Rape culture has become a bit of a buzzword in recent months, but its growing usage in the media is a sign of a cultural revolution IU took part in last Thursday night.
A student organization called Students Against State Violence spoke out with a Demonstration Against Patriarchal Assault rally, showing necessary public support against rape culture, which will hopefully spark legal recognition as well.
Rape culture is described by Emilie Buchwald, author of “Transforming a Rape Culture,” as a “complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women,” that also “condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm.”
This means that in our culture, men and women recognize the threat to women’s safety and think it to be normal, unchangeable and, most importantly, the responsibility of women.
This is why women are questioned about what they were wearing when they are attacked. This is why it is drilled into our heads that we can never walk anywhere alone.
This is why so many women keep feelings of guilt and blame when they are attacked, when the blame lies solely with the attacker, no matter what the woman was wearing, where she was or who she was with.
This rally was in retaliation against a pervasive culture at IU, but, most specifically, it was timed to respond to a rape that took place behind Kilroy’s Dunnkirk on Kirkwood Aug. 29.
According to the Indiana Daily Student, an officer found two people who appeared to be engaging in sexual activity, one of whom claimed the activity was non-consenual.
No arrest was made, causing SASV to call the IU Police Department negligent, and its assault prevention program “lackluster” and “superficial.”
IUPD Lt. Craig Monroe has said there is more to the case than the public knows, making it easy for us to jump to the wrong conclusions about what really happened that night.
That might be true, but worse still is the recent allegation against an IUPD part-time officer — who has since resigned — who allegedly raped a student.
SASV also called for the end of the program that allows IUPD cadets to live in the residence halls and police patrols in the dorms. SASV understandably sees it as yet another danger for women, instead of security.
But the rally and this issue are much bigger than one crime.
It simply reflects a changing attitude on this campus about the reality of sexual abuse.
Every week there is a new report on campus. Students are most affected and frightened by these crimes, so now they’re speaking out.
These ideas have been gaining traction as of late and not only with students.
President Obama has launched an initiative called “It’s On Us” to try to combat rape culture on campuses.
Congress is voting on a bill concerning campus assault.
Though many advocacy groups condemn the bill, the fact that this very real problem is finally being considered at the federal level brings it to the attention of those who might enact legislation to aid victims and students at risk of sexual assault on campus.
jordrile@indiana.edu
