Transforming A Rape Culture

Whether we realize it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, there is a lack of respect for women in the world. This lack of respect leads to rape and sexual assault and the perpetuation of rape culture in our society. “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 violence.” (WAVAW.ca).

“Emilie Buchwald, author of Transforming a Rape Culture, describes that when society normalizes sexualized violence, it accepts and creates rape culture. In her book she defines rape culture as, ‘a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. It is a society

Some myths include: “Women are most likely to be raped outside, after dark and by a stranger,” “only young, 'attractive' women and girls, who are flirtatious and wear tight clothes, are raped,” and “it's only rape if someone is physically forced into sex and has the injuries to show for it” (Rape Crisis). When in actuality “3 out of 4 rapes are committed by someone known by the victim” (RAINN). People can be raped by family, friends, and coworkers, and they can be raped anywhere, yes that includes outside in the dark, but also in their own home, a friend’s house, a public bathroom, anywhere. It also doesn’t matter what you look like or what you wear, “people of all ages and appearances, and of all classes, cultures, abilities, genders, sexualities, races and religions, are raped. Rape is an act of violence and control; the perceived 'attractiveness' of a victim has very little to do with it” (Rape Crisis). Having a physical mark or bruise is not a requirement of getting raped. Some rapists use a lot of force, leaving the victims with bruises while others rape people who cannot fight back. For example, if someone is raped while they are unconscious or threatened with some sort of weapon to stop them from struggling, they won’t have any outward

Brock Turner, for example, charged with sexual assault after raping an unconscious 22 year old woman behind a dumpster, was only sentenced to 6 months in prison and then was released 3 months early, while a man named Jeff Mizanskey was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for a nonviolent marijuana related conviction. He was just released after 20 years. Also recently a 40 year old man named Martin Blake who admitted to repeatedly raping a girl that was only 12 years old was only sentenced to 60 days in jail. The judge thought that the decline of “social support” after losing his job, family, and friends because of this trial was hard enough for this man to cope with. Blake’s public defender Casey Moore said, “He did spend 17 days in jail, and he did lose his job … For the most part, he will be on supervision for the rest of his life.” Situations like this make rape and assault seem so unimportant, and it’s terrifying to think that some people think this is okay, Brock Turners father didn’t even think it was necessary for his son to get jail time, he said, “that is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action.” In another recent case, a judge, someone in charge of the justice system, in response to a 19 year old girl who was raped over a sink at a house party said, “why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?” and “some sex and pain sometimes goes together… that’s not necessarily a bad