“Beauty+provokes+harassment,+the+law+says,+but+it+looks+through+men's+eyes+when+deciding+what+provokes+it.”

Student Name: Ashlee Smith Student Number: N8833311 Tutor: Michelle Newcomb

**From ‘Condoms on Bananas’ to Negotiating Consent: Educating around safety and desire in human sexual relationships.**



This artefact is a well-known rape analogy. It proves the harsh criticism that females face when choosing to report a rape. Rape is the only crime where the victim has to prove their innocence. The perpetrator is usually considered innocent until proven guilty, unlike in most murders and robberies they are considered guilty until proven innocent. It aims to highlight the upsetting realization that many members of society believe that if a woman dresses in a certain way, walks, talks or acts in a provocative manner in society, she is asking to be sexually assaulted. In many parts of the world, rape is very rarely reported, due to the extreme social stigma cast on women who have been raped, or the fear of being disowned by their families, or subjected to violence.
 * PRESENT ARTEFACT **

Sexualized violence is a serious public health problem across the globe. The World Health Organization conducted a multi-country survey of women aged 15-49 (Department of Epidemiology, 2013). Results showed that reports of both physical and sexual violence are prevalent in both rich and poor countries – as low as 15% in Japan to 72% in Ethiopia. Sexual violence is not only public health issue; it is also a violation of human rights. Sexual violence presents problems both in the short-term and long-term, it has consequences on a women’s physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Regardless of context, be it an intimate partnership, extended family, or local community, it is a deeply violation and extremely traumatic experience for the survivor (WHO, 2013). Not surprisingly, the majority of sexual assault victims are women. 79% of sexual assault victims recorded by police are females. Nearly half of these female victims were under the age of 20. 17% of the victims were aged 15-19. Females aged 17-19 recorded the highest rates of sexual victimisation with a rate of 377 per 100,000 victims, followed by 10-14 year olds of 342 victims per 100,00 females (Department of Justice, 2005).
 * PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE **

Sexual assault remains one of the most under reported crimes, with 60% still left unreported (RAINN, 2009). Unlike other forms of assault, rape violates intimate and psychological boundaries – what in human rights language is designated human dignity and bodily integrity. In feminism, it is termed sexual autonomy (Letherby, et. al., 2011). The meaning of rape for women, within gender and generational relations and cultural contexts, underlies its emotional, psychological and social impacts and consequences. In a society that is so quick to judge, without finding out the truth, rapists are automatically labelled monsters. People that then defend these so-called monsters are also judged. Why people do choose to sexually violate someone raises many perplexing issues amongst society. The prevalence of sexual assault is also reported to be increasing. Since 1995, the rate of recorded sexual assault increased by 22 percent, from 72.5 per 100,000 people in 1995 to 88.4 in 2006 (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2009). Most victims of sexual assault are female and few report the assault to police. According to Farrington, Langan and Tonry (2004), victimization survey data from the late 1990s suggest the propensity for females to report sexual assault is increasing. Data from the Australian Institute of Criminology (2009) confirms this observation – 19% of women in 2005 said they had reported an incident of sexual assault, compared to 15% in 1996. An increase in recorded sexual assault among younger Australians is thought to have contributed to the rise in sexual assault. In the 10-year period between 1995 and 2005, the incidence of recorded sexual assault for children aged 0-14 years accounted for around 40 percent of all recorded sexual assaults.
 * LITERATURE REVIEW **

