American Rape Culture

[rapeinamerica]

Through all of this research, my opinions have been nothing but affirmed. If it felt strongly about rape and feminine issues before, I feel 10 times stronger now. Everything I have learned in creating this tumblr has 100% enforced my feelings about rape. I went into this project thinking, or maybe hoping, that some of my preconceived notions about rape statistics would be proven wrong - maybe it isn’t true that 1 in 6 women, if not 1 in 3, are sexually assaulted, maybe it isn’t true that only 3% of rapists are actually punished - but if anything, these facts have been reinforced.  

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This article explains how American rape culture affects sexual assault statistics. Oftentimes, women are afraid to report their sexual assault, whether it be fear of the legal system, fear of the media’s reaction, fear or their rapists response, or whatever it be. This article also mentions quite a few countries other than America, though the research still holds up and proves true to research in America. 

This article is completely based on one person’s research, so I would consider the results fairly accurate. Amanda Hoover Green gathered all of her own data, analyzed it, and churned out the results. If anyone knows her study best, it’s her. 

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While Brock Turner was in jail, 75,000 American women were raped

Turner was released from jail on Friday, September 2.

This is a video directed towards Brock Turner, the infamous Stanford Rapist. Outside of a frat house, Brock was found raping an unconscious, half-naked woman. He was found by two grad students, who proceeded to run after him and eventually catch him. The victim was accompanying her little sister to a party, though her original plan was to stay at home. She woke up in a hospital bed, hearing the gory details of her assault. The standard sentence for a rapist can be anywhere from 4 years to 10 years. Brock was sentenced to 6 months in a country jail. He ended up serving 3. 

This video is essentially a letter entitled “Dear Brock”. This speaker/author is Liz Plank, who also goes by feminisitabulous. She begins the video a very casual way, mentioning a few pop culture happenings that he “may have missed.” She then goes on to mention that, while Brock was in prison, approximately 75,000 American women were raped. She also mentions the idea that this number is most likely incorrect, because many women do not report their rapes. She continues to humorously, though very intensely, grill Brock.

I loved this video mainly because it wasn’t too boring and “newsy”. It was casual and funny, while also completely proving his guiltiness.  

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1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.

This article explains that "younger people” (meaning ages 12-34) are more likely to fall victim to sexual assault. Within this statistic, individuals from the ages 12-17 make up the smallest assaulted group, with 15%. This article also explains that women, as you probably suspected, are the most likely to be subject to sexual assault. Statistically, 1 in 6 women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime, but this ratio is considered to be incorrect, as many women do not report their rapes in fear of the legal process they will have to endure or repercussions from their rapist. The article also mentions that, while not at such an alarming rate, men are affected by rape. In fact, men who are college students and also in the age group of 18-24 are 5 times more likely to be victim to assault than men the same age, who aren’t college students. 

This article is from a very reliable source, RAINN, which is the National Sex Assault Hotline. They gather their information from the victims that reach out to them for help, but also from statistics that are reported from other organizations. 

source: https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

[rapeinamerica]

Rape in America

Being a feminist, rape is a topic that I would consider very, very important to me. The first time I can really remember being truly upset by the patriarch and patriarchal values is in about 8th grade. I remember sitting in health class, hearing statistical facts about rape in America. We learned that about 97 out of every 100 rapists receive absolutely no punishment, whether it be jail time, community service, or even being brought to court. After this, we learned that only 25%, a mere 25%, of rapes are committed by a stranger, while the other 75% are committed by family members, significant others, and acquaintances.   This astonished me. Ever since then, rape is something that has genuinely distraught me, which is why I decided to create this tumblr. I hope to bring about awareness and, through stories, facts, and statistics, bring about this anger towards rape in others.