In contemporary North America, if one were to ask almost any member of society what were the most heinous crimes a human being could commit, almost assuredly rape would be listed amongst every top five. Maybe it would even be competing for the number one spot. It is highly unlikely, absurd even, to think that any reasonable being would not find rape (or the broader term of sexual assault used in Canada) to be an abhorrent act becoming of no real human being. However, knowing this: that is, that the vast majority of citizens in North American society are in agreement on the nature of such a crime, it is all the more puzzling that many continue to harbour a mindset that gives them the tendency to blame the victim to an extent in such cases – especially in incidents where the perpetrator is male and the victim female. Blaming the victim of rape is a well-documented phenomenon which may be subtle in its presence, such as when one makes unrealistic statements about what the victim could have done to protect themselves; alternatively, it may take the form of outright displacement of the blame for the entire crime, an example being one saying the victim was asking for it. As a result of this widespread and sometimes subtle presence in the cultural psyche, victim blaming not only finds itself in the minds of random citizens whose beliefs alone have little effect on the lives of others, but in the decisions made by those in the Criminal Justice System who find themselves involved in rape cases. As a result of the ubiquitous and fallacious attitudes towards rape that seep into the Criminal Justice System from larger society, victim blaming creates bias in a system which should be without anything of the sort. In 2012... ... middle of paper ... ...0). Navy Hearing in Rape Case Raises Alarm. The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/us/intrusive-grilling-in-rape-case-raises-alarm-on-military-hearings.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0> Steinhauer, J. (2013, October 10). 2 Face Court-Martial in Naval Academy Assault Case. The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/us/2-ex-navy-football-players-face-court-martial-in-rape-case.html Suarez, Eliana and Tahany Gadalla. (2010). Stop blaming the victim: A meta-analysis on rape myths. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(11), 2010-2035. doi:10.1177/0886260509354503 Valenti, J. (2011, June 8). Jessica Valenti: SlutWalks and the future of feminism. madison.com. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://host.madison.com/news/opinion/column/article_bcd1828b-7c59-5115-bee4-a7fddb9482b1.html
Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “it would do some women good to get raped,” from a historical perspective, lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Women are still seen as the property of men, are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men are usually more aggressive, and women are seen as passive. (Vogelman) This socialization process is changing, but slowly.
Marc Lamont Hill wrote an article about Bill Cosby’s rape allegation and the culture that currently evades the subject of rape in society today. Discussed are six signs which, “refer to the ways that our society and its institutions normalize, promote, excuse, and enable sexual violence against men and women” (Hill). The article indicates the signs are lack of belief, until there is a male voicing an opinion on the issue, nonbelief of a particular person being a perpetrator because of the perception society has of them, placing the blame on the victim, myths about how and when rapes occur, the downplaying of the act itself, and the view that the rapists are actually the victims.
...Rape Culture, and How Feminist Can Fight Back.” Yes means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power & a World without Rape. Eds. Friedman, Jaclyn. Valenti, Jessica. Berkeley: Seal Press, 2008. 13-27. Print
Within the criminal justice system, the victim faces re-victimization with the techniques that are done within the court room. For example, the defense attorney may try to use rape myths such as the victim asked for it based on the way she may have dressed, the victim led the offender on by flirting with them, and that she could have avoided being raped if she wasn’t drinking (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). The purpose of using rape myths is to demonize the victim’s character by subjecting the victim to humiliating and inquisitive questions (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). Third, the victim may not report rape to law enforcement because they may fear retaliation by the offender, especially if that offender is a lifelong partner or a boyfriend. Fourth, due to the culture of rape and the influences of the media, a victim may feel guilty and blame themselves for the assault (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). As stated earlier, rape myths are used to demonize the victim’s character and ultimately take the blame away from the offender and put it onto the victim. In fact, rape myths serve to lessen the prevalence and seriousness of
Over the past year or two, the Anti-Rape Culture Movement has gained massive popularity all over the world. This movement has drawn the question, “has rape culture become a societal normality?” front and center as reporters and social movement leaders alike go head-to-head over this argument. Rape culture has been called both a global problem and a fad in society. Fortunately, a huge movement has risen up in an effort to expose rapists and sex crime supporters, but a large amount of people don’t believe that sex crimes are as big of a problem as they are. While different parts of society believe that rape culture isn’t real, it has become more and more apparent in society over the last decade as more people are willing to speak up about it.
