Final Blog Post

Although I have heard that most rapists aren’t strangers, it is hard to believe sometimes. I think the results of these studies should be displayed by the media. The news tends to only show the most extreme cases of women who were abducted, beaten, and raped at gunpoint by a stranger. This gives society a false image of what it’s actually like. Yes, these scenarios do happen—but it is a slim percent of the cases. As stated in the article, the vast majority of rape or attempted rape assaults are done by someone the victim already knows and without a weapon. I think the media (newspapers, television, radios, and magazines) should let the public know about these non-stranger rapes as well. This would help victims be able to protect themselves and hopefully prevent some of these attacks. They might become more aware of their so-called “friends” advances, which gives them a hint to be more careful. Women don’t assume that people they know will try and do these harmful things to them because most women don’t know how common it really is. If the media would give an accurate representation of rape then maybe it would be less likely to happen. Maybe women would stop getting so drunk and high in an unfamiliar environment. Since most scenarios involve drugs or alcohol, this might prevent a controllable situation. Yes, rape will still happen- but maybe the numbers would decrease.

As a society, we are still scared and uneasy talking about sexual topics sometimes. Because lots of women are uncomfortable talking about sex, they are less likely to report these assaults. A cultural change needs to occur: make sex an easier topic to discuss. Incorporate classes into more high schools and encourage parents to talk about these awkward topics with their children at a younger age. The more comfortable they are with the topic, the more likely they will at least go to someone about the incident. Whether it is a friend or family member, someone would be willing to help. It’s not that people don’t want to help—it’s that most victims don’t speak up because they are scared or uneasy in my opinion.

Overall I found this a very interesting and significant article with lots of great information. In conclusion, I feel that it is everyone’s job to let society know the truth about rape cases. The media needs to display these results and the reality of rape incidents so that prevention and protection plans can be established. Parents and friends need to be more educated and open to discussing the issues to make victims more willing to report the cases that do happen from an acquaintance or while they were intoxicated—without being judged. Most people think it is not going happen to them but it reality everyone could potentially be at risk and most are unaware of this.