No+Woman+is+Ever+Asking+For+It

**From ‘Condoms on Bananas’ to Negotiating Consent: **  **Educating around safety and desire in human sexual relationships ** Name: Jessica Kalas Student Number: n8552495 Tutor: Dr Mangalam Sankupelly
 * No Woman is Ever Asking For It **

media type="custom" key="24257060" width="447" height="216" align="center"

The Artefact The artefact above is from a public awareness campaign in Scotland called ‘Not ever’ that was established in 2010 to challenge the prejudicial attitudes towards women in the context of rape. The video presents a young woman in a bar having a nice time, whilst she is wearing a sparkly blue skirt. Two men nearby by comment on her skirt and state ‘she’s asking for it’. It then shows the female earlier in the store buying the blue skirt and telling the shop assistant she is going out that night and she wants to buy something that will help her get raped. She then turns to the camera and says ‘as if!’ What are the Public Health Issues relating to this topic? A rape culture can be defined as ‘a culture in which rape is prevalent and pervasive and is sanctioned and maintained through fundamental attitudes and beliefs about gender, sexuality and violence’ (University of Minnesota Duluth, n.d). In 2010, there were 17,757 recorded sexual assaults in Australia (AIC, 2011). However, statistic on rape is never accurate due to rape victims discouraged from reporting due to the non-supportive reactions they face after revealing the assault. Rape myths, which are attitudes or beliefs about rape that encourage rape cultures, shift the blame from the perpetrators to the victims (Suarez & Gadalla, 2010). Literature Review  //"Another thing about equality is that it cannot co-exist with rape...And it cannot co-exist with pornography or with prostitution or with the economic degradation of women on any level, in any way...because implicit in all those things is the inferiority of women." (Andrea Dworkin) // Sexual assault is one of the most difficult crimes to measure. In 2005, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) stated that only 19% of female victims of sexual assault reported the incident to authorities (Phillips & Park, 2006). The rate of sexual assault is also increasing with an increase of 22% of recorded sexual assault in 2005 to 2006 (AIC, 2009). Studies on victimisation have proved essential in the context of understanding the frequency of sexual assault and how it is a reality in the lives of many women. It’s commonly accepted that individuals tend to perceive victims as well or instead of the perpetrators of rape negatively, and there is a substantial amount of research that focuses on what factors influence these perceptions. But before discussing the issue of sexual assault, it is important to understand what is defined as “rape” or sexual assault”. “Rape and/or sexual assault is forced, manipulated, or coerced sexual contact by a stranger, friend or acquaintance. It is an act of aggression and power combined with some form of sex. A person is forced into sexual contact through verbal coercion, threats, physical restraint, and/or physical violence. Consent is not given.” (Clark University, 2013) Many studies focuses on gaining an understanding of the challenging ways that media portrays sexual assault and how it reveals a serious bias against the victims of these attacks (Heany, K. 2012). Traditionally, violence towards women has not been considered a key social problem, which has resulted in a lack of media coverage (Medcalf & Myron, 2006). Media tends to only show certain violent or incongruous attacks that are more palatable to society, rather than the everyday violence that is occurring against women (Sampson, R. 2003). Coverage about serial rapists and their personal lives tend to frighten viewers and they then don’t consider social implications and are seen as a random act of violence perpetrated by abnormal people. When portraying rapists as ‘monsters’, the role of the victim becomes marginal, they were just ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’, and exposed to the impulses of a maniac instead of a system that constantly persecutes them (Heany, K. 2012). Victims are then blamed for their attack and no longer considered in society. Studies also explain how there is considerable social psychological evidence to contend that female victim’s characteristics such as social class and physical attractiveness matter more than their actions when it comes to blame (Anderson, 2004). In terms of victimisation of women, particular individual situational attributes peripheral to the offender often put the responsibility on the female victim. Her physical appearance, sexual tendencies, level of intoxication and style of dress are all seen as negative elements in female victimisation (Ellis, Hart & Paul, 2007). Stassen-Burger (2003) states that if the female victim cannot be found completely innocent by being very young or very old, she will then most probably be represented by the media as partially responsible for her rape due to either being on drugs, drunk, not being cautious enough or engaged in questionable activities. How is it right that a female rape victim, that accepts the gender role given by society, receives the full extent of blame for her ordeal? With society expecting women to accept their traditional gender roles and control their behaviours accordingly, if her behaviour is what is considered out of line, or she dresses more revealing, she will receive greater responsibility of the blame (Long & Wakelin, 2003). With society placing more importance on ‘not getting raped’ rather than ‘do not rape’, the underlying reasons and causes for rape are neglected. What is it about our country that makes rape an increasing occurrence? Rape prevention techniques help to decrease the vulnerability of individuals but fails to eliminate the occurrence altogether. Underlying reasons for rape must be defined and rape prevention techniques need to remove the conditions in society that make women an easy <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 1.5;">target for sexual abuse. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">The causes of rape have been extensively researched and there are a number of theories to why one chooses to rape <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 1.5;">someone. One factor is the childhood past of the offender and traumatic events that may have occurred such as sexual, physical and emotional abuse. Risk factors for commission include family disruption, childhood victimisation, removal from home, exposure to domestic violence and parental loss from divorce or death (Maniglio, 2010). Another factor is “cognitive distortions” that sexual offenders use in order to protect themselves. Rationalisation, denial and minimisation of the assault effectively underestimate the harm done to the victim and assigns responsibility to external factors other than the offender themselves. These cognitive distortions therefore prevent the offender from feeling empathy towards their victims (Fernandez & Marshall, 2003). Cultural and Social Analysis

