General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Discussion: Should Rape be a Capital Crime? [View all]IdaBriggs
(10,559 posts)and people question whether sexually based violence is more heinous than "regular" assault, I am not sure "rape culture" is actually an accurate description of the situation. I am still mulling this over, so please bear with me.
Murder is Bad. We create degrees - on purpose/planned versus heat of the moment stupidity versus idiotic foreseeable/preventable.
Assault is Bad, and we "degree" it the same way regardless of whether it is sexual or not. Yet, while most people wouldn't hesitate to notify authorities if a stranger hit them with a beer bottle during a bar brawl, a woman walking to the bar's parking lot who is assaulted or who is drugged by the "nice guy" she met and wakes up in a car with her panties missing may never mention it to anyone, instead blaming herself for putting herself in that situation. (NOTE: I am NOT saying it is her fault; I am acknowledging a common propensity of victims to blame themselves, which gives them the illusion of control over something outside of their control.)
The damage from a broken arm is fairly well established; a broken hymen, not so much. And for non-virgin victims, how do you put a "dollar value" on the damage? "I cringed when my boyfriend touched me" as opposed to "loss of consortium" in a marriage? "I was humiliated and ashamed" as opposed to "the bruises faded, right?"
We actively discourage seeking Vengeance while promising Justice; when neither happens, there doesn't seem to be a lot of incentive for folks to change their ways, does there?