Rape Culture.

I will be discussing rape, which is rated as one of the most controversial topics of discussion today.

Here are some rape prevention tips.

1. If someone is drunk, do not rape them.

2. When someone is walking by themselves, leave them alone.

3. Make sure you have a friend with you, so that if you feel the need to rape someone, you may ask them to prevent you from it.

4. Carry a rape whistle. If you find yourself tempted to rape someone, blow the whistle so that someone may come and stop you.

5. Honesty is the best policy. When you are taking someone out, do not pretend to be interested in them. Tell them your intentions of wanting to rape them. If you do not voice your intentions, they may make the mistake of assuming that you do not want to rape them.

Rape is a word that triggers an overwhelming sense of emotions in a person. Perhaps emotions of guilt, embarrassment or fear. Rape is something that is commonly overlooked and neglected because there is a stigma attached to it, there is a stigma that it is the victims fault. Rape is an inhumane act that is often justified by the same people who turn to abuse and violence at every turn.

Statistically, it is proven that in South Africa alone, one in three women are raped. That is heartbreaking considering that there are roughly twelve girls in my class. That means that statistically, four of those twelve girls may be raped in their lifetime. The South African police estimates that a woman is raped every 36 seconds. That insinuates that those four girls will just become another two minutes of a statistic. There is nothing that saddens me more than a world where a woman is no longer seen as a woman, but rather an object that is denied of her ability to have a life to herself, without it being torn away by a self-righteous man. There’s something deeply concerning in the fact that these statistics are taken lightly. A woman that sits back and says “it will never happen to me”, is a woman who is considered complacent and unrealistic. Why? Why should a woman have to expect to get raped? Why should a woman have to fear for her life at every waking moment of a day? Why should a woman have to look over her shoulder when crossing a street in fear of a man, rather than in fear of an irresponsible driver? These are questions that we should be asking ourselves daily, and yet we don’t give rape the light of day. We only pay attention to sexual abuse when it is a famous movie producer that has committed the crime or a famous actress that has been a victim.

I think that it all went wrong when women were told to watch what they wear rather than telling men to keep to themselves. We have conditioned men into believing that if a woman is not dressed appropriately, she is obligated to being a victim of violence. The way a woman dresses is not an invitation to a man. Rape is unfortunately something that is often blamed on the victim. Perhaps it was the way she behaved, the way she dressed or the way she looked that may have provoked a man. These are the things that are used to justify rape. But what about the women that dress appropriately, behave perfectly or may not be the most attractive? There is no justification in either of the cases. The sooner that the blame is put on the perpetrators, the sooner rape may begin to decrease.

After all, a man stuck in a room full of women is exhilarated. A woman stuck in a room full of men is terrified. This needs to change. We need to educate boys at school that a woman is her own property. We need to educate woman so that they understand that it is not their fault if they become victims. We need to create a society of understanding and support, rather than one of blame and naivety.