Gender-based violence has plagued countries throughout history, working in tandem with social norms that placed women below men and thereby at their mercy. Fostered by the media, most people in wealthy countries have perceptions that violence against women is supported and perpetuated by males in developing countries, such as in India and Afghanistan, where sexual violence is often used as a means of control.
In turn, these perceptions create an image that immigrants are dangerous additions to society, as males from fundamentalist Islamic and Latin American countries are often stereotyped as criminals and/or rapists. Ironically, while less common than in those countries, gendered violence—and the systematic support of it—is frequently found in wealthy countries. For example, in my native South Korea, over a third (34.9%) of women have experienced violence, with 46% of those at the hands of their partners.
The numbers are similar where I currently live, the United States, where not just partners but those with power, such as family members, police officers and religious officials, are the major perpetrators. As such, legal recourse becomes difficult to pursue. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) and Washington Post studies, the only 5 to 7 of 1,000 rapes committed result in a conviction, meaning only 0.5-0.7% of rapes lead to the criminal receiving a jail sentence.
The silence is deafening. Low rates of convictions and underreporting work in tandem to empower rapists rather than the raped, posing the serious question—what can we do protect the vast majority of women victims (91%)? Ushering change requires vast sweeping changes in culture and systemic protections that, though time-intensive, will finally allow girls and women to live not at the whims of male desires but alongside males as respected counterparts.
Rape is a one-way street: the rapist compels by physical force or some psychological threat. Therefore, a major component in rectifying sexual violence is to integrate sexual education with sexual violence education: boys must be taught starting in adolescence and puberty that forced sexual acts are not okay. Because parents may not teach their male children, schools must teach educational materials that offer lessons on consent, bodily autonomy, and sexual boundaries. These lessons can be built on like any other subject.
Like math, which progress from Alegbra to Calculus, sexual education topics should be gradually taught over middle and high school, including lectures on the aftereffects of coerced sexual acts on the coerced: How do females feel when raped? How are their minds dramatically altered by such an infraction of their will? What kind of long-term psychological damage do they incur? Empathy is key here, as rapists may lack the understanding that their short act of pleasure seeking causes lifelong impact.
In this respect, male comparisons can be given, like being physically assaulted by their fathers or bullies, and video interviews from survivors can be shown. Positive male role models that boys may look up to, such as athletes or leaders in the community, can also be brought in to give lectures, as male figures in boys’ immediate environment may serve to reinforce toxic traditional masculinity. In these ways, just like other subjects, both males and females can learn that complexities of sexual violence, which may not completely eradicate rape but help mitigate instances of it.
At the same time, those compelled, mostly women, need to not only be taught to report their violence and receive justice but also need assurance that their reporting will not fall on deaf ears. Oftentimes, girls and women feel shame, fear victim-blaming, and feel that they won’t receive justice. According to sociologists Sonnen Andrea Michele and Joedeman Brown, despite only 0.005% of rapes being falsely reported, many, including friends and family members, often question the victim’s choices that lead to the rape rather than on the rape itself.
Michele cites her own experience having to drop out of high school due to victim-blaming during her friend’s rape. The justice system supports this victim-blaming, as police, prosecutors, and juries often scrutinize women’s choice of clothing, possible inebriation, and behavior. This may seem logical because, unlike other violent crimes, rape doesn’t leave behind much physical evidence. Consequently, trials can devolve into the victim’s words against the offender’s words, which is left open to interpretation and hearsay. This leads to low conviction rates for rape around the world, such as in the UK where rape conviction rates (3.3%) are nearly a third of general conviction rates (9.2%). These low rates feed into less reporting, leading to a vicious cycle where women suffer in silence.
Therefore, a two-pronged approach is necessary to empower women to report and ensure reporting is taken seriously. During sex ed, girls need to be taught that rape is not shameful—they are being brutally forced so the shame should be on the male—and thus need to always report a male’s shameful act to their family and any and all authorities. Lessons and videos should demonize perpetrators and show victims who report as strong and confident ‘warriors’ for their own justice, akin to Joan of Arc, Rosa Parks, and Malala Yousafzai.
Common victim-blaming methods and how to counteract those arguments should also be taught and workshops where girls can practice should be opened, so that females can be prepared to easily and confidently fend off these accusations. Different channels must be created in tandem to make reporting frictionless and offer variety.
For example, anonymous hotlines or websites and local rape response units can be created where victims can easily report without fear of being judged. Lastly, community support groups can be created that shame perpetrators rather than victims, which can create an environment hostile to rapists and potential rapists. Thus, rather than females suffering in silence, males can suffer in vocal opposition.
Sexual violence against women is not easily solved—it has been an issue since the hunter-gatherer era, where physically weaker women have been given lower status based on the ability of physically stronger men to compel. This asymmetric relationship has continued to modern times, where though women have equal rights, they continue to suffer from a variety of unequal treatment, including in regards to forced sexual acts. However, women have only been able to win rights due to active work by women and allied men to instill change. Therefore, only by continuing to be active can instances of sexual violence be decreased.
Through education of youth, men and women can both be taught the horrors of rape, how it shapes victims, and empower victims to seek justice. Appropriate organizations can supplement this shifting of cultural attitudes, working together to weaken structural hurdles against reporting and convictions. With time, women can finally win bodily autonomy that for so long evaded them.
By: Youngjin Seong
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