SaraGargiulo

2/16/16
VosEnglish3
JRPDraft

Title
Inthepast50yearsalthough,women'srightsandgenderequalityhavecomealong
way.Nolongerdoesawomanhavetoplaytheroleasthehousewifeandbeforcedintoa
lowerpaysolelybasedongenderandtoldtheiropinioniswrongbecausetheyareawoman.
PowerfulleaderslikeHillaryClintonandMichelleObamaaremakingitclearthatallwomen
andstronganddeservingoffairtreatment.Femaleempowermenthascomealongwaybutstill
lacksinsomeareasareassuchasrape.Asubjectthatisnotonetobetalkedaboutandonethat
isconsideredthevictim'sfault,andinmanycasesbutnotalways,thewoman'sfault.Sexual
violenceisamajorsocialandpublichealthproblemintheUnitedStates.Accordingtothe
NationalViolenceAgainstWomenSurvey(NVAWS),oneinsixwomenreporthavingan
experiencewithattemptedorcompletedrape,butonlyoneinthirtythreemenexperiencethe
same.Provingthattheoverwhelmingmajorityofvictims,however,arewomenwhohavebeen
victimizedbymen(Williams)
.
Thesestatisticsshowsthevulnerabilityandlackofpowerwomen
haveinAmericansocietytoday.Theissueofrapecausesmajorsetbacksforwomeninsociety.
Nomatterhowmanystepsaheadonecanget,shewillalwaysbetakentwostepsbackwhenit
comestodiscussingandcopingwithsuchatraumaticexperiencesuchasrape.
Rape,asviewedincriminallaw,isdefinedastheactofsexualintercoursewithoutthe
consentofthevictimortheactofsexualintercoursewithaminor(Rape).Moreoftenthannot,
rapeinvolvesunconsentedsexualintercourseaswellasactionsinvolvingphysicalaggression.

Theseactsoftenincludebutarenotlimitedto,hitting,grabbing,pushing,shoving,andpunching
alongwithverbalthreats,intimidationandotherpersistentbehaviorintendedtoforcethe
unwantedsexualactivity(Fay223).AccordingtoU.SdatacompiledbytheFederalBureauof
Investigation,oneforciblerapeisreportedeverysixminutesonaverage,whilethousandsof
rapeseachdayaretakingplacebeingunreported.Fortyfourpercentofrapevictimsareunder
theageofeighteenandfortysixpercentofthosevictimsarebetweentheagesoftwelveand
fifteen.Fromthevictim'sbetweentwelveandfifteenyearsofage,overthreefourthsofthose
womanhadbeenassaultedbysomeonetheyhadknown.Thistypeofrapeisconsidered
acquaintancerapedefinedasthesexualassaultdonetoapersonbysomeonethevictimwas
familiarwith.Thiskindofrapeisoneofthemostcommontypesofrape,alongwithstranger
rape,andmaritalrape,whereaspouseissexuallassaultedbytheirsignificantother(Kernsmith
146).Eachsexualassaultexperiencecomeswithalastingeffectofbothphysicaland
mental/emotionalrepercussions,sometimeslastingalifetime.
Asidefromthephysicaleffectsofrapeoftentimesincluding,bruisingontheouterbody
andgenitals,swellingandsexualltransmitteddisease,rapecausesseverepsychological
reprecussions.Oftentimesrapevictimsexperienceguilttowardstheexperience,recurrent
flashbacks,irritability,depression,anddeepfear,allofwhichcantakeyearstoovercomeand
somemayneverexperienceafullrecovery.Theissueofrapehasbecomeanevergrowingissue
inAmericansocietyandhasyettobeproperlydealtwith.Thevictimsareoftengiventreatment
andtherapytocope,butstoppingtheproblembeforeitbeginsisthelargerissueatplay.
Teachingstudentsasyoungas12yearsoldisasmartwaytopreventissuesfromtakingplace
andthisbeginsinasexualeducationclass.

Theissueofrapeandlackofknowledgeinvolvingtheissueinadolescentsisdirectly
correlatedtotheimproperinformationonrapeculturebeingtaughtinschoolsacrossthe
America.Oneofthemostimportantelementsofbeingasexuallymatureadultisunderstanding
consent:howtoaskforit,howtogiveit,andhowtounderstandwhenitisandisnotvalid.As
studiesacrossAmericahaveshown,sexedprogramsintheU.Shavenotbeenteachingthisat
all.Onlytwentytwostatesrequiresexualeducationprograms,andofwhichonlynineteen
requirefactuallycorrectinformationtobetaught.WithAmericasincreasinglyobviousproblem
withwhatconstitutesrape,policymakersshouldbetakingthisintoconsideration.Asaresult,
parentsandadministrationaremoreworriedaboutkeepingchildrenawayfromsex,insteadof
teachingthemnecessarylessonsforreallifeexperiences(Beyer).Thislackofproper
informationbeingadministeredonsexualactivityandrapehascreatedwhatareknownasrape
myths.Rapemythsaredefinedas,attitudesandgenerallyfalsebeliefsaboutrapethatare
widelyandpersistentlyspread(Kernsmith147).Thesemythshavecreatedaseriousproblemin
societyduetothefactthatschoolsarenotadministeringtherightkindofinformationto
students.Manystudentshavebeenfoundbelievingmythsthatgoasfarasblamingthevictim
forherassaultduetofactorslikethewayawomandressesanddemonstratingbehaviorssuchas
flirting(McMahon311).Thesebeliefsareeasilydiminishedbythesimpleactofteaching
studentscorrectandrelevantinformation.Sexualeducationprogramsarenottheonlywaytogo
aboutsolvingthisissue.Utilizingliteraturetoteachaboutrapeculturehasbeenfoundtohave
onlypositiveoutcomes.Notonlydoescertainliteraturespeakaboutvictimstraumaandhowto
avoidrape,butliteraturecanalsoteachhowtostopunconsentedintercourseandevenwarning
signsofasexuallyassaultedvictim.Utilizingliteraturetoaddressthetopicofrapewouldnot

onlyencourageamaturedialogueaboutthisseriousissueamongstatargetpopulation,butwould
alsoprovideteenswithfactsaboutmyth,preventionandtreatmentofvictims.