Surviving the Blame In two minutes, nearly 500 babies are born. 200 people die. A healthy human heart can, on average, beat nearly 150 times. Over 7 billion hearts pump billions of gallons of blood. Every two minutes, another person in the United States is sexually assaulted. For some, sexual harassment and assault seem almost like myths or bad dreams. For others, it's a living reality. The United States Department of Justice defines sexual assault as “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.” Sexual harassment and assault are demeaning, terrifying, and forceful behaviors. And yet, it’s happening every day. People hollering out car windows at pedestrians. Groups of teenagers terrifying Language like this is defined as victim-blaming. The Cambridge for Consent organization explains it thusly: “‘Victim blaming’ is an umbrella term that denotes any actions or words that suggest or state that a victim of... sexual assault is to blame for what happened to them.” This widespread use of victim blaming leads to many survivors feeling guilty and more hurt than before. It is difficult for them to move on from what has happened when they feel that they are at fault for what has happened to them. Survivors often find it difficult to recover fully after they are sexually assaulted. The feel like the should have done something to prevent what was happening to them. Kimberly A. Lonsway, PhD and Sergeant Joanne Archambault from End Violence Against Women International stress that victims often disassociate. “Many victims describe experiencing a feeling of paralysis during the sexual assault that is often referred to as “frozen fright.” With this type of reaction, victims feel as if they are paralyzed during the sexual assault and are unable to think, act, or respond in ways that they would if they weren’t experiencing such significant trauma.” They don’t know what to do, and so they do nothing. Looking back, it seems painfully obvious to them what they should have done. However, even when someone fights back, that sometimes doesn’t do anything. Sexual assault is not about sex. It’s about If a house was broken into, no one blames the home owners and says that they should have protected their house better. So why does victim blaming happen? The MESA organization, or the Moving to End Sexual Assault organization, says “The definition of victim blaming is holding the victim accountable for a crime that was committed against them. We live in a society where we teach people, mostly women, to avoid rape or to just deal with what happens if they are raped.” This accounts for the overall societal view of sexual assault and harassment. Cambridge for Consent expounds on this idea: “Sadly, because people view rape as a sexual act, they can often be misled to think it is purely about sex, and thus think that the survivor’s actions, such as wearing a revealing outfit or having consented to sex on another occasion with the perpetrator is them “asking for it”. This is, of course, false.” Survivors of sexual assault never ask for it. There is no such thing as “consensual assault”. If there is not consent, it is assault. It is the right of every human being to have control over their own body. Victim blaming perpetuates the rape culture and the teaching that some people are not responsible for their own
It is very common for rape survivors to blame themselves for what happened. They believe they could of prevented the incident or even stopped it from happening. When victims finally come to the realization that it wasn’t their fault and someone else had complete control and power over them is when they really break down. It’s better for victims to believe that they had a part in the event rather the admit to themselves that they were helpless and couldn‘t do anything. Many offenders tend to express and do certain things to make victims get into the mindset that they endure. Not only do rape victims have suicidal thoughts, but they also act on these thought as well. Sexual assaults are not uncommon at all. There is no specific re...
Sexual assault is defined as a type of behaviour that occurs without explicit consent from the recipient and under sexual assault come various categories such as sexual activities as forces sexual intercourse, incest, fondling, attempted rape and more (Justice.gov. 2017). People often become victims of sexual assault by someone they know and trust (Mason & Lodrick, 2013) which is conflicting to the public’s perception and beliefs that offenders are strangers. Women are the main victims for sexual assault and are 5 times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault from a male (Wright, 2017, p. 93). Men are victims of sexual assault however only 0.7% of men, compared to 3.2% of women, experience some form of sexual assault which highlights how vulnerable women are compared to men. Sexual assault is publicised and exposed in the media, however is often
The statistics clearly show a group of people who’re affected by the heinous acts of sexual assault. Everyone knows that sexual assault isn’t a topic that’s on the top of the list to talk about; people usually even try to go as far as to hide it or to cover it up. Though, it’s clear for certain; covering something up doesn’t make it alright – It won’t make it go away and the problem is still there. For that exact fact, it is the very reason that sexual assault is something that needs to be brought to the
What is sexual assault? Sexual assault is, “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape” (Sexual Assault).
