bring awareness to it. A great example of campus rape I will use in this paper would be Emma Sulkowicz, a student that was attending Columbia University, and was raped on the first day of her sophomore year, and the campaign she started, the “Mattress Performance (Carry the Weight),” in order to bring awareness to her case and campus rape in general.

In Roxane Gay’s article, “The Careless Language of Sexual Violence,” she breaks down rape in the perspective of our society nowadays. Gay states that our world today does not take the act of rape as an important issue to pay attention to by saying, “the idea that male aggression and violence towards women is acceptable and often inevitable.” Also, that in many cases the idea of victim blaming plays a big role in the way our society looks at the subject; saying that the individual that was raped is in the wrong and the rapist is not at fault. In the article, Gay states that we live in a “rape culture,” meaning that the way the world is today is to view violence towards women as something that is not an important

The rise of rape culture stems from not only a growing percentage of sexual assault, but a greater amount of people bringing these vicious acts to light. With the surge of more women being open about assault, something major must be done to combat rape culture, current policy makers must take responsibility with previous lax judgements on rape, it is essential that the definition of rape and consent is expanded and clearly defined, men are trained to not be offenders, and young women taught that sexual assault is not normal.

“Women should not venture out with men who are not relatives” (Indian politician Abu Azmi on increased incidences of rapes in India). “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting that whole thing down” (Todd Akin, Republican representative from Missouri). “If it’s inevitable, just relax and enjoy it” (Clayton Williams, Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate in 1990). These are the words that swim through girls minds like vicious sharks ripping at our strength. We grow up hearing the statistics. One in six women will experience attempted or completed rape. 82% of women report knowing their attacker. In the United States a new rape is reported approximately every five minutes, and yet, only 16% of rapes are reported to the

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

As mentioned earlier, rape culture is apparent in all aspects of our lives. It exists in almost all forms of media,

Rape was labeled a social problem only during the last third of the last century, according to Henslin ( pg.130,Social Problems, A Down-To-Earth-Approach). In fact, this time period falls in the late 1960’s. This new revelation came about through the tireless work of feminists and victims, and those who work to change the perception of rape. By no means, was the labeling of rape, as a social problem, the magic button to free women of continued victimization. Rape by definition is a form of assault on a victim where their “judgement is impaired in some way.” In addition, if a victim has said, “NO” to the assault. Still, there is a problem with rape, and specifically on college campuses where the rape culture of fraternities is fostered.

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 myths that were detailed in the Rape culture prezi highlights the bias, and unjust reality that we live in and how rape culture is deepened. The myths that only young pretty women are assaulted, that is most cases rape is caused by black men against black women and that people who dress or act provocatively they deserved to be raped since they “asked” for it reinforces the unjustness of Griffen’s theory on rape culture. Griffen’s theory on rape culture indicates that it is embedded into our social institutions and it is evident in the family structure. W.I.R. reveals how the wife is possession to her husband. It also talks about how society is a male hierarchy and that we live in a male dominated culture that denies women’s power (pg.518). Women are perceived to be the true oppression of men.

Rape culture is something that we see in the news, online, and in the media regularly lately, but what is rape culture? Rape has been defined as, “Unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent.” (Merriam-Webster) Culture is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “The act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education.” That means that culture is a learned set of behaviors. As a matter of fact, the process by which children learn how to behave within a society is called enculturation (Ferraro, 2007). When you pair the word “culture” with another word like “rape”, the implications are terrible. “Rape Culture” means we have learned to accept rape and acts of sexual misconduct as part of our culture.

According to the Marshall University Women’s Center, “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” (“Women’s Center” marshall.edu page 1). Women believe that rape culture is emphasized through arrogant language, women being objectified by men, the overuse of television sexual violence, and teaching the victims not to be raped instead of teaching the rapist not to rape.