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How
You Can Help Stop Rape
Break
the Silence
Victims of sexual assault know their assailant 85% of the time. The action
that allows the perpetrator to conduct himself in that fashion is silence.
If you feel that someone is being placed in a situation to be violated,
intervene. The simple act of diverting an individual and separating the
perpetrator from the potential victim may be the act of saving someone’s
life.
Rape is Not Just a Women’s Issue
When a woman is raped she is not the only victim. Rape affects everyone
in the community. A culture of silence allows for barriers to be set up
for people to believe that all men are perpetrators and only women bear
the brunt of victimization. Not only are one in three women raped in their
lifetime, but up to 20% of all males will be sexually assaulted as well.
These two social dynamics show that we must work together to stop rape.
Question Your Own Attitudes
The oppression of women has been so normalized and ingrained in the actions
of our culture that it is often times hard to detect. Take the time to
look at yourself to see what changes you can make to stop the spread of
oppression.
Support Survivors of Rape
When someone you know is raped a learned reaction is to separate yourself
from the situation. By supporting the victim we can eliminate the shame
associated with rape and begin repairing the harm.
Don’t Fund Sexism
When you participate in a culture that materializes the female body for
consumption you perpetuate the marginalization of women. This complacent
act not only re-victimizes rape survivors, but stunts the culture’s
ability to take the necessary steps needed to allow women the rights that
men already possess.
Mentor
Don’t allow the actions of the generations before us to seep into
the culture of our youth. Teach boys and girls that women have equal rights.
Lead by example.
Educate Yourself and Others
Take personal actions to stop sexual violence in your own community. Take
classes, read literature, watch movies and join action groups. Utilize
the information that you gain and involve others in the conversation.
Do your part to reconstruct social norms.
Work to End Other Forms of Social Oppression
The silent allowance for males to use their bodies as vehicles for power
is directly rooted in other social inequalities. Ethnic discrimination,
economic stratification, anti-semitism, and gender violence (to name a
few) all have links to each other. When you take the active stance that
oppression will not be tolerated you help shift social emphasis in the
direction of human rights for everyone.
Information for the production of this text was taken from:
SASO www.durangosaso.org
MVP Strategies www.jacksonkatz.com
Men Can Stop Rape www.mencanstoprape.org
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