If 2012 was known as the
year of the War Against Women, let’s make 2013 the year where women and men
come together to work as human beings and focus on mutual accomplishments
rather than individual gender issues.
To do so, though, we need some sobering perspectives on relevant issues… And I will start with one that exploded on FB this afternoon: Rape.
I think (but have no proof) that more women are aware of how prevalent rape is than men because women talk… we talk to each other; we confide in sisters and cousins and girlfriends and even female professors. We do not, however, often confide in men. I am NOT saying to my male friends and relatives that no woman every confided in you. What I am saying is that more women in your circle of friends and family have been victimized than you know. In fact, one in every six women has been sexually assaulted. Gather your female friends and family members in your mind… and if you can count more than six, it’s likely that one person in that group has been violently sexually violated.
How can I sadly, yet confidently, state this? Because more than one woman (1.3, to be exact) is raped every minute in America. Read that again, MORE than one woman is raped EVERY MINUTE in our country. How long have you been on FB today? Forty minutes, perhaps? That means 52 American women were raped while you chatted online, played Farmville, and uploaded your photos. Fifty-two mothers, daughters, sisters, nieces, friends, lovers were violated.
At that’s women over the age of 18. Furthermore, experts estimate that only 16% of rapes are reported. I’m not trying to take you back to the hell of fifth grade math problems, but consider for a moment that those 52 victims account for only 16% of the women raped during your 40 minutes of FBtime. Sixteen percent.
Why are so few of these crimes reported? Shame, Fear of Retribution by the Criminal, Lack of Self-Esteem (thinking the rape was not important enough), Fear of Police Response, and the Belief that Nothing Can be Done.
This last concern is a valid reality. Of all the rapes reported in 1992, 2%... ONLY TWO PERCENT… were convicted AND imprisoned.
So, let’s review this again… at least one woman is raped every minute in the USA. If we multiplied that by a single day, that’s 1872 women every day… and of those 1872 women, only 37 of them will see the capture, conviction and imprisonment of the criminal who violated them physically, mentally and emotionally.
Are these statistics uplifting? No. But, with awareness comes knowledge, and with knowledge comes power. And if we unite our power, we CAN make the US safe for ALL Americans, not just those who can urinate from a standing position.
All those with me, say AYE!
To do so, though, we need some sobering perspectives on relevant issues… And I will start with one that exploded on FB this afternoon: Rape.
I think (but have no proof) that more women are aware of how prevalent rape is than men because women talk… we talk to each other; we confide in sisters and cousins and girlfriends and even female professors. We do not, however, often confide in men. I am NOT saying to my male friends and relatives that no woman every confided in you. What I am saying is that more women in your circle of friends and family have been victimized than you know. In fact, one in every six women has been sexually assaulted. Gather your female friends and family members in your mind… and if you can count more than six, it’s likely that one person in that group has been violently sexually violated.
How can I sadly, yet confidently, state this? Because more than one woman (1.3, to be exact) is raped every minute in America. Read that again, MORE than one woman is raped EVERY MINUTE in our country. How long have you been on FB today? Forty minutes, perhaps? That means 52 American women were raped while you chatted online, played Farmville, and uploaded your photos. Fifty-two mothers, daughters, sisters, nieces, friends, lovers were violated.
At that’s women over the age of 18. Furthermore, experts estimate that only 16% of rapes are reported. I’m not trying to take you back to the hell of fifth grade math problems, but consider for a moment that those 52 victims account for only 16% of the women raped during your 40 minutes of FBtime. Sixteen percent.
Why are so few of these crimes reported? Shame, Fear of Retribution by the Criminal, Lack of Self-Esteem (thinking the rape was not important enough), Fear of Police Response, and the Belief that Nothing Can be Done.
This last concern is a valid reality. Of all the rapes reported in 1992, 2%... ONLY TWO PERCENT… were convicted AND imprisoned.
So, let’s review this again… at least one woman is raped every minute in the USA. If we multiplied that by a single day, that’s 1872 women every day… and of those 1872 women, only 37 of them will see the capture, conviction and imprisonment of the criminal who violated them physically, mentally and emotionally.
Are these statistics uplifting? No. But, with awareness comes knowledge, and with knowledge comes power. And if we unite our power, we CAN make the US safe for ALL Americans, not just those who can urinate from a standing position.
All those with me, say AYE!