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; text-align: justify;"> Sexual abuse against women can often be seen as a result of unequal power between men and women and is strongly influenced by social and cultural factors. Sexual abuse prevalence differs between cultures depending on representation of genders and attitudes towards sexual violence and more likely to occur in cultures that cultivate beliefs of the superiority of males and cultural and social inferiority of women (Kalra & Bhugra, 2013). <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; text-align: justify;">The belief of male superiority amongst cultures can be defined as a ‘rape culture’ and it fosters the idea that rape is a part of everyday reality (Brigham, 2011). It is considered that when gender equality is high, rates of sexual abuse are also high. The radical feminist theory believes this is due to men perceiving women as a threat to their social power and status and use rape as a form of regaining a sense of control (Martin et al, 2006). This theory sees rape as a violent act rather than a sexual act, instigated by male motivations to degrade and dominate, and denies that rape is individual but rather “nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear” (Cahill, 2001). Studies suggest that the chance that men will engage in sexually violent behaviour depends on their “tendency to attribute women certain beliefs, capacities and desires” and the belief that “women are inherently duplicitous or constantly seek and desire sex with men” (Polaschek & Ward, 2002). <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; text-align: justify;">An individual is shaped by the culture they live in, which defines their values, behaviours and attitudes. It also shapes societies views on what is considered sexual acts and sexual violence. In Australia, it is considered a norm to take care of your appearance by shaving, wearing makeup, wearing high heels and wearing dressy outfits. Our climate also makes it hard for us to completely cover up so we wear shorts and singlets to keep cool. This is seen as normal behaviour for women in our culture but seen as abnormal to others (Hess, 2010). If one does not participate in this sort of behaviour, social exclusion can be a consequence. So women continue to engage in this normal behaviour. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 1.5;">They drink beer, and wear revealing clothes and walk home alone at night, and unfortunately if they do get sexually assaulted, the underlying thought of society is that ‘they were asking for it’. Analysis of Artefact and Learning Reflections The artefact above strongly represents the harsh reality of how a woman is always at risk of being sexually assaulted in today's society, if she is just to be herself by going out for a drink with friends and wearing a nice skirt. When the nearby males comment on the skirt and how 'she is asking for it', it shows us how twisted society has become. When I go out wearing a nice skirt, I am not asking for it, I am just simply wearing an outfit that is considered a norm in today's society, so how do we win? No wonder why the rates of reporting rape are so low. There seems to be a social stigma that is cast upon the victim if she reports her attack. ‘She was asking for it’, ‘She was too drunk’ and ‘Dressed like that, what does she expect?’ I believe this artefact accurately portrays these views and how more focus needs to be placed on preventing rape rather than victimisation.

