Women should not be forced to put up with any unwanted sexual advances from men. This is a major problem throughout the world yet it seems to fly under the radar. We need to make sure all women know it is okay to speak up about this and not feel ashamed for something that is not their fault. However, articles that reject these ideas such as "Women Can Dump Jerks Without Help of Lawyers", by Judy Jarvis make it difficult for women to feel comfortable enough to voice their problems. In her writing, Judy Garvis expresses her distaste of the concept of women who "play the victim". However, I actually do feel that women should no longer stay quiet on this topic and once and for all destroy this idea that women must suck it up and live in an environment …show more content…
This was a man who at the time was in the position of being elected associate justice of the Supreme Court. Anita Hill, who had worked for him as his personal assistant testified about these comments made by Clarence Thomas, "pornographic materials depicting individuals with large penises or large breasts involved in various sex acts. On several occasions Thomas told me graphically of his own sexual prowess (Smolowe)". This. Is. Not. Harmless. Garvis clearly did not take Hill 's words seriously and gave her own two cents about it, "Maybe he talked dirty to Anita Hill. Maybe He didn’t. Something obviously went on between the two of them that was sexually charged". What we are doing now is brushing off this man 's actions because a woman 's opinion is not valued enough because the attention was unwanted so there was no so called "sexual …show more content…
"...the most chilling aspect of this sexual harassment movement is the indoctrination of our young into the culture of victim hood" (Garvis). Call it whatever you want but what we are teaching our young ones is to stand up for themselves. There is no indoctrination going on. Is it so horrible for our kids to learn that if someone is acting inappropriately towards you, then you should say something about it? She even goes on to compare the actions of young kids whose minds are not fully developed to the behavior of middle aged men. "Do we really want an aggressive girl who bothers the hell out of a teenage crush...to be a criminal? Because that is the direction we 're headed" (Garvis). Very bad analogy to try to compare the actions of a teenager to the behavior of an adult who holds a very respectable career and should already know what is acceptable and what is
The trial of 19 year old Owen Laurie has brought into light the alarming rate in which Sexual assault is rising. The issue that rages on in Colleges is said to be making its way to high schools and primary school. In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Division of Violence Prevention, 19% of Undergraduate women experienced
When a victim comes forth, it takes a lot of courage. Unfortunately, administration treats them like as if they confessed to a crime to the assaulter. Administration has swept their problem away by suggestions such as advising them not to go to parties, not wear skanky clothes, not to drink, and to sympathize with the perpetrator. This form of victim blaming can discourage them, making them feel worse, like as if they were wrong. “Sasha Menu Courey, the University of Missouri swimmer, told a nurse, a rape crisis counselor, a campus therapist, two doctors and an athletic department administrator that she was raped, but no one did anything about it. Sixteen months after the attack, she killed herself.” stated by Petula Divork, a columnist for The Huffington Post, “You can’t blame sexual assaults on clothing, flirting, binge drinking or parties. Even when you take all that away, there are still smart, clean-cut, young evangelical men who think they have a right to women’s bodies. It’s not about women stopping an attack. It’s about men learning that they never had the right to begin one.”
Even today, we acknowledge the many advances women have made in academics, employment and athletics, we still need to recognize some dismaying facts in our efforts to achieve equity. While sex discrimination is no longer routinely accepted in education and has been prohibited since Title IX became law, the incidences of sexual harassment and assault that are continually reported show that freedom from threats to learning still has not been achieved. In response, the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education has released its final policy guidance on sexual harassment to help educators recognize sexual harassment and formulate age-appropriate responses to prevent or resolve incidences of this form of sex discrimination.
