Date Rape Culture: The Need to End Victim Mutedness - Essay Example

? Rape Culture: The Need to End Victim Mutedness Robert Lincoln Kaplan Rape Culture: The Need to End Victim Mutedness Introduction “When I wanted to publish my date rape story, many of my friends thought it would be best if I stayed silent” (Bacharach, 2005). Even her mother told her “you are not the poster child for date rape” (Bacharach, 2005). Bacharach is one of the very few women who dared to come out and talk about being a victim of date rape. Date rape can occur to any two individuals who know each other or who have consented to a social engagement. While majority of date rape victims are women, men can still fall victims to such violation. The rape need not occur during a date, and such things happen even among married couples. It is in fact a bothering estimate of “14-30% of all adult women have been raped or experienced attempted rape” (Burgess & Burpo, 2012, p.749). It is even more bothering that college-aged women make up the largest share of this percentage. Furthermore, it is not comfortable to know that “84% of rape survivors knew their assailants” (Burgess & Burpo, 2012, p.749). Lack of detailed awareness on the issue causes several factors surrounding the underreporting of date rape such as ambiguity in definition, gendered misconceptions, and social stigma. These factors influence the mutedness of the victims on the individual, cultural, situational, and immediate contexts before, during, and after the rape and foster the date rape culture. Misconceptions and Social Stigma 71% percent of rapes are planned or premeditated. Women are the ones most likely to be vulnerable when spending time along with a man. One of the major problems of date rape is that majority of the effects are unseen or even unheard. This means that there are many unreported incidents. Studies show that less than 5% of college women who are victims of date rape report the incident to the authorities. However, around two-thirds of these victims confide into someone about their ordeal. In another study, 40% of these college-aged victims do not report the date rape because of fear for reprisal or social stigma (Sampson, 2002, p.4). One report states, “30% of respondents said a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she was drunk” (Grubb & Harrower, 2009, p.63). Furthermore, one study reports that 22.8% of college rape victims already experienced some form of sexual assault before. There is also a possibility of that serial rapists are common among date rapists, for there is a report saying that 96 males were responsible for 187 incidences of rapes (Sampson, 2012, p.10). The numbers continue to shock when a National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that 75% of male students and 55% of female students had been drinking alcohol or taking drugs before the date rape. Considering the fact that most date rapes are unreported, there is still an average of 25% female rape victims reported. A graph showing a compilation of reports from the Justice Department and the NBI shows that only 10% of rape cases are reported and only 30% of these reported cases ever face trial (The Enliven Project, 2013). Pre-Date Rape Causes Cultural Context Campuses do not have a clear definition of date rape. A major study reports that students presents several confusing answers when asked about the definition of date rape. The answers range from how or when a person gives consent to sexual advances to consent need not be verbalized (Burnett et al., 2009, p.474). Bottom-line, the definition depends on personal views and not on universal descriptions of date rape. Such ambiguity can affect a victim’s ability to ward off unwanted advances before a rape occurs. There will be questions such as “Should I say no now?,” or even “Is he (she) making passes at me?” Even the perpetrator would have an easier time in getting away with unwanted advances because the ambiguity in the definition of date rape itself causes vagueness in situations that might lead to it. Individual Context Misconceptions on what causes date rape also influence the mutedness of the victims. Burnett et al. (2009) reports that on a psychological level, people tend to categorize rape victims as “‘sluts’ who were ‘looking for it’” (p.474). Others believe that dresses and actions can suggest openness to random sexual encounters. On a sociological level, gender norms and peer pressure open an avenue for the acceptance of misconceptions regarding date rape. Burnett et al. (2009) reports that most college students expect males to go to parties and to have sex. Some students report that they do not want to say “no” for fear of looking stupid in front of peers. Others further state that sexual favors are expected in exchange for being treated to drinks, etc. (Burnett et al., 2009). Situational Context The ambiguity of the definition of date rape and the gendered misconceptions inhibit the possibility of avoiding pre-date rape situations. Bringing along trusted friends to ward off the possibility of being a victim of date rape is one strategy employed by some college students. This means that the presence of a large, trusted group of people around prevents date rape. It is thus important to how this translates into a larger, social context. If everybody present knows how to detect pre-date rape signs, these people can intervene on behalf of the victim. However, this is not attainable