under pressure from the federal government to show they take sexual assault charges seriously and administer appropriate punishments. Although the movie does a tremendous job in examining the issue of rape and taking in consideration the different viewpoints and experiences of the college students, it also fails to address the viewpoints of the perpetrators and thus allowing them once again to be protected behind higher authorities. The movie served to expose that sexual assault does not discriminate - people from all races, economic statuses, age, and gender can be affected- but at the same time it did not point out some aspects of the cases examined. The survivors of sexual assault featured in the movie are Ivy League college students who, …show more content…
Low social status and sexual objectification perpetuate women’s oppression leading to interpersonal and structural violence. There is a close correlation between poor economic equality and levels of rape cases. “The lowest rate of victimization is among women whose family income is over $75,000” (Iadicola and Shupe, 2013). There are more statistics about rape on college campuses than individual with low SES. People in these group do not have access to resources and by consequence they are not given a chance to make their voices heard. The poorer and less powerful segment of our society experience higher rates of victimization compared to those in dominant positions. Furthermore, the film did not acknowledge that rape is largely an intraracial act. Racial victimization pattern might be a result of income and class differences between populations. There is a difference in rape rates and statistics on ethnicity basis (Iadicola and Shupe, 2013). The levels of violence are interwoven because they are rooted in the same social conditions characterized by inequality and lack of freedom. Economy, …show more content…
There are initiatives and programs designed to reduce sexual and other form of interpersonal violence, such as the the ‘Green Dot’ bystander-based prevention program, and the ‘Start By Believing’ campaign, a movement structured to teach how to support survivors to lessen the harm of sexual assault (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Social norms that protect and prevent against sexual and other types of violence need to be added to schools curricula and implemented through every stage of education. The issue of sexual assault needs to be examined in relation to intersecting identities and therefore working on closing the gap of inequality which perpetuates the cycle of violence. The responsibility to reduce the levels of traumatization and incidence of rape is something we can all be part of. Real change does not come from a comfortable place. Telling one’s own story of rape and violence has the power of bringing people together in a contemporary society delineated by inequality, separation, and dehumanization. We need to break the barriers of silence and start addressing anger instead of trying to restrict it. It is not until denial, self-protection, and sexism are hammered away and substituted with kindness and compassion, that true change can happen. The normalization of rape has created tolerance for an act that has lasting
Rape is a hidden epidemic that affects many lives world wide. It is a problem that is so terrifying and uncomfortable that people do not talk about it. John Krakauer, author of Missoula, focuses on this issue of rape in the college town of Missoula, Montana. His focus is specifically on the case of Allison Huguet and Beau Donaldson. As the progression of Allison 's case continues we learn of more and more rape cases that happened to women on this same campus. A majority of women do not report these cases, we later learn as Krakauer continues through Allison 's case, because reporting and pursuing the case would be giving their life away. [4] Of course Allison decides to go through the trails of Beau Donaldson, however it is obvious that it is extremely difficult to convict someone with little evidence. As hard of a read as Missoula
Rape is a virus that infects every nation, culture and society. It is constantly referred to as “the unfinished murder”, because of the deep state of despair the rapist leaves the victim in. There is no common identifiable trend that determines who will be a rape victim. Women are not assaulted because of their attitudes or actions, they are attacked simply because they are present. With rapists, just as with their victims, there is no identifiable trend. The old myth that only “sick, dirty, old, perverted men” commit rapes is a lie that society tells itself in order to sleep better at night. The startling truth is that most rapists work under a veil of normalcy. In order for the percentage of rapes to decrease, we have to change our ideas about rape and let go of the old myths of the past. And until this happens, rape will continue to plague our world at large.
In what is sure to be a very solemn matter for all American students and their families across the country , in January 2013 , President Obama, the office of the Vice President and the White House Council on Women and Girls converged and issued a renewed call to action against rape and sexual assault report which analyzes the most recent reliable data about this issue and identifies who are the most in peril victims of this malefaction, investigates the costs of this violence both for victims and communities , and describes the replication very often inadequate of the US malefactor equity system.
The vast amount of research has provided several explanations to account for the behavior of the offenders and the low rate in which sexual assault cases initiate criminal proceedings through a variety of theoretical perspectives. These include the classical approaches that focus on the individual who has committed sexual assault and the positivist approaches that aim to explain the social factors that influence the prosecution rates th...
Although the rate of reported sexual assaults are high, the rates of discipline are zero to none. Why is that you may ask, well for starters most Universities avoid lawsuits as the film “The Hunting Ground” reported that “crime stats are as low as possible so it doesn’t detract applicants from the university”. Four other reasons that the film discussed are:
Sexual assault is defined as 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 In the United States 80% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 30. Of that 80%, 44% are under the age of 18 (RAINN, 2016). That leaves 36% of victims between the ages of 18 and 30. These percentages become even more alarming when that 80% is of about 293,000 victims of secual assualt each year (RAINN, 2016). It is estimated that 1 in every 6 women in the US has been or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. The risks of sexual assault increase on college campuses. Women ages 18-24 who are enrolled in college are 3 times more likely than women in general to suffer from sexual violence (RAINN, 2016). One would think that with all these women being sexually assaulted, one would hear more about it, or perhaps the police stations would constantly be busy. This is not the case. Sexual assault is one of the most unreported crimes, with 68% still being left unreported (RAINN, 2016). This could be because of every 100 rapists, only 2 will spend a day in jail. Of the 32 out of 100 that would be reported, only 7 are referred to an arrest (RAINN, 2016). Why would men or women want to report sexual assault when the system that is supposed to protect them fails so often, and why does this system continue to fail?
