Rape. The very word seems harsh, cruel, and reminiscent of something beyond the bounds of civilization. Say the word ‘rape’. Just say it. Do you feel ashamed, like you said something that just shouldn’t be uttered in polite society? A survey of the front page of The New York Times, CNN, Headline News, or even the DPS Crime Blotter makes it seem that way, using euphemisms like forcible fondling, violate, or assault to avoid the abject horror of having to simply say the word ‘rape’.
This euphemistic language extends beyond simply naming the crime. The details of the assaults, which make this particular form of violent crime so heinous, are sanitized, as though the media is playing the role of a parent shielding the eyes of a child. In a recent, well-publicized case, it was reported that the woman was attacked with an iron rod and died from her injuries, instead of stating that her attackers rammed an iron rod into her anus with such force that it ripped the intestines from her body. Instead of saying that a man, without the consent of the woman, grabbed her breast or stuck his hands down her pants and into her vagina, it’s called forcible fondling. Using benign words to describe a horrible act only reduces the magnitude of the abhorrent crime, and serves to perpetuate a diminutive ethos around rape, as though it is much less of a plague on society than it is.
The connotations of brutality surrounding the word ‘rape’ simply don’t sit with the rosy picture we’ve tried to make of the 21st century. Rape feels like a vestige of a bygone era that needs to be eradicated, and it does. But saying the word rape is not opening a Pandora’s box of societal evils that we’re repressing by just ignoring them. Acknowledging that there are indiscriminate sexual attacks on women in every single country on this planet is not going to suddenly make society collapse. In fact, acknowledging its horrible omnipresence might actually help to dispel the incredibly damaging misconceptions surrounding the sickening crime of rape and maybe, just maybe, stop it.
There are those who consistently blame survivors for the actions of their attackers. What I cannot fathom is how they can reconcile the idea that any woman asks for a man, stranger or not, to remove their clothing and without her consent stick his penis into her vagina. Sorry, is that shocking? Sometimes reality can be that way.
It’s graphic, but then again so is rape. It might not sit well with the sensibilities of some, but describing rape for what it is might help shift the near-universal paradigm of society simply ignoring its terrors. If instead of couching critiques in delicate, euphemistic terms, we confront the issue head-on, I believe that we can move forward with addressing rape as the true scourge it is. Until we do, we will never see the end of the ignorance and damaging delusions that surround rape.
Society, and in particular those in positions of power, needs to stop sustaining the notion that rape is a woman’s fault, or alcohol’s fault, or just that bad things happen. The worst response of all is that a survivor was asking for it. We never ask for it. We pray that it never happens. These fallacies are harmful to any attempt to address the prevalence of rape, and diminish what a big deal rape is.
I am not a 16-year-old girl from Steubenville, Ohio that was pissed on, defecated on, and then anally raped while completely unconscious from alcohol, only finding out about it from Twitter and Instagram the next day. I am not one of 20 percent of college women who are sexually assaulted.
But I am a 20-year-old, female college student who wonders whether she should take that house in Burleith, because she’s nervous to walk home alone at night. I am a 20-year-old Swiss resident who walked back from a pub night and had to ask a police officer to walk her home because a strange man grabbed her shirt and tried to pull her down a dark alley in arguably the safest country in the world. I am a woman that viscerally understands the horror of rape because it happens to so many of my peers.
Rape is not confined to some faraway place, and its threat is very real. It happens here in Washington D.C., here in the Georgetown neighborhood, here at Georgetown University. Passively sitting by and hoping for a great paradigm shift towards a complete global condemnation of rape is not enough, and frankly it never will be. Eradicating rape will never happen if we do not acknowledge its very presence in our midst, and accept that brutality is inherent in the despicable crime. Only then can we move past the morass of fallacious beliefs toward true change.
How many rapes have been recorded by Georgetown University students in the past five years? 0 This answer might surprise you but it is nonetheless, the truth. So your assertion that rape happens at Georgetown University is patently false.
Obviously, rape is a despicable, heinous act but let’s not stoop to ridiculous hyperbole. Rape has been outlawed and been illegal in Western society for over 100 years. Clearly, society agrees with you and acknowledges rape as a serious problem. Hence, the number of yearly rapes in the US hit a 25 year low last year and are expected to continue to drop. So your assertion that rape is somehow out of control just doesn’t quite square with the facts.
Eradicating rape is not a realistic goal. Preventing rape and prosecuting those who commit rape is.
According to RAINN and the ACLU, 97% of rapes on college campuses go unreported. Just because it isn’t reported doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Ask any sexual assault group on campus and they’ll tell you that they meet new survivors every year.
Secondly, this article extends beyond the US to all media. 1/6 of all women’s first sexual encounter is forced. Now tell me that rape isn’t out of control.
It’s misconceptions such as yours about the prevalence of rape that lead the general public to believe that rape is less of an issue than it is.
