Sofia+S’s+2018+OpEd+Article

Sexual Assault When will enough be enough?



Is our society so corrupt that we have allowed sexual assault to be normalized? Unfortunately, yes. It’s a fault in the system. A crack in our morality. An injustice towards those affected. We tend to turn a blind eye to problems that don’t affect us because we fear change. We fear change that may disrupt our way of life. We fear change that is inapplicable to ourselves. We fear change that may lead to corruption, but I think America may already be corrupt, ethically, that is. This change, however, should NOT be feared. What should be feared is a lack of change.

The statistics say it all. They cry loud enough for my ears to bleed, for my heart to clench, and for my voice to speak out for change on the behalf of victims of sexual assault.

1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted in college.

1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted in college.

Every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted.

Every 8 minutes the victim is a child.

And only 6 out of every 1000 perpetrators will go to prison.

These statistics are based on what has been reported to the police. And most cases aren’t even reported.

2 out of 3 sexual assault cases go unreported.

So how do we stop this? We speak up. We speak up for those who fear to. We call for change for the girls and boys who suffer in silence. We break the social stigma that surrounds victims. It wasn’t their fault, it was the perpetrators. A “skimpy” piece of clothing isn’t an invite to one’s body. Slurred words doesn’t equate to justification of a crime. Being alone at night shouldn’t automatically make an individual more susceptible to rape.

The problem isn’t solved by simply informing young girls that bad people make bad decisions; that it’s best to do everything in their power to avoid those bad people. I admit it does work in minimizing your chance of being sexually assaulted, but is that where we stop? We don’t try to put an end the atrocity itself, we instead try to hide from it. That’s the only solution, right? Because boys will be boys?

My mom and dad did what almost every parent does. They told me at a young age to not walk by vans or talk to strangers, men specifically, because those bad people would take me and hurt me. When I was younger I feared not just walking by vans because of this, I feared walking by all cars; in fact, I still do. The thought of a man dragging me into his car haunts my mind while I walk outside alone. I grew up fearing men. I don’t like how skeptical I am of them, but I can’t help it. I do what I can to protect myself, especially so if I ever become a victim, I know I did what I could and the world really is just one living hell and maybe I’m not so cynical. I really wish my thoughts were different on this topic, but society so greatly influences my mind it leaves me paranoid and scared because it whispers that it would be my fault if I ever became a victim since I can prevent these unfortunate events, right? But maybe, just maybe, if anyone really cared, they would realize it is NEVER the victim’s fault. To prevent these situations we must go to the root of the problem: the perpetrator. Boys will not just be boys. Boys will be taught. The time spent teaching young adults how to keep themselves out of these situations, should instead be spent teaching young adults how wrong it is to create these situations. Rather than minimizing our chances of being sexually assaulted through tips and tricks and paranoia and special apps to call the police and this and that, we should minimize the amount of predators by bringing more attention to this nationwide problem.

I don’t want to live in fear of becoming a victim. I don’t want my children to fear. I don’t want to stay silent on a matter that affects 570 new people a day. I want change for today, for tomorrow, for the future.

How careful must we be to stay safe? When will enough finally be enough?

Sources: [|__https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_factsheet_media-packet_statistics-about-sexual-violence_0.pdf__] [|__https://www.rainn.org/statistics__]