The Influence Of Shaming Tactics On The Media And Its Influence On Responses At The Societal Level

With the limitations of traditional criminological theories and the failings of the traditional criminal justice system, John Braithwaite’s reintegrative shaming theory provides a refreshing alternative to previous retributive and penal approaches (Braithwaite, 1989; White, Haines & Asquith, 2012). With its emphasis on cultural integration, the theory has shown utility amongst practitioners and academics (Kim & Gerber, 2012; Hay, 2001). However, despite its value, Braithwaite’s theory has not been without considerable critique (White, Haines & Asquith, 2012).

“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.

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)

America stands by traditional notions where rape culture is the norm and revolves around society. In particular, when a woman is raped, their actions prior to the incident are usually accounted for their fate of being sexually assaulted. Lately in America, there has been a controversy over women being victim blamed by legal authority in rape cases. These women are slut shammed for allegedly “asking for it” by being intoxicated and having the intention to “have fun”. Because of these accusations of allegedly seeking to engage sexually, rape victims are blamed for initiating the sexual act. An ongoing controversial rape case is the Stanford rape trial of Brock Turner, where the victim was sexually assaulted while unconscious near a dumpster. Turner was convicted for sexual assault, however was only incarcerated for three months. This has recently caused uproar due to justice and retribution not being equally served. The incident occurred near a university campus party; where alcohol was involved and memory loss was present. In addition, she was rushed to the hospital as a rape victim and was examined. Despite complying to use a rape kit and be evaluated, the victim’s accountability is undermined by the leniency of treatment in rape charges. When examining linguistic features of both parties’ written statements, several factors can be analyzed such as each participant’s stance and the credibility of their accounts. In addition, when dissecting a victim’s written account,

When group survival depends upon conformity, the community punishes nonconformists as a lesson to the entire community. Shaming is always public, as community seeks to return to balance. As a society transitions from group honor to individualism, this form of ethics moves away from being instructional and vengeance based. In the United States justice system, these instructional ethics are illustrated with the implications of felony status, punishment of non-violent crimes as felonies, the death penalty, and mandatory minimums, as they are meant to restore moral balance in American society.

Rarely does the media offer how the victim tried to defend against the aggressive act, but it quickly allows those accused to state no assault occurred, merely a miscommunication. Celebrities and song artists using rape culture and sexual assault as a way to further their career diminishes society 's concern when attacks occur. Today’s generation typically decides as a whole whether or not the statement or event categorizes as offensive or immoral, leading to not only the victims but individuals attempting to raise awareness to be told their views are invalid.

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

To illustrate contemporary victim blaming, a high profile case such as Ray and Janay Rice are an example of victim blaming in modern society. After the video of Ray Rice having punched out his fiancé many wondered after why she stayed and stood by him let alone still marry him. People formed low opinions of her for having stayed and did not stop to think of the psychological aspects of intimate partner violence they saw the assault and instantly seemed to believe that she should easily be able to leave and when she did not leave people became outraged that she could think to stay. Many opinioned that he had absolutely no right to punch her yet there were several who defended Ray Rice saying that she also held some blame in the altercation

Along with television shows, news stations are accused of trivializing rape aswell. How many times have you heard, “She asked for it.” or any other type of victim blaming, or a derivative of,“Boys will be boys.” to make rape seem like not such a big deal (1a)? News channels will even go as far as scrutinizing a victim’s dress, mental state, motives and history to make the victim seem in the wrong about their rape (1a). Some channels will inflate the fake rape statistics to make rape seem like a less

The “50 Shades of Grey” franchise has blurred, or “grayed” the lines between what is considered acceptable and what is considered sexual abuse. This franchise demonstrated how the social construction of gender roles has played a powerful role in the prominence and reporting of rape, and how the media has come to influence sexual assault cases, it’s victims, and the perpetrators.

But the culture of entitlement and denial, sometimes called rape culture, that too often keeps sex-crime victims silent does not mean that the victims “let” you do anything, even if they felt too powerless to seek recourse.

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

Braithewaite believed that society could influence the deviant behavior of an offender through two forms of shaming: stigmatization and reintegrative shaming. Reintegrative shaming is a method utilized to focus on punishing the criminal act instead of the offender, and providing resources to help the offender become reintegrated back into society through the form of forgiveness. In 2014, research indicated that twenty states had redefined the duties and structure within their juvenile courts, through adopting restorative justice practices. These practices were focused not only on protecting public safety, but also attempting to help construct productive lives for offenders (Mongold & Edwards, 2014). As a result, Florida has become one of the

The Rihanna-Chris Brown scandal all started when the couple were traveling by car and an argument broke out. This argument lead to a physical fight when Chris Brown physically let his anger out on Rihanna by hitting her. Almost every magazines and talk show started writing and talking about it. This scandal became a very hot topic of conversation, and almost everyone had something to say about it. We found that in a lot of these comments and discussions we heard to be focused on victim-blaming, Rihanna’s abuse being objectified, sexualized and romanticized. These are unacceptable comments for many tabloids and magazines to be putting into their publications. Not only does this normalize the abuse towards Rihanna but many times it distracts from the real hard facts about this case. Rihanna was abused and that fault is falling onto her from what we are seeing in the tabloids and magazines.