May is sexual assault awareness month

[JGirl]

Only 10% of sexual assaults on women are reported to the police. Extrapolating from these data, there are 509,860 reported and unreported sexual assaults in Canada per year.
That’s 1,397 per day; which means that every minute of every day, a woman or child in Canada is being sexually assaulted. Very often, sexual assaults are repeated on the same woman or child by the same offender.

please show your support by wearing purple on may 3rd!

 

[Cornerstone]

It sucks that this day is necessary.

But then again, if you can't even bring yourself to call your genitals by their actual names (and tell children with no shame about them to do the same) you're going to get sexual repression on a BIG scale.

There's more to it than that, and each case is different. But we have a worldwide weird attitude to everything to do with sex.

 

[the]

How can you know that only 10% are reported? I took it to be implying that 100% are not known about, but maybe they are known about? Also (not directed at OP but at everyone) don't be sexist every gender is sexually assaulted.

 

[JGirl]

How can you know that only 10% are reported? I took it to be implying that 100% are not known about, but maybe they are known about? Also (not directed at OP but at everyone) don't be sexist every gender is sexually assaulted.

these are not my statistics. i took that paragraph from the site.
i'm wondering who you feel is being sexist here?
sexual violence happens to both genders, to children, to seniors, to developmentally disabled, geez some will even rape their animals.

 

[Cornerstone]

The paragraph does only say 'women and children' though.

I would bet even less male sexual assault is reported.

 

[Gaze]

Should probably be sexual harassment month since many still think that as long as they are not touching someone, that everything else is ok whether verbal/emotional.

 

[JGirl]

The paragraph does only say 'women and children' though.

I would bet even less male sexual assault is reported.

i only copied the first part of the information on the website. i didn't realize it would create controversy regarding who is victimized, just that it was handy.

 

[Kgal]

A girl I know who was raped a year ago... She was basically kicked out of her college because they wanted to sweep it under the rug. And a detective told her she shouldn't press charges against her rapists because it wasn't worth the paperwork.

So much for reporting.

I can't believe this crap is still going on. Grrrrrr....

I'm very sorry your friend had to endure this lack of compassion and care.

 

[Gaze]

We also need to be more aware of this tendency to make the victim the problem as if they're the perpetrators of the crime. As if they have no right to defend their rights to report the abuse. It's amazing that women or men are still told to be silent about this as if it's a sign of shame.

 

[sassafras]

Don't get me wrong, I think the issue of our antiquated views on how sexual assault is dealt with in the justice system needs to be addressed, but I really, really, really doubt that walking around with yet another coloured awareness ribbon is going to solve the problem.

At this point, there's so many ribbons and special awareness days in the year that they all blend together and have the exact opposite effect. Instead of making it a theme week like we're fucking elementary schoolers, the media should just bring it up when there's a sexual assault case. Goodness knows, we get a high profile case almost every other week and if there's one way to change a culture, you repeat the message enough times on the media until it sticks. You don't need a MONTH to make a change. You need a consistent message, otherwise, this isn't going to do crap.

 

[Cornerstone]

[MENTION=1360]TheDaringHatTrick[/MENTION]

The 'End of History' is a phrase attributed to Francis Fukuyama - He argued that the worldwide spread of liberal democracies and free market capitalism of the West and its lifestyle may signal the end point of humanity's sociocultural evolution and become the final form of human government.

But the reality is that many of the issues we face today could well be endemic of this 'final form of government'. It clearly doesn't meet the needs of the vast majority of people but 'democracy' means that drastic change can't happen. Anything which doesn't go through the sludgy beaurocracy is criminal but the democratic system is fundamentally flawed.

It's Global Consumer Capitalism that is the dominant force and it is an inherently neverending and goalless system...for the majority.
Because the demand is as necessary as the supply but the most vital demands of most people are just ignored because it isn't really about supply & demand at all.
There is a huge demand for food, water and medicine but where is it? Why has the capitalistic machine not addressed those dire needs?

It's because it doesn't give a shit and never has - it is an inherently arrogant system. This is clear in that it takes from nature, makes things and then disposes of them.
This is impossible to sustain...and yet, because money has talked for so long...it doesn't matter if you're right, as long as you have money.
Well, capitalism puts all the money into the hands of people who want to maintain capitalism, because it benefits them to varying degrees.
But worse than ever it is finance capitalism that produces nothing, boosts their own profits and lets 'society' pick up the pieces.

Now, this wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for all the rhetoric that can't be taken back. Home of the free, land of the brave...all of that.
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...all nonsense against the backdrop of global capitalism.
Beautiful ideals but on a different timeline for humanity unless capitalism is reduced to a mere component of society - for the inessentials.

I agree that the pieces of this game are moving into checkmate - but there will be many instances of check before that happens.
We have to wriggle our way out and it is exactly the way you said it, by just having a constant discussion about everything always...with no topic being inappropriate to discuss.
No months for this or that - just a recognition of what values are at the heart of most of humanity. Our evolution has been from barbarism to (mostly) not.
It's easy to settle for this and ignore the unfinished aspects. Because to finish means to restart in a way. We can't impose our society on others, the world can't take it.

Everybody has to change or everybody has to die and piecemeal change won't work indefinitely - the system has too much fat in its arteries.

