Rape Culture, Part I

     With the now past election of 2012, there were quite a few statements passed around about rape: what defines it, what should be done about it, what to do when pregnancy results from it, etc. The most notable was most definitely the great quote of Todd Akin stating that, from what he understands, "if it's legitimate (or forced, as he later revised) rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." Now obviously, that isn't true. Because that would be to say that is a woman was truly raped, pregnancy would be impossible. So in other words, if pregnancy does occur, that would mean that it was totally consensual and the rapist can be free.

     And I know that that probably wasn't exactly what Akin was saying. But that kind of makes you think of another point. There seems to be a bit of a debate going on now about consensual verses non-consensual  is it rape if there's no signs of struggle. Or if it is right to say a woman was "asking for it" by the way she dressed or acted, or her relationship with the rapist, and the like. And then we also have these rape cases being brought to attention, which leads to a surplus of information and tips on how to prevent rape. Because obviously, rape is a terrible thing that no one (man or woman) would ever want to go through. So we have all these warnings about being careful at night, or not traveling alone, and not talking to strangers or drinking from a cup a stranger gave you. There's so much focus on how not to get raped. And yet, you hardly ever hear about trying to stop a rapist.

     Statistic time: according to the American Medical Association, rape is considered the most under reported crime today. It's estimated that up to 60-75% of rape cases go unreported. Meanwhile, only about 25% of reported cases result in arrest. To put that in numbers, in 100 cases, only about 40 will be reported. And then of that, only 10 people will be arrested, from the original 100. That's a terrible ratio. And what's being done about it? Sure, awareness is up. People know that rape's a thing. People share ways to prevent it, though those are targeted mainly at women, ignoring the fact the men can be raped, too. And then, as far as I've seen, so little is being done to prevent rape from even being a thought. Only 1/10 rapists are ever caught. And men (because women are seldom acknowledged as being able to rape) are rarely told why not to rape. Because, maybe that's silly. Because isn't it easier to teach a person to run, than to teach a person not to fire a gun?

     Now still, telling someone not to do something won't really stop them every time. But the thing is, what if it can save even one person? If a person hears from 10 of their friends that all people deserve even just basic respect? And that one person actually listens? Then I say it counts as a success.

     So what solution would I recommend, I'm sure you wonder? Well, probably just a little more conversation. Did you know that studies have been done on children and exposure to racism? Well, it's obvious that children can easily learn prejudiced values from parents. However, they aren't much better having completely "color-blind" influences either. The best way to stop racism is to simply say "some people are different. And that's fine." Because we don't all look or act the same, but that makes us no less equal.

     But I don't mean to stray to far from the point here. I merely state that little quip to show how talking and explaining things early can really affect the future.

    Now there is no way to make parents be more involved in kid's lives, to ensure they learn good morals. And a lot of times, huge assemblies at schools (such as ones against underage drinking) don't work. We try anyways, but that's not really the best approach. And I don't think we've found the best answer quite yet. But maybe it can go back to our school system. Maybe we can subtly teach kids to treat people fairly. But not in a lecture-y way, and without the whole "treat others as you would like to be treated" cliché. If I hear an argument enough times to memorize it, it's probably not very effective.

     A new age is upon us. I truly believe that the world (or at least a nice couple of prominent countries) is becoming a lot more progressive.

For instance (and I have strayed away from the main topic again. Bare with me please), there is one preschool where everything is entirely gender neutral, which means kids are less focused on stereotypes and don't think of certain things as weird, like most parts of the world. Which would in turn lead to less bullying for people who don't act a certain way.

     Now stereotypes and rape don't really connect. I'm not saying they do. But maybe if all schools were more all-inclusive and really made it known from a young age that no one is better than anyone else, we wouldn't have as much violence or hate crimes or rape later on, because there wouldn't be an overwhelming need for someone  to prove that they are stronger or more powerful than everyone else.. Young minds are extremely susceptible to believing what people tell them and then keeping those thoughts, so it really is crucial that certain morals be implanted early.

     Now of course, certain parents would disagree and argue that that would be a terrible idea. I'd fully expect that. But the younger generation is statistically more acceptable than those older than them. So I definitely think that if we started a push for mild educational reform (or really just better anti bullying policies nationwide) now, in 100 years time crime rates will go way down.

     But I don't have enough to say about our education system to go into the rant that it deserves separate from this. Feel free to comment if you wish. But that's all for now. Talk to you all again next post.

*Side note: I realized as I finished writing this that I left out a few more points, but that don't exactly flow with where I headed with this. So look out for a part II, coming soon.