Rape Culture

Sexual assault is obviously a tough subject to talk about.  However, in the wake of the rape case and recent conviction in Stubenville, Ohio and the controversy over how Occidental College handled asexual assault on its campus, it is clearly a topic that needs to be addressed.  Social media obviously played a large and complicated role in the Stubenville case.  Many have discussed the extremely negative role that social media played in this situation—notably the very public humiliation of the victim involved.  But of course there is another side to every story.  Though the use of social media and text and picture messages no doubt made the victim suffer, social media also played a key role in the prosecution of the rapists.  A popular blogger named Alexandria Goddard posted about the case and helped bring it national attention.  And of course there was the leaking of an incriminating (and incredibly disturbing) video of the teens involved that also aided in the prosecution.  Needless to say, the role of social media and technology in sexual assault and rape cases is incredibly complicated.

 

"Don't Be That Guy" Campaign image (via saveedmonton.com)

It’s honestly hard to say whether or not technology and social media played a positive or negative role—it’s really a double edged sword.  On the one hand, the texting around of pictures of the assault was undoubtedly wrong and made the experience more traumatic for the victim.  But, on the other hand, there most likely would not be a case if there were no pictures or videos because the victim remembers nothing from the night.  And of course the Internet and social media has provided a platform for spreading awareness about sexual assault and sexual violence (it could be argued that this might lead to “copycat” attempts, though).  Hence, there is no winning with all of the new technology and social media tools. 

But let’s just talk about sexual assault in general.  It is an issue that I am incredibly passionate about and it truly disturbs me that we live in a world where rape culture is so prevalent.  In other words, in our culture, rape is validated because of the images, language, and even laws that surround us.  All of these images (jokes, TV, music, advertising, etc) make violence against women and rape seem normal and acceptable.  It is this that needs to change.  

"Don't Be That Guy" Campaign poster (image via saveedmonton.com)

How do we change that?  Well let’s all take a look at a behavioral marketing campaign called “Don’t Be That Guy.”  The campaign was developed by the SexualAssault Voices of Edmonton (SAVE) in an attempt to reduce the incidences of sexual assault in their city.  It features provocative images paired with blunt language such as “It’s Not Sex When She’s Wasted” or “Just Because She Isn’t Saying No Doesn’t Mean She’s Saying Yes,” in an attempt to shift attention from the victim of rape to the perpetrator.  It was initially launched November 2010 and a second installation of posters was launched in December 2012.  The campaign was so popular that many other cities in Canada as well as around the world have been using the posters in bar and club bathrooms. 

In my opinion, there needs to be more campaigns like this one.  Sexual assault and violence are major issues in today’s society that need to be dealt with.  It’s hard to know whether the role social media plays in all of this is good or bad, but regardless, it is necessary to work to eliminate rape culture and shift the blame of rapes from the victims to the perpetrators.