John,
Just because an act is made ‘illegal’, does not mean that it is taken seriously. If it were taken seriously, the number of ‘rapes’ recorded would not be at 0 here on campus – it is common knowledge that the number of rapes that occur is drastically underreported. And no wonder, when you have commenters chastising someone for daring to write about the rape epidemic in America.
@John Wayne
“Your assertion that rape happens at Georgetown University is patently false.” Because you are too thick to be able to look at the DPS crime logs?(https://gushare.georgetown.edu/vj29/Verian%27s%20Uploads/Archives/2009%20Daily%20Crime%20Logs/September%202009%20Daily%20Crime%20Log.pdf) Do you actually think that in the past five years at Georgetown not a single student (male or female) has been raped? Are you serious? Are you that out of touch with reality?
I can’t even begin to comprehend how you can possibly argue that because a crime goes unreported it doesn’t happen. Do Georgetown students also not fuck in public spaces? Not engage in underage drinking? Not steal paper from printers around campus? I can’t believe that you’re possibly a Georgetown student, because that sort of logic is reserved for the dumbest creatures on this planet.
I’m not surprised that you think that no one at Georgetown has been sexually assaulted, because I don’t doubt that a) no person would ever feel comfortable telling you about it because you seem like a callous and unpleasant person; b) if someone were to tell you, you would most certainly inform the victim that it “wasn’t rape” because “that doesn’t happen at Georgetown” or that the victim was somehow asking for it. Not the best reaction following a case of rape.
How can you actually think that sexual assault doesn’t happen on this campus? We have CAPS and other support groups dedicated to survivors, and entire organizations (Take Back the Night) devoted to creating programs that raise awareness about rape in the world and on college campuses.
On a final note, John Wayne, may I suggest you attend R U Ready next year? I think you could greatly benefit from it. And maybe bring some friends along, too.
Actually, John, I am a Georgetown student (class of 2014) and I was raped, at GU, by another Georgetown student. And I know for a fact that more than a few of my friends and classmates have had similar experiences – not because of statistics, but because they have told me. It is absurd to claim that rape doesn’t happen at Georgetown, and there is very little correlation between the number of rapes that are “reported” and the number that occur. Many survivors don’t tell anyone; others may tell their friends but not any authorities; some will meet with someone like Jen Schweer (the “sexual assault coordinator” on campus – a position I hardly think the school would pay someone to fill if it weren’t necessary) but not pursue disciplinary action. But due to the way that the administration and disciplinary system work at Georgetown, it’s true that very, very few will follow through with official police reports or disciplinary hearings. So, like happens all too often in colleges and universities and the world at large, rape goes unreported, women go unsupported, perpetrators go unpunished, and people who don’t think rape affects them get to claim that it’s not a real problem. It is.
First, thank you for writing this piece. I think you are right and rape and other cases of sexual assault are grossly undderreported, hushed and (especially on college campuses) kept out of the spotlight. We need people to publish articles whenever a survivor comes forward.
1) Please keep in mind there is a wide range of what classifies as “sexual assault”. Rape falls into that category, but there is a myriad of other inappropriate and equally scarring experiences that can also be included. However, calling every sexual assault a rape is not the correct nomenclature, and unfortunately the distinction is important (though, as I said, the effects no less painful and the acts no less heinous in my opinion)
2) Men are assaulted too. I do not want to misquote a statistic here, so I won’t give you a number, but increasing numbers of men have reported being attacked in the past ten years (particularly on college campuses) so please realize that this is not a “women’s issue” it’s a “humanity issue”
3) People that have experienced sexual assault are not victims. They are survivors. (Again, many people argue it’s semantics, but word choice can make an incredible difference. Particularly when speaking to survivors).
4) @John Wayne, I would agree that we should not hyperbolize or sensationalize assault. But I think the point Claire is making in her article is that instead of exaggerating it, we often downplay it. In the media, on college campuses, or even in traditional police reporting. Again, I do not want to misquote statistics, but during the last informational session I had regarding this topic (in August 2012) the number was 1 in every 4. 1 in 4 women in the United States is sexually assaulted at some point in her lifetime. Not to mention men and the cases that go unreported. And that’s no exaggeration.
If you, or anyone wants to learn more, you should contact Jen Schweer [http://be.georgetown.edu/contact/#Jen] in our BeWell office. She has more facts that can help you wrap your head around the reality (not just prevalence, but effects on survivors, and common misconceptions about the topic) She is a fantastic resource that I believe is totally underutilized on our campus and I wish more people knew she existed.
Lastly, I’d like to say that there is little less disheartening than when someone invalidates arguments about empowering survivors and stopping sexual assault. It is about time someone got mad about it in a very public way and if it starts at Georgetown, what a wonderful day that would be. If you have a chance to say something, do. I will pass along this article, so thank you for another tool to stop the violence.
@John Wayne’s While I don’t believe that your condescending and sexist comments warrant a response, I think it might be worth considering that even if students did report sexual assaults to the university via campus police, this would not result in these crimes being officially reported/addressed…just look at the example of UNC.
http://jezebel.com/5977074/uncs-former-dean-of-students-says-she-was-forced-to-underreport-sexual-assault-cases
John makes some good points.
