Sexual Violence Sociology

Perpetrators, advocates, victims, families, the justice system and of course those accused of sexual violence all have strong opinions on the topic of intimate violence and sexual aggression. The emotional state surrounding whether an act of violence occurred is usually a highly emotional topic and leads to discussion about whether the accused needs to face charges for the accusation. Many untruths, misunderstandings and plain bad information are circulated in society and seep into the unconscious (sometimes not) of many people. Myths and ideas are explored in this paper in an attempt to gauge the level of impact sexual violence has on its actors.
“If a girl initiates kissing or hooking up, she should not be surprised if a guy assumes she …show more content…
The movie Taken tells a story of human sex trafficking, which pushes the brutality of sex to the forefront of society. Sexual violence is the theme of the television show, Law and Order, Special Victims Unit. Seeing this type of violence played out in movies and television can confuse viewers into thinking that with sexual experiences comes submission on the part of the female towards the male, and generally, men are in control of the woman’s experience. Contradictory, women are encouraged to seek male partners who hold powerful positions in society and at work. The issue becomes one of confusion when at home, these women assume they are equal to their partners, but learn otherwise when they are ridiculed for trying to assert themselves. One way their partners will remind them of their place is via sexual aggression. The fact they are married will trump any claims of rape. The husband reminds the wife that because they are a married couple, he holds all the power. When these women are at home and try to assert their own power, they find the man they have chosen does not intend to sideline his authoritative dominant side at home and she finds herself powerless and submitting to his …show more content…
As second-class citizens during this wave, women submitted to men’s needs. Women did not speak up against men. This vein of thinking permeated through many cultures and hung around for a very long time. Women were thought to be quiet and accept the ways of man, so it is not surprising that a woman will be accused of not saying no strongly enough. Another unfortunate point to lend to the theory of oppression is, even though women and girls have the same experiences, that women of dissimilar classes will view these same experiences differently. For instance, the less educated woman will not view her rights on the issue of rape the same as a woman who is more educated or from a better socioeconomic status than hers is. This class of women (less educated, opposite socioeconomic status) may believe that if they had been intimate in the past with the accused, then they are not capable of crying rape. This is true for married women as well; they may believe that a husband cannot rape his wife and thus remain a silent victim of an unfortunate