Well that's all well and good: you are basically saying criminals shouldn't be criminals, and we need to stop them. But I operate on the assumption that criminals are going to be criminals, for the most part at least, so for instance when it comes to burgularies, I DO put ALL my emphasis on what I am going to do to stop them from burgularizing me.
According to the most detailed information on sexual assault available from the 1993 national Violence Against Women Survey (Statistics Canada, 1993),
39% of Canadian adult women reported having had at least one experience of sexual assault since the age of 16. The definition of sexual assault in this survey included violent sexual attacks and unwanted sexual touching, both of which are consistent with Criminal Code definitions of sexual assault. That is
2 in 5 women who has experienced at least one instance of sexual assault. Many studies show that a significant number of sexual assault take place in dating and aquaintance relationships (according to a study by the Ontario Women’s Directorate, the rapist was known to his victim in
1 of 3 cases of rape:
Facts to Consider About Sexual Assault, Ontario Women’s Directorate, 1995).
The prevalence and pervasiveness of rape and sexual violence against women is systemic. Which means that it is not perpetrated only or mostly by deviant, pathological "criminals". Women get raped not because of the clothes they wear but because men rape them and get away with it.
According to an often cited study, eight percent of college men have either attempted or successfully raped.
30% percent say they would rape if they could get away with it. When the wording was changed to “force a woman to have sex,” the number jumped to
58%. Worse still,
83.5% argue that “some women look like they are just asking to be raped." M Koss and M Harvey,
The Rape Victim: Clinical and Community Interventions, Sage, 1991.
Research conducted by Butt (1980), Holcomb, Holcomb, Sondag, and Williams (1991), and Dean and Malamuth (1997), shows that
rape-tolerant attitudes are one of the most common contributors to the high prevalence of rape among college students [my emphasis]. People who accept rape stereotypes, adversarial sexual beliefs, and traditional sex role attitudes show a greater acceptance of rape, and appear to condemn victims more. The research further suggests that males consistently hold more rape-tolerant attitudes and that these attitudes may be related to actual involvement in sexual violence (Dean & Malamuth, 1997, Holcomb et al., 1991; Koss, 1988; Rapaport & Burkhart, 1984). According to Burt (1980), rape-tolerant attitudes are comprised of the following: (1). Adversarial sexual beliefs: beliefs such as women are responsible for rape. (2). Traditionality: women are viewed as passive, sweet, and gentle, unlike men who are seen as aggressors, initiators, and proud of their sexual ability. (3).
Acceptance of rape stereotypes: attitudes that prostitutes cannot be raped, rape only occurs when the victim has a weapon, or it is not definitely rape if a woman is intoxicated or wearing revealing clothes.
In a survey of 11 to 14 year old boys and girls*:
- 51% of the boys and 41% of the girls said forced sex was acceptable if the boy “spent a lot of money” on the girl
- 31% of the boys and 32% of the girls said it was acceptable for a man to rape a woman with past sexual experiences
- 65% of the boys and 47% of the girls said it was acceptable for a boy to rape a girl if they had been dating for more than six months
In a survey of 13-14 year old boys**:
- 11% thought that if a girl said “no” to sex she really meant yes
- More than 1 in 4 agreed that girls who get drunk at parties or on dates deserve whatever happens to them
- Almost half felt that rape was sometimes the victim’s fault
- 40% agreed that girls who wear sexy clothes are asking to be raped
- More than 1 in 3 thought they would not be arrested if they forced a date to have sex 36% agreed that if a girl goes into the bedroom on a date, she wants to have sex
- More than 15% agreed that forcing your date to have sex is sometimes acceptable
- More than 7% thought that it was okay for a boy to force a girl to have sex if the girl got him sexually excited
Rape is NOT a inevitable fact of life. Men are NOT uncontrollable animals and most are NOT pathological deviants.
The only thing that all victims of rape have in common is bad fucking luck, and for the vast majority of them, the common denominator they share is that their attacker were men. The only way to stop rape is to stop men from raping. And it starts by changing attitutes toward rape. As long as society will keep on telling women and children that they should have better protected themselves against getting raped, men will keep on raping women and children with impunity.
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* J White and JA Humphrey, 1991, “Young People’s Attitudes Toward Acquaintance Rape,” in Acquaintance Rape: The Hidden Crime, ed. Andrea Parrot, John Wiley & Sons.
** Facts About Sexual Assault, American Medical Association, 1997