Burt explains that “the hypothesized net effect of rape myths is to deny or reduce perceived injury or to blame the victims for their own victimization” (Burt, 217). When men get raped they don't see it as getting raped. Yet, when it comes to women they are more easily blamed because of “poor choices” like walking down an alleyway late at night, wearing sexy clothes or for drinking too much, giving a man a “justifiable” reason for his actions. McMahon also describes how “common rape myths include the belief that the way a woman dresses or acts indicates that “she wanted it” and that rape occurs because men cannot control their sexual impulses” (McMahon, 357). Chapleau, Oswald and Russel also explicate how “benevolent sexism is associated with victim blaming to protect one’s belief in a just world” (602). Benevolent sexism is the reverent attitudes that reward women who are traditionally feminine and is similar to hostile sexism in the idea that hostile sexism is when women are objectified or degraded often presented as anger, resentment or fear, while benevolent sexism is just as harmful, but put into a positive disguise, in a casual nonchalant manner that doesn’t make it so
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...
Victim Blaming Many women are always blamed for their victimization, if a woman is in a domestic violent relationship and she is getting battered she is blamed for not leaving.
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.")
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
Sexual assault is a traumatic event that can cause extreme psychological effects on the victim. These effects can be short-term, and they can manifest themselves into long-term effects, depending on the individual and how the sexual assault occurred. Victims of sexual assault can be either male or female, with both sexes having fairly similar psychological effects. In addition to these psychological effects, some individuals develop Rape Trauma Syndrome or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which can be more easily classified as short-term versus long-term responses. Every individual is different and may differ in their reactions to this event; there is no normal or common way to react (Kaminker, 1998, pg. 23).
Sexual assault is an offense that plagues many U.S. citizens. Although some studies show that rape is on the decline, other studies report that the phenomena actually occuring is that less rape victims are reporting the crime. In fact, approximately 68% of sexual assaults go unreported to the police according to the U.S. Department of Justice in a National Crime Victimization Survey from 2008-2012. It is common knowledge that rape victims are usually severely traumatized after the event, which leaves them susceptible to various emotions such as shame, anxiety, numbness, fear, denial, and guilt. Because of this, many rape victims decide to repress their experience and let it go unheard. However, not only does this prevent them from healing emotionally,
For the majority of victims it is hard to express they have been raped. The victims may feel guilty because they “asked for it” or they may feel “nasty”, as if they did something wrong. They might keep asking themselves what they could have done to avoid the attack or stopped it from happening (“Common reactions to rape”). If the victims feel this way about themselves, then what makes them think that other people won 't feel the same way. This is why many do not tell people or talk about the event. When Kathleen was raped she said she got called everything under the sun like "crazy", "nuts", "losing it", "pimp", "sl*t". She said she lost a handful of people to this event. People that didn 't understand that this was not her choice and how much it changed her (Kathleen Mary Fitzpatrick). Many people also do not feel comfortable having sex after the assault. Even being touched could be too much. It could bring them back to the event of being raped.For some people they could be suffering from PTSD, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Of course the victims will try everything not to remember the horrific event. “While I’m having sex I have to keep controlling my mind so I can hold it back from having a flashback. Throughout the whole process, I’m scared of these memories coming back, I’m trying to reign in the feeling of nausea.” Says rape victim Jo Heath. She sums up what many rape victims feel while they are
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
Assigning blame has become an increasingly difficult and complex concept to understand, especially in our legal court system. I associate blame with being held responsible for the consequences of one’s intentional actions. In regards to sexual assault cases, I think the blame should not be placed on the victims, but rather on the perpetrators. Victim blaming justifies the perpetrator’s actions, discourages sexual assault reportings, and can have psychological effects on the victim.