There are many notable examples of rape culture, one being the lyrics of the popular songs such rap song “U.O.E.N.O”, which is an acronym for “you don’t even know”. In the song rapper Rick Ross states that he “put Molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it. I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it.” For weeks the popular rapper’s lyrics were in the news and feminists around the world were in uproar over the ‘rapist-like’, sexually-insensitive lyrics. The lyrics embodied rape culture, because Ross’ lyrics made it seem morally sound to drug a woman and have sex with her without her consent. This was an international incident. Rape culture is the normalization of sexual assault within a culture because of social …show more content…
Essentially, victim blaming is the blaming of victims for the crimes committed toward them and it is a malicious act which aids in the perpetuation of rape culture. Victim blaming, according to The Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, has numerous negative effects for victims and for others. Victim blaming causes victims to become withdrawn and not want to report future crimes because they are fearful that they will be victimized further (George). These victims also are more stressed and worried than before their attacks. According to table 1 (Lila): depressive symptomatology (symptoms of depression), stressful life events, the lack of intimate social and formal support, and low self-esteem all contribute to an increase in self (victim) …show more content…
For example, in many institutions including The College of The Bahamas, there are absurd rules restricting self-expression through clothing, mainly for female students. The College of The Bahamas’ rule book states that female students must not wear short pants and are only allowed to wear pants, skirts, or dresses that come beneath their longest finger when placed at their sides. Male students are admonished to wear shirts with appropriate text, text that does not promote a violent lifestyle. Despite these rules being set for both sexes, in reality only female students are penalized. An observation has proven that most female students who want to gain access to the library on campus must be properly attired according to the rules, while male students are allowed to wear shirts that contain profanity and even promote a sexually promiscuous lifestyle. In this way, schools and business places also perpetuate rape culture, when they tell female students or employees that they are not allowed to wear a certain length of clothing because they will sexually tempt and provoke their male counterparts. Another way that schools sometimes perpetuate rape culture is by blaming female students for the way that males act.
First, Boswell and Spade describe how rape culture is a set of values and beliefs that provide an environment conductive to rape (217)..As they do a study, the list indicates a host of factors that distinguish higher risks of rape and some examples of setting were the highly distinct ratios at parties (Boswell, Spade 219). They observed 2 opposing fraternities at the same school and noted the distinctions of high and low risk parties in which they generated sexually assaultive behavior by observing interaction between men and women.
When the victim does not fit the ideal victim attributes which society has familiarised themselves with, it can cause complications and confusion. Experts have noticed there is already a significant presence of victim blaming, especially for cases involving both genders. The fear of being blamed and rejected by the public is prominent in all victims. Victim blaming proclaims the victim also played a role in the crime by allowing the crime to occur through their actions (Kilmartin and Allison, 2017, p.21). Agarin (2014, p.173) underlines the problem of victim blaming is due to the mass of social problems and misconceptions within society. The offender can have “an edge in court of public opinion” if victim blaming exists, resulting in the prevention of the case accomplishing an effective deduction in court (Humphries, 2009, p.27). Thus, victims will become more reluctant to report offences because of their decrease in trust in the police and criminal justice system, leading to the dark figure of
Bates, Laura. "How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture." Time. Time, 22 May 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016. In this article, Bates argues that today’s school dress codes are sexist and leave a lasting impression on young girls. Bates explains that there are several cases where girls are being punished for their adolescent bodies being distractions to boys. Also, it can teach a young girl that her body is dangerous and that a young boy automatically has the right to sexually diminish and harass adolescent girls in schools. This thought process is what causes a stigma later in college, declaring that when someone is sexually assaulted on campus, the person was asking for it. This can be detrimental to a young girl, and can even
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
Applying to the dress code, sexism can be seen commonly in schools due to the excessive amount of females who violate compared to the males. Basic arguments for dress code include eliminating distractions, which include the fantasies of a male student, which also leads into rape culture, defined as a society whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing sexual assault or abuse. Females are punished for a male capability to be distracted, allowing a male to fantasize about a female. Ultimately, this causes increase in rape culture, which has been very prominent in today's
In Time magazine online, Laura Bates’s article “How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture” talks extensively of first hand experiences with children and dress code violations. She believes that because schools are so strict on dress code for girls especially, there is a message being taught to little boys that when girls are wearing more revealing clothing they are asking to be sexually assaulted. Then this message gets carried with them as they enter college, where a significant proportion of girls report being sexually assaulted. So her main belief is that if dress codes weren’t as regulated based on gender, there would be a decrease in the number of women who are sexually assaulted in college. She thinks that dress codes are inherently sexist, and that girls get in trouble for violating code much more often than boys. Her argument is effective in that it uses many primary source examples of how young girls have been unfairly targeted, but this argument is ineffective because it does not have a way to directly connect the rapes in college to the dress codes that are seen in younger children's education.