Right now, there is a lot going on but no fault can be admitted at the top levels because it would suggest that it is not a case of a 'few rotten apples' but it was in fact the tree that made the barrel that was rotten but there was no time to do anything other than meet the next immediate need. Now we have time to regain the perspective we have lost and ask whether on some level we were perhaps tricked into thinking that a system of guaranteed mutual support for all of humanity was a bad thing.

 

[Nixie]

Blah blah blah. We can either support that which brings us together or endlessly fight about what keeps us apart. We are just as part of every system we rail against. The "government" isn't some nameless, faceless entity, it is us.

As per the topic. I agree with TDHT on one level but I also think that most efforts at unity are poo-pooed to death with much the same rhetoric.....

We either choose to see ourselves in each other or not. I won't claim to wear a stupid purple ribbon on May 3, but I assure you, I understand the need to ensure that future generations don't have to live in a world where sexual violence (no matter what gender, although FAR more likely to happen to a woman or child) isn't commonplace. Where a woman can ride a bus and not be afraid of being gang raped. Where young virgins aren't raped because some mythos claims having sex with a virgin can cure AIDS. The list goes on and on....

 

[JGirl]

as a woman who has been raped three times, once so brutally my face was bashed in, i can tell you i will most assuredly be wearing a purple t shirt in support of all those others -be they men women, or children, who have ever or would ever endure such a violation of self
you can all sit here and talk the talk about how ribbons are passe or how a month of awareness doesn't make a difference
you can bet your ass all your philosophical bullshit doesn't either.

 

[Apone]

I don't think it's futile to raise awareness… I don't think it's necessarily going to prevent rape, but there shouldn't be a stigma… especially if you're a police officer.

 

[acd]

you can all sit here and talk the talk about how ribbons are passe or how a month of awareness doesn't make a difference
you can bet your ass all your philosophical bullshit doesn't either.

Haha! Yes!

Any discussion on the subject makes a difference. Devoting a month to raise awareness makes a difference.

So long as people are talking about it--it's a step in the right direction. Generations ago, people didn't talk about rape or any other form of sexual assault or harassment. At least now we are at the point where survivors are speaking out and raising awareness and making an impact instead of being shamed into silence. Things are changing.
It's not stupid or pointless.
I'll wear purple in solidarity with you May 3.

 

[slant]

as a woman who has been raped three times, once so brutally my face was bashed in, i can tell you i will most assuredly be wearing a purple t shirt in support of all those others -be they men women, or children, who have ever or would ever endure such a violation of self
you can all sit here and talk the talk about how ribbons are passe or how a month of awareness doesn't make a difference
you can bet your ass all your philosophical bullshit doesn't either.

I second this post and a few others that have talked about the importance of raising awareness and simply having dialog about the issue. There was a recent campaign on facebook where the equality symbol was being put on display as people's facebook icons. A friend of mine posted a rant about how it wasn't doing anything. I respectfully disagreed with him and said that all day I had been seeing statuses of my LGBTQA friends who felt so blessed and amazed to know so many people supported them, even some people who it had shocked them to see the change in their icon. My friend continued to argue with me, but one of his friends whom I do not know, commented on the status and expressed as a LGBTQA person she did feel it was meaningful and had been offended by the flippant way he had dismissed the issue ( he had even put up a mocking equality icon). I think we should keep in mind a lot of the ribbon campaigns are accompanied by slogans such as "show your support for x y z" . Yes, it does do a little bit of fundraising for organizations, but the main purpose of it is to put it in a social context in society. People who are in certain groups of society feel isolated, judged, alone and scared. There are all sorts of stigmas put on them that cause depression, isolation and just in general feelings of inadequacy. When we go beyond ourselves and show in a very public way our support for certain groups of people, such as sexual assault survivors, it is a noble task because we are also risking being stigmatized by coming out so loudly and saying we support those people or the cause or whatever it is. It's symbolic, and in our society, symbolism means a lot because it creates culture. Think of the symbolism behind the American flag, or the symbolism behind "the golden arches". There is power in symbolism and creating positive constructive symbolism is a way of creating a movement and ushering society a certain direction.

 

[bionic]

I wear purple almost everyday. I will make sure to wear it on Friday.

I think we can all agree that this is a serious, sensitive topic that deserves to be spoken about with care and respect. It is better to talk about it than to sweep it under the rug. At least it gets people thinking about abuse and what we can do better as a society to improve laws, progress sexual assault cases, and to ensure that there are better support services out there for victims.

From what I remember, doesn't purple also represent domestic violence, lupus, and animal abuse?

 

[88chaz88]

How do you count anything that's unreported? Excuse me while I call bullshit.

 

[acd]

How do you count anything that's unreported? Excuse me while I call bullshit.

It's reported somewhere.

I worked for a crisis center and we collected data for statistics.

One of the items was sexual assault. Just because someone doesn't want to report the assault to police doesn't mean they don't report it elsewhere.

 

[88chaz88]

It's reported somewhere.

I worked for a crisis center and we collected data for statistics.

One of the items was sexual assault. Just because someone doesn't want to report the assault to police doesn't mean they don't report it elsewhere.

If they report it elsewhere, yet it doesn't get reported to the police, how serious could it really have been? I don't see why you'd report it to someone who can't do something about it, and fail to report it to those that could, unless maybe you believed you would be wasting police time.