Dismantling Rape Culture: A Call to Action Against Sexual Victimization

According to my explorations on the topic, sexual victimization has been around since the dawn of time. Today, “sexual victimization is highly prevalent in the United States, with 63% of women and 24% of men reporting experiences of sexual victimization in their lifetime” (Miller, 2017). Research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association finds that sexual violence is not only common but that survivors of sexual assault and workplace sexual harassment are at an increased risk of hypertension (States News, 2022). This research was supported by several other institutions. In today’s world, it is also important to understand that victimization is not solely a physical act. Image-based sexual abuse has also been documented, its “prevalence varies, owing to differences in definitions, criteria, and samples used” (Pedersen et al., 2023).

Much of the debate and discussion I have seen surrounding the prevalence of sexual victimization can be found on social media. While more and more women are speaking up about their own experiences, I see a trench developing between men—on one side, the men deny the reality of women and feel obligated to assert that “not all men” are to blame, while men on the other side of the argument appear to be more supportive of women proceeding with all possible caution. Also of note is that less than 20% of rapes are reported. Anyone can be a victimized, of course, but women and children are the most vulnerable and men are the most common perpetrator (Kuadli, 2023). These statistics, too, support proceeding with all possible caution when encountering men, even those that are known to the victim as “over 1.5 million women were raped by an intimate partner in 2019” while around 20% of American males a quarter of which were under the age of 10 years old, and 7.2% of all children and one in four adolescents surveyed have been victimized (Kuadli, 2023).
Sexual assault/victimization is a serious social issue in the United States. Anyone can be sexually victimized, of course, but women and children are the most vulnerable and men are the most common perpetrator (Kuadli, 2023). Studies find that “most child sexual abuse [is] said to take place in the home within the family, occurring in all communities, across social class, educational background, religious affiliation and professional status” (Jones & Trotman, 2016). However, the patriarchal social construct in America cultivates and perpetuates ‘Rape Culture’ (WGC, 2023), making it less likely that survivors will come forward to report and may even have their experience trivialized when they do.
‘Rape Culture’ is described by the Women’s Gender Center as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture” (WGC, 2023). This can look like victim blaming, trivializing, sexual harassment tolerance, affiliating manhood with dominance and sexual aggression, and inflating the occurrence of false reporting (WGC, 2023). In reality, “it is estimated that only 19% of rapes, completed or attempted, are reported annually. This figure runs consistently across the board. The general consensus is that rape is still considered something shameful, hence victim reluctance” (Kuadli, 2023). Not only is rape considered shameful, but some individuals may also struggle to define their experience as ‘abuse’. In some cultures, throughout patriarchal America, there is a different view on what constitutes sexual abuse. For instance, “adult family members touching children’s private parts is not considered sexual abuse for Korean or Vietnamese Americans, but rather, an expression of love” (Kim, 2017).  This culturally skewed perspective further obscures reporting, as it complicates the lived experience of victim(s).
According to the research by this author, patriarchal societies have higher occurrences of sexual victimization. Highlighting this point is the finding that “[s]exual violence is experienced at high rates by women of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, with 36% of Hispanic, 41% of Black, and 47% of White women reporting some kind of nonrape sexual victimization and 15% of Hispanic, 22% of Black, and 19% of White women reporting a lifetime prevalence of rape” (Nikulina et al., 2016). While men also have reported histories of sexual victimization, it is less prevalent. “Sexual abuse, as shown by rape and sexual assault statistics, has affected 41.8% of women in the US who have been victimized by sexual violence other than rape” (Kuadli, 2023). These statistics indicate that gender inequality in American society is negatively correlated with noncontact unwanted sexual experiences among women/femmes and men (Kearns et al., 2020).
Dominance-centered injustices also contribute to long-term psychological and physiological effects. “Victims who receive more negative reactions (i.e., blame, distraction, taking control, treating differently, and egocentric responses)” as is commonly found in ‘Rape Culture’ (WGC, 2023) “have higher symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and problematic alcohol consumption” (Nakulina et al., 2016). The most effective resolution to the epidemic of sexual victimization might be the deconstruction of the patriarchal social dynamics, such as ‘Rape Culture’ (WGC, 2023). “Studies have found that when children are raised in a patriarchal society and, thus, hold a patriarchal gender ideology, they will be less likely to reveal their sexual victimization” (Kim, 2017). This suggests that treating sexual trauma and achieving justice for survivors cannot come from the same system and social construct responsible for the victimization taking place. So, where do we go from here?

References
Jones, A. D., & Trotman Jemmott, E. (2016). Status, privilege and gender inequality: Cultures of male impunity and entitlement in the sexual abuse of children: Perspectives from a caribbean study. International Social Work, 59(6), 836–849. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872814537853
Kearns, M. C., D'Inverno, A. S., & Reidy, D. E. (2020). The association between gender inequality and sexual violence in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 58(1), 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2019.08.035
Kim, C. (2017). The impact of perceived childhood victimization and patriarchal gender ideology on intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among Korean immigrant women in the USA. Child Abuse &; Neglect, 70, 82–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.05.010
Kuadli, J. (2023, March 6). 32 disheartening sexual assault statistics for 2023. 32 Disheartening Sexual Assault Statistics for 2023. Retrieved from https://legaljobs.io/blog/sexual-assault-statistics/
Miller, S. (2017). Sexual Assault: Prevalence, Health Effects and Coping Strategies. Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Nikulina, V., Bautista, A., & Brown, E. J. (2016). Negative responses to disclosure of sexual victimization and victims’ symptoms of PTSD and depression: The protective role of ethnic identity. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(21-22), 4638–4660. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260516676475
Pedersen, W., Bakken, A., Stefansen, K., & von Soest, T. (2023). Sexual Victimization in the Digital Age: A Population-Based Study of Physical and Image-Based Sexual Abuse Among Adolescents. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52(1), 399–410. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1007/s10508-021-02200-8
Rape Culture. Womens Gender Center. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.marshall.edu/wcenter/sexual-assault/rape-culture/
Women’s Experiences of Sexual Assault and Harassment Linked with High Blood Pressure. (2022, February 22). States News Service