Rape And Sexual Assault

Rape and sexual assault are persistent issues that plague our society. Rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in America, however it is the least reported likely to result in a conviction (Maier, 787). All though anyone is at risk for being raped, women are more vulnerable than men with the risk of a woman being raped. 1 out of 6 women is raped where only 1 out of every 10 men is raped (rainn.org). Society has attempted to combat this by providing women with preventative strategies, but still rape remains a huge threat in our society. In regards to how rape is handled, there seems to be a lack of focus on the actual criminals and perpetrators of rape and there needs to be more well rounded solutions that touch upon everyone who plays a role …show more content…
Often times it is passed off as something much less severe. Boys being boys is a cliché often paralleled with many rape trials. In the Stanford sexual assault case, a college swimmer raped a young incapacitated woman. In his defense, his father said, “ His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action.”(Dan A. Turner, par 7). There is no regard or sensitivity for the victim in that statement. Those 20 minutes of action were rape, and an act of violence toward a woman who was unable to give consent and protect herself. This is a father making a comment about his son’s rape; a man making a comment about another man’s wrong doing. This is further proof that men do not completely grasp the height of their actions. 20 minutes of action seems minute compared to the punishment for this father, however for the woman, those 20 minutes may have felt like a lifetime. Not to mention the emotional toll that rape takes on its victims. Those 20 minutes may destroy her self-image for the rest of her life. This should be taken as evidence that men do not fully grasp what rape is and what its consequences are for the other party. The young man ended up only being sentence for six months and he actually got released after three. It is due to these easy punishments that men often do not worry too much about the consequences of rape when committing the act. Similar to teaching a child, people must learn through consequences. America needs to enforce harsher punishment and take a more stern approach to rape. Many rapist walk free due to small technicalities in a given situation when in reality they committed the action and should have some form of social deprivation. Whether this be a mark on their record or legitimate jail time, too many rapist have faced little or no