Activity #8 - Sexual Abuse

Most of the statistics I shared were from the website feminist.com. The statistics can be found at . Some of the most interesting facts I found included:

• 17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
• The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 college women experience completed or attempted rape during their college years (Fisher 2000).
• Every 90 seconds, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN)). RAINN calculation based on 1999 USDOJ NCVS data.)
• In 2000, nearly 88,000 children in the United States experienced sexual abuse (ACF 2002).
• About 81% of rape victims are white; 18% are black; 1% are of other races. (Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994.)

The ones that I emphasized most were that about 1 in 4 college women are almost or completely raped in their college years and that of the 17.6% of women in the US that have survived a rape, more than 50% are less than 18 years old. I was shocked at the percentage of women that are raped in college. I have lived with 7 different females throughout my college experience. This statistic says that out of the 8 of us (7 girls plus I), there is a probability that 2 of us have been raped. Thinking about the girls that I have lived with, I can’t imagine that even one of them has experienced an attempted or complete rape. If any of them has, they have not let on any signs of this horrific ordeal. Also, most women that are raped are white. When there is such a stereotype that black men are more aggressive and violent, I would think that this would mean more black women are raped. This does not explicitly say that since most raped women are white, they have been raped my white men; however, it does seem to be evident that many of them are. This appears to show that although black men have this stereotype, white men clearly show that they have an extremely violent side especially in sexual manners.

I was surprised that most of my interviewees had the same responses to my questions whether they were male or female. Most of them were not surprised by the statistics that I told them; however, the results did sadden or frustrate them. One man explains, “It is sad because a woman being assaulted/raped is something that should not be happening, but I am not surprised because I am aware of recent studies within this field and as a college student I think I am more apt to come into contact with this information. Most of the reasons that the interviewees gave for why sexual violence occurs dealt with men’s control issues, anger, and jealousy. It appeared that most of them thought that it was simply just a behavior that some men could not help. One girl simply answered, “’Cause there are creeps out there.” Another girl mentioned the fact of alcohol abuse among both men and women. She described that most people lose their awareness of environment and become too trustworthy with alcohol. Finally, the men and women had somewhat different views when asked what should be done to eliminate violence against women. The men both thought that there was really no way to eliminate violence against women. One stated, “There are always gonna be people like that.” Both added, though, that increased awareness and education could help. Also, one thought that we should be more encouraging of women to come forward when they are abused. The women were both more optimistic about the question. They both took the thought of education somewhat further. One wanted “education for women about self-defense and about warning signs”. The other wanted education to emphasize how to avoid these situations and to also increase knowledge of self-defense. She also added that there could be harsher punishment for those who commit acts of sexual violence.

I was most shocked that the females were not taken aback by what I thought were some staggering statistics. I’m not sure if it was the fact that they were not really thinking about it, or that they really were not bothered by the results. I could never imagine the men who I talked to could commit an act of sexual violence, so I think this is why they may have just assumed that some guys “are that way”. I definitely agree with the interviewees that sexual violence has a lot to do with anger and jealously. I also believe that I am probably much too trustworthy even in the sober state, so the one girl’s answer made me really think about the people I trust. I think both groups were on point with some ways to reduce or eliminate violence against women. Maybe one day insurance companies will pay for self-defense classes. The first step to achieve these results, though, is to increase awareness.