Rape Joke Media Review

- “Rape joke” by Los Angeles Team Get Lit

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Rape cul·ture noun 

A society or environment whose social attitudes normalize or trivialize sexual assault and abuse. 

Rape culture is no joke

Rape culture is no joke. We often see in the media and hear from our peers “jokes” that insinuate and revolve around rape and sexual assault or subconsciously dilute the seriousness of it. Why do people do this? And what does this have to do with college women’s centers?

“Why do people do this?”

In short, ignorance. People are ignorant to the fact that this is no joking matter. With 1 in 4 women experiencing sexual assault on college campuses alone, it's very serious. This issue is also deep-rooted in our society. Have you ever questioned why many people “need” details to determine whether or not they should sympathize with the survivor? Many times survivors have to go through the scenario and recall EVERYTHING in order for people (other women included) to decide IF they want to believe them. This can inflict more trauma and is oftentimes why many cases go unreported & women are left to cope alone.

The ladies in the video mention how this happens and how even after people decide to believe women who share their experience, people tend to try to find a similar story to “prove” that they’ve been sexually assaulted when attempting to sympathize. This typically comes in a tone or manner that makes people seem as if they are brushing off the situation or dulling down the seriousness.

Think of women’s centers as your one-stop “shop.”

This is where Women’s centers come in. They are institutions of learning. Many of us do not know how to address the issue or even confront it. Think of women’s centers as your one-stop “shop.” From learning to allow the space for survivors to share their stories without flipping the script and making it about ourselves, “OMG, someone catcalled me once, so I totally get it!”  knowing to assist someone in finding resources & where to go. Even knowing how to confront and educate someone when they make an insensitive rape “joke.” Women's centers have the potential to lower the rates of sexual assault and eliminate the rape jokes so that more women don’t become a statistic as mentioned in the video.

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Link - https://youtu.be/j4m3AJamQYM

Wordcount - 363

By - Ariel