Rape is a crime which society still remains ignorant about. It’s clear we live in a very misogynistic society that blames women for being victims of rape. We constantly hear remarks of others who claim that women that have been raped caused it to happen whether it be by the clothes that she was wearing, if she was drunk, women want to be raped or they are lying (this is called victim-blaming).
A crystal clear example of this is when 49 women stepped forward and accused Bill Cosby of rape,yet people still defend Cosby although he has admitted to it in testimony in Andrea Constand’s 2005 lawsuit which was released in July 2015.
Last month, rapper Joey Bada$$ shared his views on this and stated that he wants concrete proof that Bill Cosby raped women and when a follower replied saying that Bill Cosby admitted to it, the rapper responded saying that he needs a video clip in order to believe it. He claimed that the media is slandering Bill Cosby and we are being brainwashed by the media. There have also been countless Bill Cosby jokes about it as if rape is just a laughing matter by some people who believe the women are lying and comedians such as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
During the 2015 Golden Globe Awards opening monologue, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler made series of jokes about Bill Cosby saying “Put the pills in the people! The people did not want the pills in them!” and “… Sleeping Beauty thought she was just getting coffee with Bill Cosby!” Along with the jokes and victim blaming, media treated this very strangely. Note that many news headlines refrained from using Bill Cosby & the word rape but rather they preferred to say that Bill Cosby gave women drugs for sex.
This situation is a reflection of rape culture in America where rape victims are shamed into silence and the rapists remain unpunished. In other words, rape culture is when rape victims are judged for what they were wearing when they were raped, if they were drinking, when colleges don’t investigate rape accusations and sweep them under the rug, when in many states the rapist can sue for child custody if the rape results in pregnancy and there are laws against rape victims getting an abortion. Let’s not forget there are many popular songs that normalize rape such as Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke and Rick Ross’ U.O.E.N.O.
Recently, Meninist twitter has been spreading false rape “facts” which falsely claims most men who are accused of rape are innocent and that nearly half of the accusers admit in the investigation that they are lying. They even have the audacity to state that women consent to sex then change their minds later and accuse men of rape. They twist statistics to serve the lies they want to people to believe. These “facts” that they are telling you are flat out LIES.
Here are real statistics and facts:
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A scary fact is that most rapes are committed by someone the victim knows. “Rapists are not strangers lurking in dark alleys or hiding behind bushes looking for their victims; rather the majority of rapes involve a victim and an offender who had a prior relationship before the rape occurred” (Ferro C. and Saltzman). Many instances of date or acquaintance rape involves the rapist “talking the victim into” having sex when the victim did not want to, having sex when the victim was drunk, the victim was made to feel guilty if she/he refused to have sex or submitting after being given false promises (Doerner and Lab).
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The National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAW) which was conducted during November 1995 to May 1996 which showed that 1 of 6 U.S women and 1 of 33 U.S men have been victims of a completed or attempted rape.
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One in four college women has been raped or survived an attempted rape. (Tjaden)
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Approximately 80% of rape and sexual assaults of college students were more likely to go unreported by police (Bureau of Justice Statistics)
Rape is not a joke. Rape jokes are not funny and never will be. Victims are not the cause of the rape and society must stop shifting the blame to the victim when the rapist is solely responsible. Victim blaming is the reason why so many rapes go unreported as rape victims are afraid of being shamed by society and believe that they will never get justice. We live in a society where a majority of people live in ignorance and only care about social issues when it directly affects them. When will we as a society say we have had enough and take rape seriously and stop creating excuses for rapists and demonizing victims? Will you care when your loved one is a victim? We as a society need to become less passive and accepting of rape and ensure that justice is served for all rape victims.
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