my word against yours Lilly Williams
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Maddie Handrich
icture your favorite article of clothing. Now imagine that article of clothing in a plastic bag, in a courtroom. It’s being used against you as evidence. Unfortunately, this is a common situation for many rape survivors around the country, and has been for a while, as a painfully slim amount of rapists face just prosecution. In today’s society, things as simple as the shirt on your back can dictate whether or not a rape was actually rape. This issue is just one aspect of a plaguing culture, and a dangerous number of rapists are walking the streets alongside us every day because of it.
OPINION
Lily Hieronymus
slut-shaming and misognysitc victim-blaming help to keep society oblivious to the real issue: rape culture and rapists. According to The New York Times, there’s an entire market of products solely for the purpose of detecting drinks that have been roofied: coasters, straws, Sipchips, you name it. In 2016, a company named Undercover Colors invented a nail polish laquer that changes color when exposed to date-rape drugs. While innovative, fancy nail polish only serves as a window into the obstructive mentality surrounding the issue. Products like this perpetrate victim blaming, further distracting from the root causes of rape and sexual assault. Anything that puts the onus on women to “discreetly” keep from being raped completely misses the point. It’s saddening that we’ve gotten to the point where products like these need to be created. We need a serious shift in accountability. In Brock Turner’s court statement in 2016, he blamed his crimes on a culture of drinking, peer pressure and “sexual promiscuity.” The fact of the matter is that Turner shouldn’t have a “culture” to ascribe for his crimes. Even considering that he does, why is that acceptable? Why does society foster a culture where this severe infliction of trauma is acceptable? Because of this culture, rapists walk free every day, and rape victims live in fear and anguish every day, possibly for the rest of their lives. Turner can move on and live his life, but the girl he raped may think of that day for the rest of her life.
The Hard Facts As much as society comforts itself by believing that rapists face punishments fitting the severe nature of their crime, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the reality is quite the opposite. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), an estimated 39% of rapes and sexual assaults are actually reported. For reported cases, there is a 50% chance of the rapist being arrested. When RAINN crunched the numbers, only 16% of rapists ever spend a day in jail. Factoring in unreported rapes, a frightening 6% of rapists face any jail time. Fifteen out of 16 rapists walk free. Sickening. In the infamous People of the State of California v. Brock Turner case in 2016, 19-year-old Brock Turner was convicted by jury on three counts of sexual assault. The trial mainly focused on one of the Source: Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network victims with a particularly sickening case. The Detrimental Aftermath Turner was sentenced to a mere six months in jail, of which he Not everyone has experienced rape or sexual assault, and thereserved three. fore cannot possibly grasp the anguish suffered by 1 in 6 women, and His father complained in a statement that his son’s life had been 1 in 10 men, according to RAINN. ruined by “20 minutes of action.” However, the facts speak for themselves. What was 20 minutes of “action” for Turner was 20 minutes of Statistically speaking, victims of sexual assault are significantly agony, of misery, of undoable trauma for his victim. more likely to suffer from depression, PTSD, abuse alcohol or drugs So whose life is really being ruined? Is it the man who served three months in jail? Or the woman he left unconscious behind a dumpster? and contemplate suicide, according to RAINN. There’s a reason why 61% of rape victims decide against reporting their rape — many victims fear that their story will be ignored, in“What were you wearing?” validated or deemed their own fault. And unfortunately, they’re not It’s far too often that the blame of a sexual assault case is placed incorrect in this fear, as most rapists, even those accused, walk free. on alcohol use, flirtation or even the outfit of a victim, rather than Going through something as violating as rape is extremely difficult. the rapist. To then gain the courage to speak up against your rapist is an entirely I shouldn’t have to explain this: separate challenge. After all of that, to be told that your story is unA girl’s choice in underwear is not her consent. true or exaggerated, all in order to protect the well-being of the very Her choice to drink alcohol is not her consent. person who stole yours? No one deserves that sort of pain. Her flirtation is not her consent. So let’s end it. As a society, we should put much more emphasis Nothing other than a clear “yes” is her consent. on the heinous crime that sexual assault is and have no tolerance for This is not to devalue the millions of men in the U.S. that have it. Let’s stop blaming sexual assault on intoxication or a short dress, been victims of sexual assault or rape, according to RAINN. Howand start blaming rapists. ever, rape culture has a particularly harmful effect on women, as
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