The Myths Surrounding Rape Cases - Essay Example

Rape myths are misconceptions and misguided stereotyped beliefs that are false about the rapist, the circumstances involving the rape, or the victim. Rape is sex without consent; when a person has intercourse with another without their consent, they have committed rape. The circumstances could be the use of force; mostly men force themselves on the woman (with women as the weaker sex physically); other instances include when a person has been drugged, and they are not in their right frame of mind to give or deny consent, sometimes they are not even awake at all. The myths surrounding rape cases attempt to belittle the offense or give the victim part of the blame. Discussed in length below is an analysis of these rape myths and how they have affected the victims of rape or sexual assault.

Most rape myths are inclined to justify the act by the offender or deny the victim justice. These myths create a grey area where the act is not accepted, but excuses are made to justify it. These myths are widely accepted, and the victimization of women has been normalized.

One way I think that rape myths have affected the victims is the use of the phrase "Many women have an unconscious desire to be raped (Burt, 1980;Larsen & Long, 1988a). The debate of whether this twisted, in my opinion, the statement is true or false is not the issue. The issue is that there are a lot of abusers out there who use this statement to violate women, especially spouses. This statement has especially been used to justify marital rape or rape of a spouse. Rape is when penetration occurs without consent, regardless of the relationship between the two parties involved. Even in a marriage, sex has to be with consent. When women speak up after being abused by someone they trusted, the statement resonates, and people use it to justify. Questions like, why did she go on a date to him, or why would she kiss him if she did not want it? These statements suggest that the lady's actions were suggestive, and the man was only following the signals she was giving.

The next rape myth that is terrible is the assumption that women lie about rape. This has been proven by a couple of isolated cases where the woman indeed makes up the rape story to incriminate an innocent person. The problem with this is that even though these are usually very few isolated cases, the cases are publicized, and the narrative is spread around. Research shows that only 2% of the reported rape cases are false. For the most part, this means that people, mostly women who report instances of rape, are victims of the same. The general public eye has been set on this myth, whenever a woman claims she has been raped, and the first question anyone asks is whether she is indeed telling the truth. Reports from the FBI estimated an approximately 8% of all rape crime reports are false. The actual statistic shows that only 2% shows a lot about the attitude of the FBI than the lie of the women. The police should be the first to believe and offer help.

This myth has affected the rape victims so much, probably because it is an emotional attack when they are the most vulnerable. Being a victim of rape can be dehumanizing; the effects are physical, mental, and psychological aspects that are all affected negatively. The self-esteem of a girl or woman who has been violated is very low, they experience a lot of helplessness and feel worthless. Having someone access your body without your consent and being physically unable to stop it can be the most traumatic thing. Therefore, speaking up after being rape is a very bold step; in fact, most women are likely to not report the case as opposed to lying about it. When people continue with the narrative that women lie, then the victims are afraid to speak up to avoid being called liars. If a victim is accused of lying, that is a direct attack on her character, so this myth may very well be the reason why some women do not speak up when violated against.

Another myth is that only a 'certain type' of a woman is raped. This assumption suggests that primarily, women with bad conduct are the ones who are likely to be raped. The hypothesis suggests that it is the woman that provoked the man by tempting him. This applies mostly to women with regard to their attire. These ladies are assumed to have bad company, indecent clothing, being out late, the 'type' of woman who does this is more likely to become a victim of rape. This is very true; rape is not a result of a girl being bad; rape is when a person turns into an abuser and has their way with the victim.

Contrary to the belief that there is a more vulnerable type, rapists are everywhere, and they have no criterion they use to pick victims. Rape cases happen within families, relatives, close friends, and sometimes strangers. All these factors have nothing to do with money.

The effect of this ’certain type’ of a woman is on the society has been great. The belief that the woman provokes the man by the way she dresses or carries herself is ridiculous. How this affects the rape victim is that it changes how society views them. Rather than eating their tragic ordeal with compassion, they begin creating excuses for the man subconsciously. Questions include where she was at the time, what she was doing outside alone or what she was wearing. All these questions seek to find an excuse to partially shift blame from the man to the woman, watering down the offense a lot. This shifting of blame affects the victim, and they could start blaming themselves, feeling like they let it happen when the truth of the matter is, rape says nothing about them and everything about the abuser.

The next and one of the most common myths is that men are not rape victims as often as women. Men are victims of rape almost as often as women; however, the discussion on rape highlights the woman. Historically, rape was described as a crime against women. This is still the belief in some parts of the world; however, the truth of the matter is that men, too, fall victim to rape, and they need to be confident enough to speak about it. This myth has only made it harder for male victims to speak up when raped and violated.

