On rape culture discussions... [View all]

[Skidmore]

And there have been many threads on this topic over the past few weeks. There has been some who seem to think that rape culture doesn't exist or that there is an exaggeration of some sort going on. Given the events of the past couple of days, I would submit that we need to continue to discuss rape and the culture in which it occurs and is even justified by some. Sexual assault does not occur as isolated and self-contained events. Cultural aspects bleed into these events at all levels from the micro level with the family to the macro level with laws and their implementation and the messages conveyed by the media.

Unless you have been a rape victim, it is easy to discount. When you have been raped it permeates every aspect of your interactions with your environment and others. It is difficult to shake rape as the filter through which you see others and circumstances, and you truly never do. Until now I have not interjected myself in the discussions. I am a rape survivor, one preyed upon as a child. A half a century later, those rapes are as vivid in my mind as when they occurred. The hypervigilance gets triggered and the mistrust of others is a clenched fist in the gut. Do not discount the experiences of those who have been assaulted and do not minimize the responsibility and the viciousness of those who perpetrate these crimes. Keep discussing and above all listen.