One out of every three women are sexually abused at some point in their life (Cheng).

According to the United States Department of Justice, “Sexual assault is any type of sexual
contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the recipient.” Rape is a type of
sexual assault. Justifications for rape are often based off of stereotypes that show women as less
important and men as dominant (Gender Across Borders). Rape culture is “an environment in
which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused
in the media and popular culture” (Berquist). Fear of sexual assault affects women every day,
which is clearly demonstrated with the idea of a rape schedule. A rape schedule is how women
change their lifestyle because of the constant fear of sexual assault. For example, many women
carry pepper spray and stay in groups while out at night because of this. Many women don’t
even realize they are doing this because it is taught at such a low age and it quickly becomes a
habit. This is just one example of how rape culture is affecting people every day (Wikipedia).
Lack of education about sexual assault, issues in the judicial system, and misinterpretation in the
media are the major contributors to rape culture and the reason why sexual assault is so common
today.
Lack of education about rape culture and sexual assault is one of the main reasons for
these violent acts occurring. Many people don’t understand what sexual assault is and do not
understand that what they are doing is wrong. In a health class at San Marin High School last
year, the boys and girls were separately given a situation of rape without being told that it was in
order to learn about consent. All of the girls said that it was rape and the perpetrator should be
punished. There were several boys who thought that the rape was okay. Even after being told
that is was rape, some still claimed that it was the girl’s fault. This clearly illustrates that men
and boys don’t see rape as a crime and don’t see it for what it is. There is this idea that rape is
clear cut, but sexual actions are illegal if one person says no at any point, is drunk or high, or is
under age (Sutter Health). In a 2015 study, men were asked if they would rape a woman and if
they would have sexual intercourse with a women without consent, both without any
consequences. When rape was used in the question, only 13.6% of men said that they would.
However, when rape was not used in the question, 31.7% of men said that they would
(Culp-Ressler). This proves two things: men don’t see rape as wrong for moral reasons and
don’t associate rape with forced sex. The fact that 13.6% of men would rape a woman if there
was no consequences is frightening and shows that they don’t understand that it is as wrong as
theft or other crimes with severe punishments. This is also partly due to the way the judicial
system deals with sexual assault cases. If a person doesn’t know what rape is, then they can rpae
another person without even realizing what they’ve done. This is an important part of rape
culture, because it is common to not understand what sexual assault permits.
Lack of consequences in the judicial system is another major cause of sexual assault. The
lack of consequences for people who commit rape, makes it seem like rape doesn’t need to be
punished and isn’t a serious crime. People in the judicial system treat sexual assault victims with
disrespect and make them feel worse than they already do. In Baltimore, police officers
dismissed sexual assault victims and acted hostile toward prostitutes and transgender people.
They humiliated the people who had gathered the courage to report their rape and referred to
women who had been raped as whores (Stolberg). These actions make victims feel even more
hurt and put women at an increased risk for sexual assault by dismissing and laughing at women
and men who have gone through a lot. This downsizes the horror and seriousness of sexual
assault cases and contributes to rape culture. Convicted rapist Brock Turner was charged with
six months jail time for raping a girl, but was released after only three months for “good
behavior”. Many people were outraged and argued why he should not be punished even though
he committed three felonies (LaChance and Despoja). The fact that people were angry that a
man who had committed a serious crime was receiving jail time shows that rape culture is real
and common today and affects us every day. By shortening Brock Turner’s time in jail, the
judicial system is delegitimizing rape and showing people worldwide that there are only minor
consequences for it. This contributes to rape culture because it shows that rape is not treated as a
serious crime.
The media severely misinterprets sexual assault cases, and in doing so contributes to rape
culture. Our lives are affected every day by the media and how it represents rapists and victims
does not help the frequency of sexual assault. Victim blaming is when a crime is blamed on the
victim, not the criminal and is very common in cases dealing with rape. One out of six news
reports about rape imply that it was the victim’s fault and sixteen percent of reports implied
women had put themselves at risk (Despoja). The victim blaming in these reports is not just very
wrong, but also gives off the idea that it is not the perpetrator’s fault. This idea comes from the
idea that women should change their life to suit men and that men can’t control themselves. This
is also seen in other aspects of women’s lives with dress codes. Girls in school are forced to
change so that boys don’t get distracted by revealed shoulders. These ideas are very dangerous
and teach girls at young age how they need to act in order to please men. Many news reports
have a habit of focusing on the rapist. This can be seen in the case of the Stanford swimmer,
Brock Turner. Not only did many articles talk about his swimming achievements, but many also
created sympathy for him. They talk about how he lost everything he worked for and his father
even said that his life should not be ruined for “twenty minutes of action” (LaChance and
Despoja). By creating sympathy for the criminal, the media is showing how rape is not taken
seriously. In these stories, men are humanized while women are minimized. They also take pity
on the rapist. In the words of The Telescope, “society cultivates, encourages, and glorifies rape”
which can be clearly seen in this story (Berquist). This clearly explains how the media and
society contribute to rape culture by helping the perpetrators.