In “A distressing summer of workplace sexism reminds us how far we have to go” by Susanna Schrobsdorff, the author states, “according to a Pew Research survey released in August, most American men—56%— think sexism is over and done with. More than half believe that “the obstacles that once made it harder or women than men to get ahead are now largely gone. Of course, most women—63%—disagree” (Schrobsdorff 55). The misbelief that sexism still does not exist allows for the culture in which women continue to only be seen as sexual objects and not competent workers. Ehrenreich describes that, “[you should] watch out for Lon, who has a habit of following his female coworkers into service closets” (Ehrenreich 64). Ehrenreich is warned about a potential harassing employee and that it may happen to you, but most importantly, the behavior is normalized instead of trying to stop it. In “Not Just Fox” by Katha Pollitt, she explains that there is a misconception when it comes to being harassed and it is that, “being harassed is not a matter of weakness; it’s about the enormous power differential between worker and boss” (Pollitt 6). This is further supported by “ a 2015 Cosmopolitan survey, 71% of women said they did not file complaints about sexual harassment, likely because they feared appearing difficult or ‘too sensitive.’And they worry about retaliation and job security” (Schrobsdorff 55). Sometimes the person that is doing the harassing is the supervisor or the manager, when this occurs the victim is left with little options that will not disrupt the workplace. She also runs the possibility of being fired solely to avoid a sexual harassment complaint that she may file against him. Ehrenreich states that, “as a dietary aide, as I understand the job, is dependent on a cook as a waitress is[;] He or she
It’s easy for sexual harassment and relationship violence to be dismissed as only “adult” issues. On the contrary, these problems have proven to be pervasive in both junior and senior high schools. Although statistics show that “nearly half of students are sexually harassed in school” (Koebler, 2011), sexual harassment and dating violence are not being appropriately addressed in schools and are in essence, being shoved under the table. These are not fleeting issues, because sexual harassment and domestic violence can be particularly harmful to victims and have long-lasting, detrimental effects. One senior girl at Hoover High School said she has experienced sexual harassment and dating violence first hand,
In Karen Horney's "The Distrust Between the Sexes," she attempts to explain the problems in the relationships between men and women. She writes that to understand the problem you must first understand that problems stem from a common background. A large amount of suspiciousness is due to people's intensity of emotions.
It was once acceptable for men to have full control over women, declaring when they will marry and when they will have children. However, over the past centuries, women have established a place in society, proving themselves much more than someone's property. This is why the word “rape” today is not taken lightly. According to findlaw.com, “Rape generally refers to non-consensual sexual intercourse that is committed by physical force, threat of injury, or other duress.” When one does not give consent to sex, it is considered a felony, possibly putting the rapist in jail. Contrary to sexual assault, “Sex is reified as penile-vaginal intercourse while an extremely diverse group of pleasurable and sexually stimulating activities are dismissively relegated to the category of foreplay...” (Reinholtz, Muehlenhard, Phelps, & Satterfield, 1995.) Although consented sexual intercourse is much more out in the open and accepted in society, the problem of rape is still very relevant behind the scenes.
Susan Griffin’s Rape: The All-American Crime touches on many issues within American society. She begins by recounting how she was taught to be afraid of strange men from such a young age that she had not yet learned what it was she was so afraid of, and then goes into her experience with harassment, an experience shared by every woman at some point in her life. Griffin recounts the belief that all rapists are insane and the proof that they are just normal men and dispels the myth that rape is normal activity that is prohibited by society. However, she goes on to clarify that our culture views rape: “as an illegal, but still understandable, form of behavior” (Griffin 514). It seems that the wrongness of rape is determined by the situation in
Studies show that women whose attacker is not a stranger are not likely to report the rape because of her emotional beliefs. Women also think that because they know who their attacker is, that it is their fault they were raped or assaulted, or they believe that no one would believe them. Men with high positions or who are in the public eye, such as police officers, politicians, basketball, football, and baseball players are often accused of sexually assaulting or raping a female but most women won’t report it because of their popularity, fame or they are paid off before anyone can find out. For Example, Kobe Bryant was accused of raping a 19-year-old, Vail-area resort employee. The victim reported the crime, but after 14 months dropped all charges. The charges were dropped because of lack of evidence and because she was offered a settlement that she took when she realized that she was not going to win her case. Statements like that detour woman who has been a victim from reporting it. When a rape is reported and it goes to trial the attorney may discourage the victim from bringing up any and all of the victim 's past sexual experiences to make the victim look bad and convince the victim that it was her fault that this act
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 completes the task of bringing sexual assault to the forefront of discussion, it fails to encompass central issues of rape culture: societal perceptions, the victim, 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; in order for its reforms to be effective, they need to target both aspects of rape culture, as one factor by itself is not enough to maintain reforms and foster needed change. The culture of rape—how it is defined, its victims and its offenders (and how they are perceived by society), myths, and its laws—has changed throughout the years, and in particular during the first wave of legal reforms in the 1970’s. Although these legal and social changes are improvements from past conditions, they can be further developed and expanded.
