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Rape Culture As a Term
Rape culture was coined in the 1970's by feminists to show how society blames victims when they are raped rather than the aggressor. Rape culture occurs in an environment where rape is prevalent and sexual violence becomes normalized through the media. Popular culture and society also exemplify rape culture when bodies are objectified and consent is depicted as optional. -
Title IX
Title IX is a civil rights law passed in 1972 by the federal government that prohibits any discrimination based on gender in any program or activity that receives federal funding. This law was initially created to help minimize the gap between the opportunities that men and women received. Title IX stated that a person could not be denied from a sport, organization, or club based on their sex alone. -
Date Rape
“Rape is a crime not of lust, but of power,” Susan Brownmiller once said. Brownmiller is the author of the book, “Against Our Will” and the woman who coined the term: date rape. Date rape according to Susan Brownmiller occurs when a man is pleasant during a date and then turns aggressive when denied later on in the night. This exemplifies the entitled mannerisms of males and how females are expected to be submissive to a mans desires. -
Anti Rape Movement
The Anti-Rape movement is an on going social movement that began in the early 1970’s. As women began to embrace feminism they also became aware of the inequalities and discriminations against them and chose to speak out through this movement. Rape was perceived as men enforcing their male power over women and taking advantage of them. The Anti-Rape movement worked to bring awareness to these concepts and bring awareness to rape culture. -
University of Pacific Student
In May of 2008 a student attending University of Pacific was raped by three men on the basketball team. Beckett Brennan accepted a full ride to the University of Pacific to play basketball and enjoyed her first year until May. After drinking at a party she found herself stranded and accepted a ride home from men on the basketball team. She then was taken to a townhouse and raped by three men on the basketball team. -
Yale University
Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Yale University was banned for five years for chanting offensive chants toward. The misogynistic chants went along the lines of: “no means yes and yes means anal.” The pledges were ordered to chant this on campus as a part of a ritual and although the chapter’s president apologized for their lack of judgment students at the university were outraged. The students demanded administration take action and this led to the chapter being put on probation. -
Miami University of Ohio
A flier was found in the men’s bathroom titled “The Top 10 Ways to Get Away with Rape.” The list suggestions varied from drugging the women to stalking them to climbing into their homes at night; the list even suggested slitting the woman’s throat if they were to get caught. The school held a mandatory meeting for male students and launched an investigation. The light hearted manner of the flier was concerning to school administrators and the females on the campus community. -
Columbia University
In 2014 23 female students at Columbia University signed three separate complaints against their institution claiming federal law had been violated. The students stated that sexual assault claims were not being handled honestly and that proper disciplinary actions were not being taken. The Office of Civil Rights agreed to investigate the complaints against the university. -
White House Task Force
In April of 2014 the White House created a task force titled: The White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault. This task force was created to notify students that they were not alone and that this problem was a rising epidemic throughout the country. The first report was titled, “Not Alone” and included the definition of campus sexual assault and action steps if sexual assault does occur. -
Vanderbilt University
in 2015 two football players were convicted of raping an unconscious woman. The defendants were found guilty on all accounts and although the victim did not remember the rape she was extremely grateful for the ruling. Shortly after the ruling the judge declared a mistrial due to a member of the jury withholding information. The jury foreman had not told lawyers that he had been a victim of sexual crimes and this resulted in the trial being declared a mistrial. -
The Hunting Ground
In 2015 the film “The Hunting Ground” was released. The film was a documentary that shed light on rape throughout American campuses and how poorly they were handled by administration. The documentary told the truth and was raw which resulted in backlash from universities. The Hunting ground displayed how prominent rape and sexual assault on campuses are and how minimal is done to prevent it. -
Florida State University
In 2012 a freshman at Florida State University, Erica Kinsman, was drugged and raped by Jameis Winston. He escorted Kinsman to his apartment and Jameis immediately raped her in his room, one of his friends then entered the room and began to film the scene. When school began she realized that she was in class with her rapist and wrote down his name. The police officer on the case was an alumni of the school and did not even attempt to get in contact with the rapist. -
Baylor University
In 2016 at Baylor University Art Briles, the football coach at the university, was fired and the president of the university, Kenneth . Starr, was removed from his position after an investigation showed that both men had mishandled an accusation against football players. They did not adhere to protocol and felt as if football and their games took precedence over the safety of the women on campus making these claims. -
Stanford University
Brock Turner, a swimmer at Stanford University, was found guilty of raping an unresponsive female in a field behind a dumpster. All the evidence pointed to him being the rapist and the evidence was undeniable. The judge sentenced Turner to a six month jail sentence and people were outraged. Brock Turner was convicted of intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person, penetration of an intoxicated person and penetration of an unconscious person. -
Women's March
More than 2 million people across the world marched in January of 2017 to protest the first day of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Women from all races, ages, and demographics joined together to protest the inequalities they face. Hundreds of thousands of people joined together at the nations capital to protest. It was estimated that there were 673 marches throughout the 50 US states and 32 countries.
