Teaira Smith

Professor Whitener

English 102-2DA

April 02, 2021

Normalcy of Sexual Assault

Not all men, but entirely too many women. This ancient ongoing problem in the world is

coming back to everyone’s awareness at a rapid speed. For many, it has not ever left their

thoughts. 98% percent of the women alive right now in the United States have been sexually

assaulted, and yet there are still many men invalidating women and their stories. Change needs to

come and it needs to happen soon. There are too many women who are silenced when trying to

get justice. Our system is not reluctant to serve the abusers justice and time. Rather, they serve

them with a small sentence such as a few years in prison or probation and then let them off. The

problem is not always men, the problem is the system that is supposed to be taking care of and

protecting the victims of sexual assault.

It does not matter what age you are, the clothes you wear, if you’re sober, or intoxicated

It is not a single womans fault it is also most definitely not the two-year-old childs fault. The

simple fact that some men cannot see that this a big deal is disgusting and needs to change, and it

should have changed years and years ago. Better yet, it should have never even been an issue in

the first place. When it comes down to statistics it is a sensitive subject. I personally know an

overflowing number of girls that are too afraid to come out and expose the person who has

assaulted them, so the statistics are of the girls and women who had no problem with exposing

the men who have committed terrible acts towards them.

This type of abuse can affect a girls mind for the rest of her life. There are plenty of girls that

develop trust issues for the rest of their lives. “In the late 2000s and early 2010s, a commonly

cited prevalence rate for college women was one in five. (Muehlenhard, C. L., Peterson, Z. D.,

Humphreys, T. P., & Jozkowski, K. N.)”. when it comes to sexual assault on the college campus

is a scary thing to think and talk about because it is so very common yet so rarely talked about in

a group setting. Majority of the girls are so desensitized from it that we just brush off getting cat

called or something of that nature, but it is so disgusting. We as women have to carry around

pepper spray and tasers and other protective equipment just in case we are approached by an

unexpected man that wishes to cause us harm.

These lectures and speeches that our mothers have to give us, and the constant reminders

that we have to give to our younger siblings and children that are all about protecting their self

while out in public or if they are walking alone, they are sad scary speeches that have to be told.

“Young people ages 12 to 34 are at the highest risk for rape and sexual assault” (Anne Teigen).

The justice system is clearly not doing a terrific job of keeping these men away from these girls,

but majority of the predators are people who happen to be related to them. Plenty of girls that

come forward and speak out against this problem are accused of lying while in court, or there

just happens to “not be enough evidence for them to get convicted”. Is that not terrifying

enough? No, the problem is not all of the men, but it is indeed the justice system and their lack of

effort when it comes to getting these young girls and grown women the justice they deserve.

Sadly, there happens to be a lot of grown white men in charge of womens bodies

as if they know more about the struggle of a women living in these times than the woman

herself. When it comes down to abortions a man is in charge, when it comes down to rape a man

is in charge, when it comes down to free pads and tampons guess who is in charge. So even
though its not all men, plenty of the problems comes from a corrupt justice system which just

happens to be run by men by majority. This system needs to change.

Concluding this broad topic on sexual assault and how the justice system towards this

situation is corrupt, the degrading phrase, “Not All Men” is true, but those men who claim to

have no attachment to this issue needs to look further into this situation. It could be your mother

your daughter your sister etc. The system needs to work harder in getting the girls the correct

justice that they rightfully deserve.

 Works cited

https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/improving-responses-to-sexual-

assault-survivors.aspx

https://www.womenslawproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Rape-and-Sexual-

Assault-in-the-Legal-System-FINAL.pdf