if the mere definition of date rape remains vague. During-Date Rape Causes Immediate Context Lack of awareness of the definition of date rape, coupled by social stigma and gendered misconceptions, prevents a victim from fighting of a rapist while rape is ongoing. There are times when victims are confused whether what is happening is actually rape. Some may even question their own actions prior to the rape. Thoughts such as “It is already happening, so I’ll just allow it,” or “I should have made it clear earlier,” or even “I shouldn’t have flirted a lot” are common among victims. It is bothering that even victims sometimes blame themselves for the rape. There are also times when the victim thinks of having consented earlier and that changing mind is not acceptable (Burnett et al, 2009). Post-Date Rape Cases Situational Context Ambiguity and social stigma also influences the mutedness of victims during a post-date rape situation. Trust is lost and the victims begin to worry about what others will think if they learn about the incident. Here, social stigma plays a major role. It is common to hear comments such as “You should have been more careful,” or “What were you wearing that time?,” or even “Why did you even flirt with that person?” Such mindset fosters victim blaming that silences the victim. To avoid such confrontations, victims will usually opt to keep quiet about the situation. Burnett et al. (2009) also reports that thoughts of avoiding the perpetrator also occur in victims for fear of being hated by the perpetrator and the person’s circle of friends. Individual Context Silence after an incident of rape is just like the peer pressure to have sex prior to a date rape. Social stigma again plays a major role in the mutedness of the victims. Prior to a date rape, victims are tagged as “‘sluts’ who were ‘looking for it’” (Burnett et al., 2009, p.474). This means that exposing one’s self as a rape victim gives one the likelihood of being branded as impure, dirty, or “sluttish.” It is also possible for victims to validate the date rape just because of “giving off wrong signals,” “flirting,” “drinking too much,” “not saying no forcefully,” “liking the perpetrator,” etc. Furthermore, the lack of clear definition of date rape can also cause the victim confusion on whether or not rape actually happened. Cultural Context There is a dominant mindset in the society that “it is not a big deal because it is not going to court” (Burnett et al., 2009, p.479). In the mind of a victim, the battle can easily be he said, she said. If the victim is confused whether date rape actually happened, this is going to be an excruciating battle. According to Burgess & Burpo (2012), there is a: number of women who have experienced events that meet the legal definition of rape, but fail to describe these events as rape; over 50% of the women who had experienced events that would be legally defined as rape did not define themselves as rape victims. (p.749) If social stigma and gendered misconceptions add to this, the battle can even be more agonizing. “Numerous studies have pointed to the tendency of observers to denigrate the rape victim, holding them responsible for the assault” (Grubb & Harrower, 2009, p.63). Such tendency to blame the victims ensures victim mutedness. Possible Actions for Prevention Awareness is the key. While awareness cannot change the date rape culture overnight, it can serve as a starting point. First, date rape must be clearly defined. Second, awareness campaigns on date rape must focus not only on the “during-date rape” situation, but also on the pre- and post-date rape circumstances. Third, education for date rape must include the effects of the existing gendered misconceptions, social stigma, and ambiguity on the individual, cultural, situational, and immediate contexts of date rape. Fourth, pre-date arrangements must be direct, or even blunt, if necessary. This is especially true during the early stages of changes in the date rape culture. Fifth, date rape should be taken as seriously as stranger rape. Doing these would encourage clear-cut communication about the issue, increase awareness, and erase existing misconceptions and stigma that would encourage more of the likes of Jessica Bacharach. With “14-30% of all adult women...raped or experienced attempted rape” (Burgess & Burpo, 2012, p.749), it is troubling to imagine a fourth of the women we know had been raped or assaulted and no one speaks about it. Silence about date rape makes the victims remain victims instead of survivors. References Bacharach, J. (2005, 10 Apil). “A survivor speaks out: the story of my date rape.” The Eagle. Retrieved from http://www.theeagleonline.com/news/story/a-survivor-speaks-out-the-story-of-my-date-rape/ Burgess, M. C. R., & Burpo, S. (2012). The Effect of Music Videos on College Students’ Perceptions of Rape. College Student Journal, 46, 4, 748-763. Grubb, A. R., & Harrower, J. (2009). Understanding attribution of blame in cases of rape: An analysis of participant gender, type of rape and perceived similarity to the victim. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 15, 1, 63-81. Sampson, R., & United States. (2002). Acquaintance rape of college students. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The Enliven Project. (2013). Justice Department and FBI reports: 2006-2010 [Graph]. Retrieved from http://theenlivenproject.com/the-truth-about-false-accusation/#prettyPhoto Read More