Rape and Responsibility
When I hear the word "rape," I immediately visualize assault, violence, force, and pain. However, today, there are pills slipped into drinks, thus skipping all of the brutality and allowing the attacker to walk away unscathed. But above all of the pills and physical violence, there lies another story that is more commonly heard of today: rape through blame and excuses. What this means is that, more often than not, women wake up from a night of alcohol consumption, drug abuse, or from a situation where they were not strong enough to say "No," and they cry rape. It is because of this frivolous definition of "rape" that women who are actually attacked are finding it harder and harder to present a case for themselves. Now the question of rape has found a new urgency due to a dramatic increase in rape cases on college campuses. Administrators are using terms such as "verbal consent" and "dating codes." These are just two small sections concerning rules for dating due to the dramatic increase in the cases of sexual assault on campus. Claims of rape and sexual assault are on the rise, and most of these cases are false claims.
Many of these mock rape cases occur when a woman is not strong enough to say "No" and understand that her consumption of alcohol and drugs may impair her ability to act wisely. In these cases, the woman has not been raped. Of course, this does not give a man the right to take advantage of a woman when her judgment has been impaired, simply because it may not be defined as a rape case. However, the fact remains that a woman who puts herself in a vulnerable position should bear some of the responsibility for a sexual assault, both in preventing i...
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...ape occurs when one partner's words and demands go unanswered by the other. When a woman says "No" in a clear and strong voice, she means "No," there is no other way to define it. The sooner women learn how to use this word and mean it too, the sooner they can save themselves and their male "attackers" a great deal of grief. Along with this goes the understanding that women should not put themselves in a vulnerable position where they can be taken advantage of. If a woman impairs herself by drinking alcohol or using drugs, and then consents to be alone with a man in a dark room, what exactly does she expect?
Sources
Gaitskill, Mary. 1998. "On Not Being a Victim: Sex, Rape, and the Trouble with Following Rules." In: Gilbert Muller (ed.). Here and Now : Current Readings for Writers. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., p. 167-180.
Romeo and Juliet is a famous play that was first performed between 1594 and 1595, it was first printed in 1597. Romeo and Juliet is not entirely fictional as it is based on two lovers who lived in Verona. The Montague’s and Capulet’s are also real. Romeo and Juliet is one of the ten tragedies that William Shakespeare wrote. In this essay, I aim to investigate what act 1, scene1 makes you expect about the rest of the play.
When university or police find out about the sexual assault, they immediately blame the victim or question what the victim was wearing, drinking, or doing. “Brownmiller identified four basic rape myths: (1) All women want to be raped; (2) a woman cannot be raped against her will; (3) a woman who is raped is asking for it; and (4) if a woman is going to be raped, she might as well enjoy it” (Helgeson, 2012, p. 432). In The Hunting Ground, the rape myth, which a woman who is raped is asking for it, is seen throughout the testimonies of the survivors. Clark, herself, was told by her dean that “rape is like a football game” and asked if “looking back, what would you have done differently?” (Ziering & Dick, 2015). These rape myths affect how many victims actually report and how seriously sexual assaults are taken within universities and the justice system. For example, some women, themselves, subscribe to rape myths because they see how current cases are handled. “Women who did not physically fight off the person who raped them and who subscribed to the rape myth that “it can’t be rape if a woman doesn’t fight back” were less likely to acknowledge that they had been raped” (Helgeson, 2012, p. 434). Universities need to teach first-year students about consent and how to
Kelly, Liz (1987) “The Continuum of Sexual Violence.” In: Women, Violence and Social Control, edited by J. Hanmer and M. Maynard. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press International: 46-60.
The Role of Act 3 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 5 in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
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
One of the most horrible things that has erupted from the subjugation of women is rape culture. Rape culture is the downplaying of the crime of rape to appease the violator, the accusation that the victim made a choice that led to their rape, or even jokes that suggest rape. According to Jessica Valenti’s, “In Rape Tragedies, the Shame Is Ours,” in today's world many people give in to rape culture by participating in these acts that somehow change our mindsets into believing that, “it is more shameful to be raped than to be a rapist”. Once ...
“I felt his hands start to move down towards my shorts as if he was trying to unbutton them or pull them off. I was still crying at this point and felt so scared that I couldn’t move” (Henneberger, 2012). These are words written by a college freshman after she had been raped, but they are true for many others as well. According to the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit Counties, “every two minutes someone in the US is sexually assaulted” (Get the Facts). “Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the than the general population to be victims of sexual assault” (Get the Facts). These women may be described as slut, cheap, or ready for action, rather than victim, sufferer, or survivor. Rape myths encourage these demeaning terms for women and conceal the reality of rape culture. I will describe the pervasiveness of sexual assault on college campuses as well as the systems and procedures in place to address it. Power plays a role in this issue, including the powerful men on campus such as athletes and fraternity members as well as the administrators in power who regulate the punishments and actions that are taken against the perpetrators. The influence of those in power often goes overlooked in our society because it has become so intertwined with our culture.
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
Rape is currently on the rise on American college campuses and it is the most common committed crime among college students today. In their time in college 1 out of every 5 women and 1 out of every 71 men will experience some form of sexual harassment as reported by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. These numbers are growing each year and have raised a lot of concern in the administrative level of higher education institutions. In an effort to try and prevent these occurrences universities have begun to implement mandatory curriculum to educate students on the subject and have even begun to hold campus wide events and create clubs to spread awareness and show support because of the repetitive nature of this crime. While it is good
Bonnie, S. F., Francis, T. C., & Michael, G. T. (2000) The sexual victimization of college women. U.S. Department of Justice.
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.
It includes information on athletes and fraternities, and why these groups are so frequently involved in rape cases. The authors address rape myths such as stranger rape being the only “real rape” and victims creating false accusations just for their own personal agendas. They go into detail about how members of our society are socialized to believe these myths, and they become so prevalent that many men who rape acquaintances truly believe they are acting the way men are supposed to act. Although this text was written a number of years ago, its content is still true today and still applies to the topics I will be covering in my
Inertwined with rape myths, are subsequent rape scripts. As Ryan (2011) and Clay-Warner and McMahon-Howard (2009) showed, depending what script is prevalent or dominant, reporting rates and overall acknowledgement can be greatly affected. Our understanding of what constitutes a rape or sexual assault needs to significantly change otherwise countless victims will remained silenced. If the understanding of these crimes was broadened, and the acquaintance scenarios taken more seriously, more victims would come forward, report, and get the help they may desperately need, in addition to aiding the legal system in punishing the offender and improve society’s population.
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 “women secretly enjoy rape,” from a historical perspective, can lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Much stems back to the idea that women are still seen as the property of men, and are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men a...
Victims who were under the influence may feel as though their report won’t be validated since they chose to go out and chose to get drunk. Judge Lindsay Kushner made the claim that, “yes, you can drink yourself daft and you can use your body how you want, but if you do you are more likely to get raped.” But what must be noted is that the victim did not choose to get raped and the intent of rape ultimately lies with the perpetrator. This point of view emphasizes the traditional ideology of gender roles in sexual assault cases when women are the