The fear of that violence limits most women in ways they’ve gotten so used to that they hardly notice and hardly address. The author points out, that there’s no good reason colleges spend more time telling woman how to survive predators than telling the other half of their students not to be predators. This is embedded into our political and legal system, which before feminism didn’t recognize most domestic violence, or sexual harassment and stalking, or date rape, or acquaintance rape, or marital rape, and in cases of rape still often tries the victim instead of the rapist as though only perfect lady could be assaulted or believed. When a woman says something about male misconduct, she is almost always portrayed as delusional, a malicious conspirator, a pathological liar, a whiner who doesn’t recognize it’s all in fun. They are asked questions on their choice of dress or maybe they did something to provoke or encourage this behavior. Solnit used a personal experience where she “objected to the behavior of a man, only to be told that the incidents had not happened at all as she said, that she was being subjective, delusional, overwrought, dishonest and in a nutshell, female” and therefore not a reliable witness for her own life. The truth is not their property now or ever. The implications that women as a
The basis of the story is rape. Rape, as defined in the Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, is an act of power and dominance; although 15% to40% of American women are victims of rape or attempted rape, there is also the chance that a man is assaulted also. It is said that women are more than likely going to get raped by someone they know. More than half of the nation?s rape assaults have been placed in the victim?s home. Many rape assaults are continued or completed because the victim didn?t use verbal or physical force as resistance. For more than 3 decades and now till this day, feminist organizations have been fighting successfully to change the publics? attitude toward rape as well as how society treats rape victims.
Rape culture, a term thrown around the internet like wildfire about many cases of sexual harassment and assault. However, what is it truly and does it actually exist? According to WAVAW (Women Against Violence Against Women) the term “rape culture” was coined by feminists in the 1970’s to point out how society blamed victims, normalized sexualy violent behavior, and how we project the acceptance of sexual assault/harassment through media that is seen and heard everyday. In this paper the extent that rape culture has on our society and why social policy should change will be evaluated; and although rape culture could just be an idea made up by feminists and it could be explained off as just words or actions, rape culture exists in the victim
“Sexual assault of women by strangers is but one aspect of the larger set of sexual violence related problems”. Dedel (2011) Sexual assault is a crime of violence that comes from the offender’s need to exercise power and control over the victim. They feel that taking something by force is them being in control it is a satisfaction to the victim. Sexual assault can be defined as any type of non-consensual sexual contact. Survivors usually feel shame, embarrassment and fear. Some victim’s fear that nobody is going to believe them, they are afraid they will be blamed for what happened and unfortunately they don’t report the crime. Survivors of sexual assault are more...
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
“Women and men do not receive an equal education because outside of the classroom women are perceived not as sovereign beings but as prey” (Rich 446). Women already have this preconceived notion that they not only have to compete with men in school but the pressure that society puts on them to compete with other women every day. The body shaming epidemic going on now tells women that if they don’t have the right measurement then you are not considered attractive, it is another example of how women are viewed as a whole instead of as individuals. Adrienne Rich also discusses the obstacle that women face every day, but no one wants to talk about, rape. “How much of my working energy is drained by the subliminal knowledge that as a woman, I test my physical right to exist each time I go out alone?” What Rich is expressing is that women always have the unnecessary burden, of not only being considered the weaker sex in society but also physically being reminded that as women doing something as mundane as walking to your car you have to be conscious of the possibility of being raped. This is affecting women outside of the classroom setting, if women were represented more in mainstream curriculum there would not be such a conception about gender
Moreover, the vast majority of perpetrators will not go to jail or prison. Out of every 1,000 rapes, 994 perpetrators will walk free. In addition, women in college are three times more likely to be subjected to sexual assault. Among graduate and professional students, 8.8 percent of females experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation. Among undergraduate students, 23.1 percent of females experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation. Yet, Only 20 percent of female student victim 's, age 18-24, report to law enforcement. These statistics point out the blatantly apparent epidemic of rape culture. Moreover, rape culture is a term that was coined by feminists in the United States in the 1970 's. It was designed to show the ways in which society blamed victims of sexual assault and normalized male sexual
“Rape and Sexual Violence Are Serious Problems.” Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 2008. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
The society we live in is rape-conducive, rape-friendly, if you will. Despite the anger I feel joining those two words together, I know the sad paradox holds within it a great deal of truth. We are a violent society that has shrouded rape in mystery and shame. To stop this nightmare’s venomous crusades, all people must wage a private war to eradicate their own acceptance of the savage crime. While it is only a minority of men that actually commit rape, it is everyone’s silence that tells them it’s ok.