The Prevalence of Rape Culture

Image courtesy of  socialistworker.org

Unfortunately in the society in which we live, violence against women has become an all too common occurrence. What has developed in our society due to the lack of action being taken to fight back against these violent attacks is what has become known as a “rape culture”.

    Unfortunately, there are no 100% exact studies available as to the prevalence of rape and sexual assaults, against both men and women, due to a hesitancy on the part of the victim to report their assaults to the proper authority - and it’s not that hard to see why. If a report is filed and a statement is taken, victims are subjected to a highly invasive rape kit consisting of cheek and vaginal swabs, fingernail clippings, and a full medical exam. It is invasive and sometimes thoroughly embarrassing, as many times victims are blamed and made to feel responsible for the actions of their attackers. Let me put it simply: the victim is never to blame.

    We accept excuses from rapists such as “she was asking for it”, if the person in question was wearing a short skirt or a thin top or blouse that shows a little cleavage, “we/she was drunk,” or even “she’s my wife/girlfriend/fiance,” in cases of marital rape. Having a relationship of any kind with a person or a previous consensual sexual encounter with them does not automatically guarantee consent every time thereafter. If your partner tells you to stop or revokes consent at any point during an encounter, then that should be the end of it. If you and/or your prospective partner are drunk or intoxicated by any substance, then sex should be off the table completely until both parties are able to recover their mental faculties.

    Women are not the only victims here: men can be too. These instances are reported even less due to the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes in society. Men don’t come forward to report assaults because they don’t want to risk feeling emasculated. Sexual assault in the military is also scarily prevalent and underreported. According to Policy Mic, between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013 there were 3,553 reports of sexual assault, a 43% increase from the year before. During that same period, there were 219 casualties in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; in that year, soldiers were fifteen times more likely to be raped by a comrade than killed by an enemy. 

    There are many myths that contribute to the rape culture, one of the biggest being that prostitutes can’t be rape victims. This is a blatant lie; anyone can be a victim of rape, even if they sometimes accept money in trade for sexual favors, they still have the right to say no and deny such favors at any time. Rape is defined as “any form of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person.” It cannot, and should not be allowed to be, boiled down to “a few minutes of action,” as Brock Turner’s father attempted to justify his son’s assault on a fellow student.

    Another myth  that popped up a few years ago that was, thankfully, debunked quickly was introduced by Missouri state representative Todd Akin, who said that “legitimate rape never causes pregnancy”. You cannot argue with science and biology. All rape is legitimate rape, and what makes his statement even more ignorant and disgusting is that, in some states in the U.S., if a woman is prevented from having or decides not to have an abortion if she becomes pregnant after being raped, her rapist retains parental guardianship.

    All of this contributes to the rising “rape culture”; people make jokes about it, comedians use it as material for television or stand-up routines, and some people even write songs on the subject. The most notable ocurrence in the past few years was Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines”, which featured lines such as: “I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two,” “do it like it hurt,” “I know you want it,” etc. All common phrases victims hear from their rapists. Things like this have become prominent in society today because we allow it. We do nothing. To summarize my thoughts, I leave you with this popular quote from an unknown source:

    “Men should be offended when someone claims that women should prevent rape by not wearing certain things, or not going certain places, or not acting a certain    way. That line of thinking presumes that you are incapable of control…That you require a certain dress code to be maintained, that certain behaviors be employed    so that maybe today, just maybe, you won’t rape someone. It presumes that your natural state is rapist.”