Doing this report has made me reflect a lot on rape victims, rapists and society itself. It makes me sad that no matter what we do there will always be a slight male superiority and with this comes certain males needs to control and maintain power. Gender equality will always be a goal that society will strive for but until then rapes will occur, and victims will not report, and they will continue to receive part, or total, of the blame for their attack. Media will continue to under-report rape and only focus on the ones that scare society and society will continue to be completely unaware how much a part of everyday reality sexual abuse is. There definitely needs to be a change. Women need to be able to feel safe in whatever clothes they wear, on nights out drinking with friends and walking the short distance home. Women need to feel comfortable to report their attack and know they are not going to be victimised and the perpetrator will be charged and stopped from ever doing this again. I definitely will think twice now on before judging any women who have been raped and not fall for media portrayals and be part of the blame game.

Learning Engagement and Reflection Task 1. Do we really need to eat meat to be healthy? 2. Do you love cheap booze? Reference List Anderson, I. (2004). Explaining Negative Rape Victim Perception: Homophobia and the Male Rape Victim. Current Research in Social Psychology. 10(4). Retrieved from [] Australian Government; Australian Institute of Criminology (2011). Australian Crime: Facts & Figures. Retrieved from []

Bhugra, D., & Kalra, G. (2013). Sexual violence against women: Understanding cross-cultural intersections.Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(3), 244-249. Retrieved from []

Brigham, J. (2011). Rape Culture, Due Process and Sexuality. Retrieved from [|http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=john_brigham&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2] [|Fscholar.google.com.au%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D10%26q%3Drape%2B%2] [|Bsociety%2Baustralia%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C5%26as_ylo%3D] [|2000%26as_vis%3D1%20%20search=%22rape%20society%20australia%22]

Cahill, A. J. (2001). Rethinking rape. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Dean of Students Office. Clark University (2013). A definition of Rape, Sexual Assault and Related Terms. Retrieved from []

Hart, K., Ellis, R., & Paul, J. (2007). Who's to Blame?: Criminal Justice and Victim Services Students' Assignments of Criminal Responsibility by Gender.Quarterly Journal of Ideology, 30. Retrieved from []

Heaney, K. (2012). “She Got What She Wanted”: Blaming the Victim in Newspaper Coverage of Minnesota College Sexual Assaults (2000-2012). Retrieved from Anderson, I. (2004). Explaining negative rape victim perception: homophobia and the male rape victim. Current Research in Social Psychology,10(4). Retrieved from [] []

Hess, A. (2010). Rape Analogy: The "Walking in a bad neighbourhood" Theory. Washington City Paper[Washington].

Martin, K. (2006). Gender Equality and Women's Absolute Status: A Test of the Feminist Models of Rape.Violence Against Women, 12(4), 321-339. doi:10.1177/1077801206286311

Medcalf, M. (2006) “Sex-assault inquiry focuses on 6 Mankato hockey players; Under scrutiny for months, the men deny the allegations and say they’ll sue the accuser when they are cleared.” Star Tribune, Metro Edition.

Neame, A., & Heenan, M. (2003). What lies behind the hidden figure of sexual assault? Issues of prevalence and disclosure. Briefing; Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault. Retrieved from []

Phillips, J., & Park, M. (2006). Measuring domestic violence and sexual assault against women – Parliament of Australia. Retrieved from []

Polaschek, D. & Ward, T. (2002). The implicit theories of potential rapists: What our questionnaires tell us. Aggression and violent behaviour, 7(4), 385-406. doi: 10.1177/107906320401600404

Sampson, R. (2002). Acquaintance Rape of College Students. Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Series. Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/e03021472.pdf

Stassen-Berger, R. (2003) “Woman raped in Macalester dorm; Prospective student assaulted at gunpoint.” Pioneer Press, City Edition.

Suarez, E., & Gadalla, T. (2010). Stop Blaming the Victim: A Meta-Analysis on Rape Myths. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(11), 2010-2035. DOI: 10.1177/0886260509354503

Wakelin, A., & Long, K. M. (2003). Effects of Victim Gender and Sexuality on Attributions of Blame to Rape Victims. Sex Roles, 49(9-10), 477-487. doi:10.1023/A:1025876522024