Many court trials have been dismissed because of justifications for the rape. These
justifications often blame the victim or excuse the rapist's actions. Common excuses for sexual
assault blame women for dressing too provocatively, having a bad reputation, or asking for it
(Gender Across Borders). When rapists defend themselves by saying the victim was asking for
it, they mean that the victim secretly wanted it to happen. This is a form of victim blaming,
which is also common in the media. These points are invalid because no one ever wants to get
raped. Men often say that it wasn't their fault because they were drunk, high, or “lost control”
(Despoja). However, when the victim is high or drunk then it is her fault for being raped.
Having sex when either party is drunk or high is illegal, so that only proves that the rapist is
wrong. Men can't claim they “lost control” because they have the ability to contain themselves,
just as women do (Sutter Health). In one case, a man defended his rape of an eleven year old girl
by saying, “she looked older than eleven” (Gender Across Borders). No matter the age, rape is
wrong. These justifications are contributing to rape culture by excusing rape as not wrong,
hurting all victims and people affected by rape culture.
Another argument people have is that women need to be more concerned about their
safety, and that to prevent rape, it should be legal on private property (McCausland). Roosh V,
a believer in this idea and misogynist blogger says, “By attempting to teach men not to rape,
what we have actually done is teach women not to care about being raped, not to protect
themselves from easily preventable acts, and not to take responsibility for their actions.”
(McCausland). This is saying that women are at fault for getting raped and don’t care about their
safety, which is not true. To prevent themselves every day, women incorporate things into their
lives in order to protect themselves. These include carrying pepper spray, not going places
alone, or not going out at night. They want to not have to care about their safety every day like
men do, and not limit themselves out of fear of being raped or killed. Roosh V also said, “If rape
becomes legal, a girl will protect her body in the same manner that she protects her purse and
smartphone...will not enter an impaired state of mind where she can’t resist being dragged off to
a bedroom with a man who she is unsure of...will never be unchaperoned with a man she doesn’t
want to sleep with.” (McCausland). This person is saying that in an ideal world, women would
only ever be alone with men they want to be with sexually. By only allowing women to be alone
with men who they want to sleep with, you are restricting them to limited work opportunities and
social interactions and further widening the gap between men and women. These ideas
contribute to rape culture because they belittle rape victims and promote victim blaming, both
big parts of rape culture.
Sexual assault is caused by incorrect beliefs or rapists, lack of punishment, and
misrepresentation in the media. The problems with rape culture today also relate to other
feminist issues such as oppression in their world countries or the gender wage gap. The wage
effects all women as they are also forced to pay more money for necessities like pads and
tampons. Oppression is extremely common in countries like Pakistan and women are forced to
follow harsh rules set by the government. You can help by sharing your views with others, in
person or online, helping to improve rape education, or trying to improve rape culture. Defying
the social norms will be the downfall of a culture based on stereotypes.
 Works Cited
● Berquist , Kaity. "Gender Inequality: Rape culture in America." The Telescope. N.p., 22
Apr. 2013. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
● Cheng, Maria. "Third of world’s women suffer domestic violence - The Boston Globe."
BostonGlobe.com. N.p., 21 June 2013. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
● Culp-Ressler, Tara. "1 In 3 College Men In Survey Say They Would Rape A Woman If
They Could Get Away With It." ThinkProgress. ThinkProgress, 11 Jan. 2015. Web. 05
Apr. 2017.
● Despoja, Natasha Stott. "The Media Is Reporting Rape Stories All Wrong." Huffington
Post Australia. The Huffington Post, 14 July 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
● La, Naomi, Chance. " Media Continues to Refer to Brock Turner as a “Stanford
Swimmer” Rather Than a Rapist." The Intercept. N.p., 2 Sept. 2016. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
● McCausland, Aurora. "This "Men's Rights" Group Wants To Make Rape Legal."
Unwritten. N.p., 03 Feb. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
● "Rape and Gender Bias." Gender Across Borders. N.p., 22 May 2011. Web. 05 Apr.
2017.
● "Rape schedule." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2017. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
● Stolberg, Sheryl Gay , and Jess Bidgood. "Some Women Won't 'Ever Again' Report a
Rape in Baltimore." The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Aug. 2016. Web.
05 Apr. 2017.
● Sutter Health. "Consent & Consensual Sex." California Teen Health | Teen Health
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