The myth that a man does not cry has been a narrative that has been going on for decades. When the obvious intended meaning was to remind the male that they must protect and so strength and bravery are qualities highly valued in men. This definition was taken too far with young boys growing up being taught that crying is a weak trait. This reason has made a lot of victims keep quiet of their rape. The experience is dehumanizing and traumatizing, some men do not report, and those who do, are probably the ones who were too injured not to seek help. Most male rape victims are too embarrassed to speak up and, as a result, sink in depression and other mental issues as a result of the trauma. This myth affects male victims in the sense that it does not recognize that a man can be abused and need to speak up against their abusers. As a result, male victims of rape take the blame and start blaming themselves for what they went through. They may feel humiliated, ashamed, and are likely to suffer emotionally as a result.

The next myth is that the man is the listener and protector. While this might be what we want to believe, the truth of the matter is, even protectors sometimes get vulnerable. As states above, the conversation about rape has always been talking about it based on women. As a result, men have been accustomed to being the listeners as the women are the victim; generally, a man is a symbol of safety, and as much is expected of them. With this in mind, male rape has no place for discussion, which is the more reason why women do not speak up when violated against as regularly. This myth, I believe, is one of the major reasons why male rape cases are not reported, they are embarrassed, and others are judging the last thing they need.

The next myth is that the male victim is scared of being a homosexual. While rape for women is sometimes debated about since the abusers are people familiar to the victim, in men, there is nothing to compare or blame the man for. When another man rapes a man, especially, the effects are the worst. The truth of the matter is, when a man rapes or sodomizes a fellow man, he disregards his sexual orientation and has his way with him. The effects of this on the victim are just sad, the man needs help, but the effects are emotional and very traumatizing. The man may feel like less of a man for being in a position that allowed another man to take advantage of them. The fear that others will judge hi or question his sexual orientation scares them off, and they end up not speaking up. Male rape victims have a hard time reconciling that reality that they have been raped and accepting it. It affects their masculinity and breaks their self-esteem, which is really big, especially for a man. Male rape cases, both male and female, are very common, especially in the army. The issue of rape and abuse in the army is very common. The fact that adult male rape is not common shows that it is not as explored as it should be, considering that it is a major problem in the army.

From the above essay, we can conclude that victims of rape deserve love, not judgment. Society needs to create an environment that allows room for people to speak up. A safe space that lets the victim, both men and women, know that they can speak up, get help, and have justice without feeling embarrassed or shaped. Rape is a crime and violation against the victims' rights; it is not a crime that should humiliate the victim, rather cases should be reported so that the abusers can be brought to justice and removed from the streets not to abuse another victim.

Contrary to the belief that there is a more vulnerable type, rapists are everywhere, and they have no criterion they use to pick victims. Rape cases happen within families, relatives, close friends, and sometimes strangers. All these factors have nothing to do with money.

The effect of this ’certain type’ of a woman is on the society has been great. The belief that the woman provokes the man by the way she dresses or carries herself is ridiculous. How this affects the rape victim is that it changes how society views them. Rather than eating their tragic ordeal with compassion, they begin creating excuses for the man subconsciously. Questions include where she was at the time, what she was doing outside alone or what she was wearing. All these questions seek to find an excuse to partially shift blame from the man to the woman, watering down the offense a lot. This shifting of blame affects the victim, and they could start blaming themselves, feeling like they let it happen when the truth of the matter is, rape says nothing about them and everything about the abuser.

The next and one of the most common myths is that men are not rape victims as often as women. Men are victims of rape almost as often as women; however, the discussion on rape highlights the woman. Historically, rape was described as a crime against women. This is still the belief in some parts of the world; however, the truth of the matter is that men, too, fall victim to rape, and they need to be confident enough to speak about it. This myth has only made it harder for male victims to speak up when raped and violated.

The myth that a man does not cry has been a narrative that has been going on for decades. When the obvious intended meaning was to remind the male that they must protect and so strength and bravery are qualities highly valued in men. This definition was taken too far with young boys growing up being taught that crying is a weak trait. This reason has made a lot of victims keep quiet of their rape. The experience is dehumanizing and traumatizing, some men do not report, and those who do, are probably the ones who were too injured not to seek help. Most male rape victims are too embarrassed to speak up and, as a result, sink in depression and other mental issues as a result of the trauma. This myth affects male victims in the sense that it does not recognize that a man can be abused and need to speak up against their abusers. As a result, male victims of rape take the blame and start blaming themselves for what they went through. They may feel humiliated, ashamed, and are likely to suffer emotionally as a result.

The next myth is that the man is the listener and protector. While this might be what we want to believe, the truth of the matter is, even protectors sometimes get vulnerable. As states above, the conversation about rape has always been talking about it based on women. As a result, men have been accustomed to being the listeners as the women are the victim; generally, a man is a symbol of safety, and as much is expected of them. With this in mind, male rape has no place for discussion, which is the more reason why women do not speak up when violated against as regularly. This myth, I believe, is one of the major reasons why male rape cases are not reported, they are embarrassed, and others are judging the last thing they need.

The next myth is that the male victim is scared of being a homosexual. While rape for women is sometimes debated about since the abusers are people familiar to the victim, in men, there is nothing to compare or blame the man for. Read More