The Language of Rape:Silence and Shame

Rape is considered to be one of the most under-reported of all offenses. The number of rapes have drastically increased between 1970 and 1975 by 55%. Whereas murder crimes rose by 19%. Out of 1438 reported rape cases, only 897 were arrested and 49% of the defendants were either acquitted or dismissed.

For this project, I wanted to focus specifically on the stigmatization of rape. The shame, fear, and guilt that victims of sexual assault experience hinder them from speaking up. What will others say? What will others think? How will people be able to look at you? , among the many things, people would say. Whilst not asking one of the most fundamental questions of all, which is how can we bring justice to those affected or ways to reduce these cases worldwide.

According to the National Institute of mental health, people who have been sexually assaulted in the suburban area suffer even more than people who live in a city. Due to the fact that everybody knows one another. Therefore, the chances of being blamed and shamed are relatively high not only affecting yourself but your family as well. Some like Ellen decide to move out of town to prevent that from happening. However, no matter how much a person tries to conceal, suppress, and run away one thing would always be there; the assault.

Another reason people avoid disclosing their assault at that time is the degraded penalties and laws that are issued regarding sexual assaults. Penalties were greater for engaging in a sexual act with an animal (20 years in prison) than with a woman (15 years in prison).

Rape is not a woman’s issue that affects some people, but rather a humanitarian one. Rape is a social justice issue that affects everyone. Most survivors no matter what they did or how they behaved they are more likely to be blamed for the penetration. This leads to a very traumatizing situation that encourages the silencing of the victims like Recy Taylor and many many others worldwide.

References:

https://www.proquest.com/docview/122791078/B86E95C1C59F4ABBPQ/6?accountid=4485&parentSessionId=dQ4G99zVIb4qsg1nA3QaZ5OLyvOfwnwriXar5jpvhCQ%3D

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1705531/