Oftentimes, rape victims are blamed for their assault and experience criticism from others over the circumstances under which they were raped. They are accused of wearing clothing that “asks for it” or being irresponsible by drinking alcohol and “putting themselves in a position to be raped”. These phrases are rooted in the notion that women should avoid being raped, instead of the notion that men should not rape. More often than not, victims of rape receive little to no support.
Zerlina Maxwell, a political analyst and freelance writer, published a piece titled “Rape Culture Is Real” in Time Magazine. In her article, she disclosed that the RAINN’s analysis manifests that 97% of rapists are never incarcerated for their crime. Those that are incarcerated face sentences shorter than those who commit a domestic burglary, which is 14 years (thelawpages.com). The U.S. Department of Justice found that although the average sentence for rape was in between nine to ten years, the average actual time served was in between five to six years. This essentially means that the 3% of rapists actually facing incarceration do not even serve close to the time they deserve. Within less then ten…show more content… Rape culture is when a man who assaulted a woman behind a dumpster while she was both intoxicated and completely unconscious is pitied simply because he is a student and swimmer at Stanford who will lose his ability to compete in the Olympics. Rape culture is when a victim’s raw and powerful 7,138-word victim-impact statement is not enough in the face of injustice. Rape culture is when the father of a rapist credits his son’s actions to the influence of alcohol and implicitly demands an apologist approach instead of righteous
