Rape culture and its Influence on society

Rape culture and its influence on society 

Author:- Neha, a Student of B.A. LL.B. final year Saraswati institute of law, Palwal

Introduction 

Rape Culture is a setting, studied by serial sociological theories in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to societal attitude about gender and sexuality. the nation of rape culture was developed by second-wave feminists, primarily in the United States, beginning in the 1960s.

Origin and usage

The term rape culture was first coined in the United States by second-wave feminists and applied to contemporary American culture as a whole. Rape was redefined as a violent crime rather than sex crime and its motive redefined from desire for sexual pleasure to male domination, intimidation and a sense of control over gender norms.

About rape culture

Rape culture is a culture in which sexual violence is treated as the norm and sacrifice their freedom and opportunities order to stay safe, because it puts the burden of safety on women’s shoulders, and blames them when they do not succeed.

Rape

Rape is among the most common crime against women in India. It is a stigma that has been going insanity for a very long time.

Rape is a culture where sexual violence and abuse is normalised and play down. Where it is accepted, excused, laughed off or not challenged enough by society as a whole. Rape culture is also a culture where some other way, from this normalised of sexual violence and abuse. The most archaic one which is still prevailing, about which people do not talk much but is know by everyone is “Rape Culture”. This is term that generally gets overshadowed because people do not want to accept the truth. It has become a part of over society because of the negative mindsets people towards survivors and sexual violence in general.

Rape culture is a victim-blaming. Rape culture is a judge blaming a woman for her own rape. Rape culture is a minister blaming his child victims. Rape culture is accusing a child of enjoying being held hostage, raped, and tortured. Rape culture is spending enormous amounts of time finding any reason at all that a victim can be blamed for their own rape.

India is a country of diversity with numerous cultures. Some of them are very old and some are newly discovered. The most archaic one which is still prevailing, about which people do not talk much but is known by everyone “Rape Culture”. This is a term that generally gets overshadowed because people do not want to accept the truth. It has become a part of over society because of the negative mindsets people towards survivors and sexual violence in general.

Example of rape culture

• Blaming the victim (“she asked for it!”)

• Trivializing sexual assault (“boys will be boys”)

• Sexually explicit jokes

• Tolerance of sexual harassment

• Publicly scrutinizing a victim’s dress, mental state, motives, and history

• Gratuitous gendered violence in movies and television 

• Defining “manhood” as dominant and sexually aggressive

• Defining “womanhood” as submissive and sexually passive

• Pressure on men to “score”

• Pressure on women to not appear “cold”

• Assuming only promiscuous women get raped

Sexual assault is a violent attack on an individual, not a spontaneous crime of sexual passion. For a victim, it is a humiliating and degrading act. No one “ask” for or deserves this type of attack.

Fact: most sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows. Studies show that approximately 80%-90% of women reporting sexual knew their assailant.

Fact: A sexual assault can happen anywhere and at any time. The majority of assaults occur in places ordinarily thought to be safe, such as homes, cars and offices.

Fact: Reported sexual assault are true, with very few exceptions. According to CONNSACS, only 2% of reported rapes are false. This is the same rate of false reporting as other major crime reports. 

A Court in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has sentenced two men to life in prison for raping and murdering two Dalit sisters last year.

Two other convicts were guilty of destroying evidence and were sent to jail for six years each. The convicts are likely to apply in the high court.

The teenaged girls were found hanging from a tree in Lakhimpur district in September.

The gruesome crime had made headlines and sparked global outrage.

Polic had arrested six people- four of them were convicted on Friday while judgement against two minors is pending.

On Friday, a special court that deals with case4 of protection of children from sexual offence (pocso)  convicted two of the four adults of kidnaping, gangraping and murdering the girls.

The goal of talking about rape culture is about much more than just reducing the frequency with which sexual assault occurs or the impunity that allows it to flourish, because the problems at the root of rape culture are much bigger than that.