“. If it were taken seriously, the number of ‘rapes’ recorded would not be at 0”
This is so incredibly stupid that I almost didn’t respond. Is murder taken seriously? Armed robbery? Counterfeiting? Give me a break. The fact that certain elements of society will willfully break the law doesn’t mean that the crime isn’t a serious concern for society at large.Do you really think that spending hours writing these self righteous diatribes will actually make the crime of rape vanish? Get your head screwed on straight.
There is a difference between sexual assault and rape. Rape is generally defined as unwanted sexual intercourse. Sexual assault is a broad term to describe any unwanted sexual contact. There have been numerous sexual assaults (e.g. Cuddler) on campus but not a single reported rape.
The sad thing is that people will go on these online forums and think that will somehow convince rapists to stop committing crimes. Yeah….
I don’t mean to sound callous, but I don’t know how else to phrase this, so my apologies in advance.
If you are a Georgetown student and a victim of rape (at the hands of a fellow student, nonetheless), but haven’t reported it (as I interpret to be the case), aren’t you part of the problem? The whole culture of silence surrounding it?
It’s interesting to see how many women on this thread were so quick to assume the John Wayne is a sexist or supporter of rape. He made a good point that the prevalence of rape is sensationalized in the media as being more common than it actually is. As John noted, the number of rapes in the US has declined to it’s lowest level in 25 years. Is that not an accomplishment that we can be proud of?
I’d ask that all those on this thread who were so quick to judge and get offended by someone trying to look at facts objectively should really look themselves in the mirror and evaluate their conscience.
Thank you, Claire, for this brave and much-needed article. Anyone who claims that sexual assault is taken TOO SERIOUSLY in the US or at Georgetown should try visiting the real world some time.
Claire,
Can’t believe I only just read this, but this is an absolutely fantastic article. You completely blew me away. Rape is such a familiar incident that creating euphemistic terminology that understates the brutality of the act or relegates it to some distant place (as has become strikingly apparent in recent times over the gang rape problem in India) is yet another way of dancing around the problem, not to mention a shockingly common habit of blaming the victim (even police, authority figures we are programmed to trust and go to for help, can do this and it’s hard to believe until you experience it personally) or shrugging something terrible away because “oh she was just really drunk” or “look at what she’s wearing—she was asking for it.” It’s a seemingly small thing that has major cultural consequences. Thank you for bringing that to light and taking a such a firm stance on a problem that society should not be treating so casually in this day and age.
To the commenter who said: “If you are a Georgetown student and a victim of rape (at the hands of a fellow student, nonetheless), but haven’t reported it (as I interpret to be the case), aren’t you part of the problem? The whole culture of silence surrounding it?”
People are throwing around the word “prevention” here. There is only one person who can prevent sexual assault- the perpetrator. While people can do a number of things to “reduce their risk,” most of these mechanisms are intended to reduce the risk of being assaulted by a stranger, which is less than 1/3 of assaults, and on college campuses is approximately 10%.
Yet we continue to put this onus, this burden of “prevention” on potential victims of sexual assault. And survivors are consequently expected to report, in order to “prevent” the crime from happening again.
That responsibility is not the survivor’s.
The responsibility to prevent assault is on the perpetrator.
And why would a survivor come forward? Because they fear comments like those of John Wayne. They fear victim blaming. They fear suspicion and accusation. They fear futility- so few cases are prosecuted, so few perpetrators are punished.
I used to work at a public defender’s office. We defended rapists. I think the public defender is such an invaluable mechanism in our country, especially as someone from a lower-income background, however those cases never became easy. The files were filled with letters “proving,” that the survivor was sexually active, tarnishing the survivor’s personality, just digging up hatred. Survivors are often not believed, their behavior and sexual history are condemned, chastised and brought against them.
And worst of all, survivors don’t report because one of the most common symptoms of rape trauma syndrome is guilt. Guilt. “What could I have done?” “I shouldn’t have drank this, wore that, gone there, listened/trusted/believed..” In our society we teach “don’t get raped,” not “don’t rape,” and so survivor’s feel a sense of responsibility, when in reality, SEXUAL ASSAULT IS NEVER WARRANTED.
John,
I know for a fact that the number of rapes recorded is not zero. Just the other day I was helping a someone with his/her report of rape by another student. We talked to DPS . It was recorded, as well as hundreds and maybe thousands of case of rape that have been recorded here. That was not the first case that I worked with to report at georgetown. I hate to say it but you are simply wrong.
Besides recording, I have talked to a large number of students here who were raped by other students. I know that it can be hard to believe that fellow students would hurt other students but they do.
1 of 4 women will experience sexual assault before they graduate. 1 in 6 women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime. 1 in 6 boys under 18 experience sexual assault. Every year the U.S. Department of Justice does this survey again and the number stays the same. In addition, Georgetown does the survey and our numbers match.
People need to know that this happens and they need to take it seriously. Sexual assault is a huge problem. Anything that affects about 25% of the female population should be a huge issues.