In "Don't Call Me A Survivor," Emilie Morgan talks about her experiences being raped and the guilt she was made to feel as a result. She explains that in nearly every case when she reported the rape, those in whom she confided seemed to blame her for the violence, as though she invited the perpetrators to assault her. They seemed to be saying that it was her fault that she was raped and that she could have avoided the heartwrenching consequences of such attacks. To make matters worse, her treatment even seemed to function to violate her even more than she had already been. She was made to wear see-through hospital clothes and was closely watched as she showered. Morgan's experiences, unfortunately, are the same as many other women who are raped today. In countless cases, women are afraid to report their perpetrators because they feel the assaults were not rape, but their own mistakes that led them to feel violated. Further, after women report rape, they must undergo painful treatment in which doctors probe and prick their already-attacked bodies to obtain samples to verify and record the assaults. These evalutations are often more painful than the rapes themselves, making the women feel vulnerable and alone. What's worse, many women keep their rape as secrets so that they are not outcasted, as Morgan was, and targeted as sluts or tramps. Rape is sexual violence. It is an assault. It is an attack. So why are women blamed for the pain they endure? I believe that in order for this mentality to change in our society today, rape victims ought to be given greater respect and care and sexual offenders ought to be punished more harshly. After all, doesn't healing from rape take a little bit longer than a few years behind bars?
I really liked the clear and concise manner in which you laid out your argument. I also found your final sentences to be quite interesting. Many rape victims are usually questioned excessively to see if they are telling the truth. While this is important it also makes the victim feel that they are in some way responsible. Of course there are certain situations that women should know not to put themselves in, but either way rape is not justified. I would be interested to know the penalties that sex offenders face for the various degrees of their crime. Unfortunately, rape is something that can change a victim forever- so how do you put a prison sentence on that?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Drew. You can't put a prison sentence on the psychological damage someone will face after a rape. However, its better for someone to be convicted then not and have a couple years at least behind bars. But in order for a rapist to be convicted, he has to have committed the 'perfect rape': dark alleyway, stranger, violent etc. There are so many rapists who are not convicted because they did not commit a 'perfect rape.' Maybe their victim was drunk or had been consensual to other acts. We need the legal system to take into account that rapes are not always 'perfect.' Most rapes are not. These rapists still need to be convicted!
ReplyDeleteThere is no price or cure for someone who has experienced rape, no way to take it back, no way to make it go away. There are no excuses for why the rapists did what they did, and thus it is amazing to me that many of these cases go unreported. It is not something to be embarrassed about as a victim, in fact I find it embarrassing for someone who would go to such lengths as to rape an innocent person (and I say innocent because I am not convinced that there can be anyone "asking" to be raped, no matter what the circumstances are).
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