What do you think and feel when you hear the word rape? Do you feel uncomfortable? Maybe even angry? Your certain feelings and emotions towards this word is a result of rape culture. Rape culture, essentially, is how a society as a whole sees and reacts towards rape or instances of rape. In 2013 rape was defined by the FBI as, “Penetration… of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” (Division’s Crime Statistics Management Unit 1). The definition was finally changed after the old definition deemed inappropriate by today’s standards, which beforehand, stated that physical force needed to be used for rape to be considered rape. This is good news for men and women who have been fighting for the definition to be changed, but unfortunately this does not mean that state laws are being changed the same way. Even though the FBI may acknowledge the older inappropriate definition, most states do not. Sexual assault is a commonly unreported crime, where only an average of 36% of sexual abuse is actually reported to the authorities (Planty 7). Some forms of rape can include physical harm, threats, and even death of the victim, and most victims do not want to tell others for fear of criticism, self-blame, or even the fear that their attackers will carry out on their threats. In many cases, victims do have a reason to be afraid. When someone is brave enough to come forward and say they were sexually assaulted, they are putting themselves in the position of being in not only a long legal process, but also having their motives questioned and misunderstood, which is the last thing they want after their experience. The legal system in the United States...
Did you know that ninety-seven percent of rapists will never spend a day in jail? (RAINN) This fact is depressing considering the large percentage of rape victims. Things like rape and violence have a severe impact on the mentality level of people. Their lives will change forever after going through an intense situation such as being molested, beaten, or anything along those lines. It has caused people to commit the same crime, become severely depressed and suicidal, as well as many other unfortunate events. People look down on those who have gone through such events, some may say things such as, "you probably deserved it”, “you were dressed provocatively" or "how did you not enjoy that?” As such, rape is an underexplored
Rape and sexual violence is a very serious problem that affects millions of people each year. Rape is someone taking advantage of another person sexually. Sexual assault can be verbal, physical, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. ("Sexual Assault.") Rape is one of the most underreported crimes. In 2002, only thirty-nine percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law officials. ("Sexual Violence: Fact Sheet.") Victims sometimes do not report that they have raped because of shame or feeling that it was their fault. It is never the victim's fault. "Victim blaming" is holding the victim of a crime to be in a whole or in partly responsible for what had happened to them. Most victims believe this. ("Myths and Facts about Sexual Violence.")
In addition to that, female students are not physically averting their peers eyes towards their bodies. A young girl cannot be held responsible for her peers choosing to be distracted by her clothing choices (Levin). It is each individual student’s responsibility to focus on their school work while in a learning environment (Levin). Girls should not be shamed by schools into covering their bodies, rather, their fellow students should be shamed for not controlling themselves. Sexism in dress codes transfers blame onto female students for sexual discrimination and distraction in the classroom instead of holding individuals of both genders responsible for their education (Dockterman). The choice of a student to deflect their focus from learning to another students dress is solely up to them (Levin).
As research shows (cite all above research), cognitive processes within our brains lead to the tendency of victim blaming. Starting with rape myths and rape scripts, it is easy to see how our society and culture breeds victim-blaming attitudes. Historically, the United States, like many other industrialized countries, developed from a patriarchal society characterized by men holding the power and women expected to be submissive. With such an atmosphere, crimes against women
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), an American is sexually assaulted every two minutes. However, most of these assaults are never talked about, reported, or given justice. One of the biggest reasons for the silence that surrounds sexual assault is due to victim blaming According to UsLegal 's website, victim blaming is defined as "a devaluing act where the victim of a crime, an accident, or any type of abusive maltreatment is held as wholly or partially responsible for the wrongful conduct committed against them" (USLegal). In essence, victim blaming occurs when, instead of the attacker being blamed for their crimes against the victim, the victim is blamed and is at fault because they
Webster’s Dictionary describes rape as the crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse. Rape is a crime in which most women cannot defend themselves. The fear of rape plagues every woman at some point or another in her life. The traumatic effects of rape vary from mild to severe, from psychological to physical. This paper will evaluate rape, as well as the effects it has on women, the theory behind male dominance and patriarchy, and differences in demographics.
Victim blaming refers to the victim being held responsible for the acts committed against them. Much of victim blaming stems from the traditional ideologies of gender, where women are perceived as inferior to men. These underlying views contribute to sexual assault cases involving female victims and male perpetrators, where the fault lies with the victim. The recent case involving a Stanford student, Brock Turner, who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman, Emily Doe, brought about much public controversy. Though Brock had clear motives for his actions and there was physical proof that he was at fault, allegations against the victim were constantly made. In the trial statement the victim writes, “I was told he hired a powerful attorney, expert witnesses, private investigators who were going to try and find details about my personal
A writer from Southernct stated a fact that “ men, women, and children of all ages, races, religions, and economic classes have been victims of sexual assault. Sexual assault occurs in rural areas, small towns, and larger cities” ( “Southernct” 1). We have all seen on the news a case where a female has been raped and somehow the world makes us believe that it was her own fault that it happened. This is due to victim blaming. Victim blaming occurs when the victim of some sort of crime or wrongdoing is held partially or fully responsible for what happened to them. It is not always easy to identify though. Some people would be considered to be victim blaming over every day situations in life. For example, someone making the