By: Samantha Smith / Contributing Writer
Too many women feel the need to clench their keys between their fingers as they walk to their car. To have their thumb on a can of pepper spray at night. To be constantly on guard in case some sexual predator is nearby. When one of every four women in college will experience sexual assault, these precautions are not only understandable, they are necessary.
This year, President Barack Obama issued a memorandum to, according to whitehouse.gov, create the “White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.”
It is truly a failure of our country that the U.S. Commander in Chief’s job description should include the need to command men not to commit crimes of sexual assault— something that should not, from a moral standpoint, need to be reiterated.
In any case, the way we are approaching the subject is completely backward
Is it great that we are teaching women to protect and defend themselves? Absolutely
Are there many outreach programs directed toward victims of sexual assault? Of course.
However, by using measures such as these, we are targeting the wrong gender.
“If you’re promoting changes to women’s behaviour to ‘prevent’ rape, you’re really saying ‘make sure he rapes the other girl,’” tweeted @itsmotherswork.
Instead of teaching women how to avoid being sexually assaulted, we need to be teaching boys and men not to sexually assault women.
Unfortunately, men need to be taught the true definition of rape. If consent is not constant (if someone says “stop,” then stop), conscious (no one should ever be coerced to have sex, physically or otherwise, or be inebriated when giving consent) and clear (there needs to be an explicit “yes” involved in intercourse), then it is sexual assault.
There also needs to be a shift in the mindset of society. Sexual assault should be shown as the detestable wrong it is from a humanitarian standpoint. No one should need to relate a rape victim to their sister, daughter or girlfriend in order to see the atrocity inherent in the crime—human empathy alone should cause people to come to the defense of these women.
Moreover, women should not be held accountable for being assaulted. No one is expected to be prepared at all times to be murdered, so why should anyone be expected to be prepared at all times to be raped?
So, where are the programs telling men not to rape women?
Where are the sexual assault awareness campaigns aimed toward men?
Why do we continue beating a dead horse when there is a stallion that needs to be broken in the field?
opinion@fiusm.com
Death sentence for offenders will stop assaults.
“Sfinsg”, yes, it certainly would act as a good preventive measure to keep some from engaging in rape. In fact, it might also do away with many rapists, and by consequence, the number of rapes. But then again, it depends on how the law would be enforced. You can have a good law, but poor to terrible (even corrupt) administration of the law.