Rape In America Essay

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Despite increased public awareness on violence towards women and significant changes in attitudes towards women over the years, there is no present absence of rape in the United States (30p725)(24iv). In fact, research has shown that not only is rape the most feared crime by women, but women have every right to be afraid as a conservatively estimated 1 in 6 women in the United States have or will be victims of sexual assault at some time in their life (21p357). Not only is the phenomena of sexual violence happening at staggering rates, but the act of rape is notoriously going underreported (5p253). Why is this so? How can it be that despite awareness, women’s monumental gains in the workforce and education since the 60s, that there has been virtually no significant progress over the years when it comes to the rates for which rape occurs (24iv)? Across the board research seems to agree about the problem of rape, acknowledges its ugly …show more content…

All of the issues described along with rape myths, victim blaming, and a plethora of other societal attitudes fall into an all-encompassing manifestation often referred to as rape culture. This idea of a culture perpetuating attitudes and acceptance of rape seems absurd if not further digested. After all, how could we as a society that stands for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness be the same culture that support beliefs conductive to rape and increase risk factors directly related to sexual violence (8p466)? It’s possible and studies show, it’s

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