The reasons behind a raping have long been researched, and there are a few theories as to why rapists choose to sexually violate a person. Biology has long been believed to be a contributing factor in raping’s. There has been very little research on genes and the role they may play in sexual coercion in humans (Johansson A, Santtila P et al. 2008). Some evidence has been found that genes may be vital in the development of aggression, and that genes may be a factor in environmental interactions, especially the relationship between aggression in susceptible individuals in harsh environments, or else a person with anti-social tendencies might be more likely to be drawn to situations and settings where anti-social behaviour is more common or more possible (Johansson A, Santtila P et al. 2008). Another contributing factor that is most commonly found in rape cases is the traumatic past of the rapist. Traumatic events in childhood are the best-documented risk factor for sex offenders. Childhood sexual abuse is the strongest link, but both physical and emotional abuse is also key risk factors. Exposure to domestic violence, being removed from their families, family disruption, and parental loss caused by death or divorce have also proven to be risk factors for perpetration (Maniglio, 2010). Not surprisingly, sex offenders commonly report more psychological problems compared to non-sex offenders, but these findings have proven to be inconclusive (Jewkes, R. 2012). Any research that has been conducted on the psychological processes behind raping’s has proven difficult as the studies lack an appropriate non-offender comparison group and assessment practices. There has been some potential research into interventions to attempt to try and reduce the amount of rapes that occur each year. The predominant underlying factors are environmental, and central among them are gender attitudes. Considerably, the genetic component behind rapists cannot be changed, but it is possible to influence the environmental exposures that may provoke an attack. It is essential that policies and interventions include both a thorough understanding of risk factors for rape perpetration and a theoretical grounding for interventions and strategies (Jewkes, R. 2012). The most successful rape interventions have occurred in North America, although they have had varying success. For many years their focus has been overwhelmingly on changing attitudes (Gidycz CA, Rich CL et al. 2002) and unfortunately these studies have concluded in little, if any success in reducing sexual assault. (Gidycz CA, Rich CL et al. 2002).

Being a woman, it is assumed that one will adhere to certain social norms, this in many ways, involves performing behaviours that are now expected of a women in today’s society. These obscure behaviours involve shaving every last hair on their bodies, colouring cheeks and lips, lengthening eyelashes, extending legs in towering high heels, ‘doing’ your hair, obsessively dieting and counting calories, stuffing flabby stomachs into spandex, wearing skirts and dresses, and ‘putting on your face’. These expected behaviours of females have become somewhat normal, and are now commonly associated with being feminine. Why then, do these behaviours label women as being abnormal or ‘others’? Abstaining from these behaviours is considered just a fact of life for the average heterosexual cisgender male. For females, these behaviours have been nurtured, and reinforced from birth, and failing to engage in these behaviours is an extremely difficult to do, and usually results in social exclusion (Hess, 2010). When they do refrain from shaving their legs, or promote their breasts, or bat their eyelashes at those average men, they are dismissed, and considered even more abnormal. '...Since historically western science has been practiced almost exclusively by white, middle or upper class males, primarily heterosexuals, and until relatively recently, mostly by individuals who were products of a Christian tradition, the valued characteristics of intellect and rationality are generalized by the scientists to an extension of the self... The "other", by definition, is the opposite of the "self", and therefore comes to be regarded as intrinsically of lesser value' (Whiteside & Perry, 2000). In a cultural society where the average heterosexual, cisgenered male is considered the alpha, or the baseline for normal, women are seen as outsiders, or ‘others’ no matter how they conduct themselves. Therefore, when a woman is sexually violated, no matter what she was doing, it is normal behaviour for the majority of the community to assume and insist that she herself has found herself in a situation asking to be sexually assaulted. Women’s lives do differ from men’s, and as such are considered to be out of the ordinary (Hess, 2010). Cisgenered, heterosexual men, are again dominant as they are born with the privilege of not being the continued targets of sexual assault. When someone says that that woman was wearing too much make up, or bearing too much skin, what that person is really saying is that women who act like women, and engage in the social norms and constructs of being a women, are asking to be sexually violated. When a women is seen engaging in behaviours considered ‘un-ladylike’ such as drinking beer, engaging in casual sex or walking home alone at night are not doing enough to protect themselves from rape, what the underlying thought is that they don’t act womanly enough also deserve to be raped. Although it is rarely said, or acknowledged aloud, what is really being said after all those messages is that women deserve to be raped because they are women. In a society where women are expected to behave in a certain way, then this behaviour is considered abnormal; it is this attitude that qualifies these thoughts as normal. There is no safe neighbourhood or social situation in which a woman is 100% safe or protected from cultural and social expectations, and therefore will always remain a potential victim of sexual abuse. Out of every 100 rapes, 40 get reported to police. 10 lead to an arrest, 8 get prosecuted, 4 lead to felony convictions, 3 rapists will spend even a single day in prison, //and the other 97 will walk free.// Public Health experts should focus on eliminating the ‘otherness’ surrounding women, and more time and resources should be used to understand the causes, dynamics, and trends of sexualized violence and conflict (Department of Epidemiology, 2013).
 * CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS **

As mentioned earlier, this artefact represents the grueling, confronting process that victims of rapes have to undergo if they choose to condemn their rapist. After undergoing an overwhelming amount of research, I was shocked to discover the amount of rapes that continue to go unreported, due to the social stigma cast over the victim, not only from members of the community, but also from family, friends and especially loved ones. I believe the artefact that I choose for my report supports the argument that I have presented about how mainly women are subjected to rapings on a regular basis, how they are expected to dress, walk and talk in a certain way, and then are then blamed for encouraging offenders to sexually violate them. No female, no male, no one wishes, wants or encourages anyone to sexually offend themselves, regardless of how they dress, how they walk or how they talk. As stated before, in a cultural society where the average heterosexual, cisgenered male is considered the alpha, or the baseline for normal, women are seen as outsiders, or ‘others’ no matter how they conduct themselves.
 * ANALYSIS OF ARTEFACT AND LEARNING REFLECTION **

I believe that this report has made me reflect on my personal feelings toward the subject of both rapists and their victims. In the past, I myself have conformed with society and may have asked “What did this person do that encouraged themselves to be raped?”, or “What sick person takes another persons free will and attacks someone like that?” After extensive research, I have not only changed my personal views, I have felt as if I have been judgemental towards those victims that have been labelled as ‘others’, and rapists that may have not been able to prevent themselves from committing these crimes. In the future, my thought process surrounding this issue will from now on, be of understanding, rather than judging.


 * References **

Australian Government (2009). //Australian Institute of Criminology - Trends in violent crime//. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from []

Department of Epidemiology (2013). //The Public Health Crisis of Sexual Violence | the 2×2 project//. Retrieved October 29, 2013, from []

Farrington DP, Langan PA & Tonry M (eds) 2004. //Cross-national studies in crime and justice//. NCJ 200988. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics

Gidycz CA, Rich CL, et al. (2002). Interventions to prevent rape and sexual assault. //The trauma of sexual assault: treatment, prevention and policy//. B. Hedge. New York, Wiley: 235-260.

Hess, A. (2010, February 23). Rape Analogy: The “Walking in a Bad Neighborhood” Theory. //Washington City Paper// [Washington]. Retrieved from []

Jewkes, R. (2012) Rape Perpetration: A review. Pretoria, Sexual Violence Research Initiative.

Johansson A, Santtila P, et al. (2008). “Genetic effectics on male sexual coercion.” //Aggressive Behaviour// 34: 190-202.

Letherby, G., Williams, K., Birch, P., & Cain, M. (Ed.). (2011). //Sex As Crime?// New York, U.S.A: Routledge.

Maniglio, R. (2010). “The role of deviant sexual fantasy in the ethiopathogensis of sexual homicide: A systematic review.” //Aggression and Violent Behaviour// 15: 294-302.

// Reporting Rates | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network //. (2009). Retrieved October 29, 2013, from []

U.S. Department of Justice. //2005 National Crime Victimization Study.// 2005.

Whiteside, R., & Perry, D. (2000). //Women, Gender, Disability and 'Otherness': Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA)//. Retrieved October 29, 2013, from []

// WHO | Sexual violence //. (2013). Retrieved October 29, 2013, from []

// WHO | Violence against women //. (2013). Retrieved October 29, 2013, from []

**Reflection Task**

Reflection #1 https://healthcultureandsociety2013.wikispaces.com/share/view/64637668

Reflection #2 https://healthcultureandsociety2013.wikispaces.com/share/view/64637688