Rape is a tool for power and control. It can be used as revenge, punishment, to show dominance and/or created by the belief that the victim is no more than an object to be used (Bode). Since rape is about control it would make sense that rapists and those likely to perpetrate such acts would also wish to control the conversation that surrounds rape and thus victim blaming is born.Victim blaming is the “devaluing act that occurs when the victim(s) of a crime or an accident is held responsible[...] for the crimes that have been committed against them” (Victim Blaming). This includes phrases like “she was asking for it” or “they shouldn’t have been wearing that”or “he shouldn’t have drank so much.” Victim blaming has a simple manifest function: maintaining rape as a tool to be used as convenient (Cothran). It shifts blame away from the perpetrator and onto the victim causing the victim to become the one labeled a deviant, someone who goes against society 's rules of behavior, instead of the rapist themselves. Without this roadblock of society’s judgement, a
Based upon the studies reviewed, men are more likely than women to participate in victim blaming. This may be due to women, frequently being perceived as victims, which in turn, causes women to feel greater empathy for victims (Hayes, et al., 2013). Further, being a victim of bullying decreases the likelihood of later victim blaming (Garland, et al., 2017). These studies remind us of the importance of being aware of falling for behaviors that result in victim blaming, such as rape
When an individual holds a just world theory, but then sees someone who they otherwise view as innocent come to harm, cognitive dissonance occurs. To alleviate cognitive dissonance blame needs to be assigned to the victim to explain the harm they have experienced (Hayes, Lorenz, & Bell, 2013). It is important to understand why people blame victims to reduce bullying, domestic violence and sexual assaults. This is especially true in regard to college rape. When my step-daughter was in college, a friend of hers was raped at a party. However, her friend struggled with the decision to report the rape, because people told her it was her fault, since she had been drinking. By placing the blame on her versus her perpetrator, she experienced depression and a predator went unpunished. If we can understand victim blaming, we can work to eliminate the myths that justify bullying, rape and increase accountability for
Women all over the world are victims of sexual assault and completed rape. One out of every six women in the United States are estimated to be violated sexually according to recent statistics, (RAINN, 2018). With the number of assaults occurring on women increasing, the societal attitude that surrounds sexual assaults and completed rapes also becomes more prevalent. Society appears to minimalize the experience of female victims, while provides a strong ‘benefit of the doubt’ mentality toward the male being accused. Clear examples of this have recently presented themselves regarding celebrities. Most of these celebrities have denied the claims against them and have not been prosecuted; despite numerous testimonies of first hand experienced
Holmes and Holmes (2009) explain that one such myth is that rapes occur because of an uncontrollable sex drive, when in fact many rapists are in relationships where sex is readily available. Further, rape is a crime of violence and dominance/control (Cuklanz, 1998). Holmes and Holmes (2009) also explain that there are four types of rapists, including: (1) the power reassurance rapist who uses rape to increase his ego; (2) the anger retaliation rapist who uses rape for the sole purpose of making an individual suffer; (3) the power assertive rapist where rape is used to control a person; and (4) the sadistic rapist, the most dangerous, who wants to cause psychological and physical harm to an individual. Other myths about rape include: that women are able to resist rape; that all women want to be raped; women are passive and men are dominant; strangers commit most rapes; and that the number of women who falsely claim they have been raped is much larger than it really is. These are myths because in reality the victim is not at fault for the crime; women do not want to be raped; most rapes are committed by an individual who knows the victim; and only 5% of rapes are falsely reported (Holmes & Holmes,
In most circumstances when a person has a crime committed against them they are afforded recognition in society as a victim. However, people who experience the crime of sexual assault or rape are not always afforded the same recognition. Lack of recognition occurs for a number of reasons including, not being considered a victim unless they can fit into societies stereotype of an ‘ideal’ rape victim and the rape or sexual assault fits into the scenario of a ‘real’ rape (Estrich, 1987). The ability to be classified as a victim is futher limited as the characteristics and known behaviours of the person will be raised and questioned to see if they provoked the assault in any way therefore making them an underserving victim. Social perception of
It’s imperative for both men and women in America to become self-aware of how they perpetuate a culture that justifies sexual violence against women. According to feminist and television editor, Anna Holtzman, “we have to transform our everyday culture. We have to raise our awareness of the 'little things' that add up to rape culture… things like the casual use of gendered slurs (like bitch and slut) in everyday speech and media… things like the notion that romance is boys chasing girls” (Ask a Raging Feminist: How do we end rape culture?) in order to dismantle rape culture in our society. Additionally, another way to end rape culture is to believe survivors of sexual violence because “It'll make rapists less likely to rape. It'll make communities do more to prevent and address sexual violence. It'll reduce instances of the media normalizing gender-based violence” (Ask a Raging Feminist: How do we end rape
A basic or common sense definition of a false allegation of rape is, the description of non-consensual sex that never actually occurred (Rumney, 2006). This appears straight forward however raises questions about the pervasiveness of false allegations as criminal justice professionals would argue that these numbers are quite high, whereas researchers and the literature around the area would argue that these numbers are in fact quite low. This article examines what constitutes a false allegation of rape and why the disparity in estimated numbers of false allegations between researchers and Criminal Justice Professionals is so great. It argues that this disparity is caused as researchers and criminal justice professionals are talking at cross-purposes. This can be understood by breaking down ‘false allegation’ into two other terms, ‘false complaint’ and ‘false account’.
Sexual violence is perceived as a gendered crime of power. The law claims that rape is a crime. However, when rape cases are brought before the legal system, they are hit with the allegation of “rape myths” and the victim’s legitimacy is questioned and undermined by legal representatives and jurors; thus the public.
Imagine walking home from work late at night, down the same usual path as every other night, in the same work clothes as always, but this time, pulled behind the bushes by a man who decided he wanted to sexually assault the women on this path tonight. Now picture the feeling that would occur if the police officer filing the report began victim-blaming, saying “women should not dress like sluts if they do not want to be raped.” Men on a daily basis are sexually assaulting women, but whenever a woman tries to bring it to the attention of the police, the case is casually dismissed and seen as though it should be let go, because the woman was obviously asking for it. How was she asking it for it, one may ask? Of course it was either