Skip to main content

Rape: Whose Fault Is It?


            According to Carol Bohmer and Andrea Parrot, two factors that are most common in determining when acquaintance rape will occur are the number of men a woman dates and the intoxication level of the man.  The more men a woman dates, the higher the probability that she will encounter men with these tendencies.  When men are drunk, they are less likely to understand that the woman may not want to have sex or may just be emboldened to ignore her wishes.  Another factor that increases the chance of acquaintance rape is the intoxication of the female.  I was shocked to read about a Stanford professor’s belief that “if a woman does not know that what happened to her is rape, then it is not rape” (Bohmer and Parrot 357).  Sexual assault by someone you know is very confusing and extremely hard to define and work through.  This sounds just like another example of victim blaming.  The victim is being held responsible to the attack should she be unable to define it to some preconceived standard definition.  I was also shocked to hear the details of higher prevalence of sexual assaults committed by fraternity and college athletes.  I feel like those in charge, particularly of these groups, in colleges and universities should take a more proactive stance to changing the attitudes and culture of their students (Bohmer and Parrot).
            “Sexual Assault Prevention Tips,” which gives examples of how people should not put themselves in a position to rape another person.  As it is now, sexual assault victims are held responsible for putting themselves in precarious situations or wearing provocative clothing.  Many victims are judged for their prior sexual activity.  Many who are assaulted fear reporting the crime because they feel that they will be judged for their role in bringing on the assault (Feminally).
The video “It’s Your Fault” gives a sarcastic and alarming view of victim blaming rape victims.  I don’t think I have ever seen something so bold talking about this subject matter.  I thought it really got the point across using humor to talk about such a difficult topic.  The absurdity of the claims makes it hard to forget (AIB).

Works Cited
"AIB : Rape - It's Your Fault." Youtube, 19 Sept. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hC0Ng_ajpY. Accessed 2 Nov. 2018.
Bohmer, Carol, and Andrea Parrot. "Scope of the Problem." Women In Culture An Intersectional Anthology for Gender and Women's Studies, Second ed., Wiley Blackwell, 2017, pp. 355-67.
Feminally. "Sexual Assault Prevention Tips." Women In Culture An Intersectional Anthology for Gender and Women's Studies, Second ed., Wiley Blackwell, 2017, p. 367.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Emmett Till

I think the most important event in African American history since Reconstruction is the aftermath of the murder of Emmett Till.  Till was only 14 years old when he was tortured and killed by two white men in Money, Mississippi after flirting with a white woman at a store.  Till was beaten severely, shot and dumped into the Tallahatchie River, tied to a cotton gin fan.  African Americans were killed often in the South, many times by lynching.  The violence in the South towards African Americans was so prevalent that the two men that killed Till felt they were in the right and had no fear of being punished for this horrific crime.  When Till’s body was sent back to his mother in Chicago, she was shocked and horrified at how horrible her son’s body looked, due to the savage way Till was treated before and after he was killed.  Mamie Till Bradley made the decision to have an open casket funeral and to allow media to photograph his body before and during the f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Disaster Management: A State of Emergency

Before the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979, over 100 agencies had to work together to help people during and after major disasters (Smith).  The result was a conglomerate of uncoordinated efforts that didn’t work very well.  FEMA was created after a series of major natural disasters.  Ironically, after FEMA was created, less severe disasters happened and FEMA didn’t seem quite so important.  Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush used FEMA to make appointments as political favors and the people they appointed to head FEMA had no experience, training, or background in emergency management (Smith).  When a severe storm finally struck, FEMA was unprepared.  After a category 5 hurricane hit Florida City in 1992, it took 5 days for troops to show up to assist.  Over 125,000 homes were destroyed and thousands of people were left without federal assistance or necessities, like water or food (Smith).  Jane Bullock, former C...
Post a Comment
Read more

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

The United States has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) international agreement.   According to the National Women’s Law Center, only the United States and six other countries have not ratified this agreement ("Issues").   The Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center testified that CEDAW protects basic human rights and aims to stop gender based discrimination against girls and women.   Nearly 200 countries have adopted CEDAW.   The main tenets of CEDAW are to: 1) prevent crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, sex trafficking and other forced physical and sexual acts primarily experience by women worldwide; 2) give girls and women equal access to education and job training; 3) improve access for women to healthcare and improve maternal mortality rates; and 4) provide critical legal support and legislation to families, mothers and their children (Greenberger). CEDAW seems like a no brain...
Post a Comment
Read more