Women face myriad forms of violence today and throughout history. Both Anita Hill and Nafissa Diallo were forced to experience this violence in the form of sexual harassment and rape. Their cases did not follow the same pattern any other criminal case would, it turned into a circus of “he said, she said” for both women. Because of their intersectional identities as women of color etc., their evidence did not hold up against the evidence of the powerful men who wronged them. Sexual violence against women has long been an issue dominated by male opinions and decisions, and these examples only prove how ideologies surrounding sexual violence from far in the past are still in place today, disempowering women.
In light of the recent Brock Turner case, the media was quick to point out all of the star qualities of the rapist, Brock Turner, and quick to point out that the victim was intoxicated. Brock Turner’s family emphasized that their son should not go to jail because he was a talented swimmer and had a bright future ahead of him (Levin). The media tries to justify the assault against the victim and benefit the rapist by describing them in a way where the public sympathizes with them. This steals the sympathy and support away from the victim who should be rightfully supported. In “Sexual Assault Prevention Tips” by Feminally, Feminally satirically but seriously puts all the responsibility on the perpetrator/person who could potentially be a perpetrator (Feminally 347). It is ironically written, but it gets the point across. One of the tips goes: “USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public” (Feminally 347). Almost always, young girls are taught to never walk alone and to always live in fear when they are—Feminally places all the responsibility on potential attackers that sexual assault begins with them. In a perfect world, women would not feel the need to take self-defense classes or carry pepper spray in their bags in order to be prepared for a potential assault. Victims, who are mostly women,
imagine that you live in a world that you couldn 't just say no. Where you were forced to do things that you didn 't want to do. Imagine that just because you said no, that wasn 't enough. That you were worthless, that what you say not matter. This is how 293,066 Americans feel per year(“How often does sexual assault occur?”).They are victims of sexual assaults, there refusal wasn 't enough for someone to stop. No one can truly understand how these people felt until they realize what the problem is, why it 's happening and some solutions to the problem.
Take Miss Nevada Nia Sanchez for example, upon winning Miss USA she was asked about sexual assault on college campuses. She replied with suggesting that women should get training to learn how to defend themselves. This sparked a nationwide outrage shortly afterward. Half the people posting on social media sided with Sanchez while the other half completely targeted her and saw her as “wrong”. Half of Twitter commented that instead of women having the responsibility of protecting themselves from rape, men should just “not rape”. Meanwhile, the other half of Twitter responded saying that it isn’t wrong to be able to defend yourself. Yes, it shouldn’t be a woman’s responsibility to be able to fully defend herself in order to not get raped, but self-defense also comes a long way in keeping themselves safe. Conservative talk radio host Dana Loesch tweeted “So wait -- now its “unfeminist” to defend yourself if attacked? Jesus take the wheel. #MissUSA”(twitchy.com) in response to Sanchez’s answer. Is it really wrong to suggest that women learn how to defend themselves just in case they were attacked? No, and its not “unfeminist” to suggest it either. Rape survivor Zerlina Maxwell tells Fox News, “I don’t think we should be telling women anything. I think we should be telling men to not rape women and start the conversation there”(bostonglobe.com).
Marital rape is a term that is seldom used in legal system and even less often in our society in general. In fact, I would guess that most people did not even realize such an act was real or that this crime truly existed, let alone understand to severity of this act. Unfortunately, I have quickly learned that this violent crime is commonly committed, but infrequently reported and is a large issue that negatively affects and hurts women today.