Growing up in this world as a female, I am aware of Rape. Girls are taught at a young age that Rape is a problem which could happen to them. Girls are told how to act, how to dress, how to compose themselves at parties/get togethers, and later we are often told Rape is our fault. According to an article by Chemaly, Soraya "50 Actual Facts About Rape," Huffington Post, “A woman’s chance of being raped in the U.S.: 1 in 5” it is even worse if you are in college, “A woman’s chance of being raped in college: 1 in 4 or 5”. Think about that for a second...25% of the girls you know, 1 in 4, has been raped in college. Of these 1 in 4 girls, how many have told you? How many have you heard of getting justice? How many rapists have you heard going to jail? I’m sure the answer to that is little to none. Right now is a great time to talk about this subject because everyone is fired up about this Brock Turner case. Well, guess what? Brock Turner has spent more time in jail then most college rapists. After watching a documentary Audrie & Daisy, Directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk on NetflixI was shocked to learn that most schools sweep rape allegations under the rug, even with a confession from the accused rapist. Very few schools have ever expelled a rapist, and most schools report a false percentage (0%) of rapes.

So let’s think about this again, 1 in 4 college girls, 1 in 5, women in their lifetime. Who do you have in your life? Do you have a mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin? Most likely one of them has been raped or a victim of sexual abuse. Wrap your mind around this, breath it in, get angry! I remember being in high school talking to the few girlfriends I had, and most of which had been sexually assaulted by that age. In college, I took a class called Human Sexuality through my Sociology department. A few of my friends had taken the same class offered by the Psychology department, but what we learned was very different. In that class, we talked a great deal about the different types of non-consensual sex. This included child molesters and rapists. A story I heard from a guest speaker has really stuck with me; it can happen to anyone, anywhere. She was getting gas one night after class at the same gas station she always went, but today the gas station attendant (whom she thought she had become friends with) forced her into the bathroom and raped her. While telling us her story she becomes emotional, this had happened 8 years prior, however, for her, it was still an open wound. Getting gas is something most people do once a week; I’m sure most women look closely at their surroundings if getting gas at night because they feel vulnerable, and I’m sure most men glance around but would never cross think they might get raped while fueling up their vehicle.

“Percentage of rapists who are never incarcerated: 97 percent,” Huffington Post. To make things worse, most rapists never spend a day in jail. Well, maybe she was wearing provocative clothing, maybe she leads him on, maybe she shouldn’t have drank so much, maybe she shouldn’t have been out that late, maybe she shouldn’t have been by herself…these are all things sexual assault victims hear. Well maybe HE shouldn’t have raped her, maybe HE should have taken NO for NO, maybe we should blame HIM. Some women are courageous enough to report their rape, this usually is followed by an extensive exam and rape kit. The process can take hours, one has to become undressed, poked, prodded, photographed, and then swabbed. I’ve heard victims say that it is more intrusive than the rape itself. So, after a victim goes through all of that, you would hope that there is justice for them, right? Wrong, according to the Huffington Post article “Number of rape kits untested by the Houston police force: 6,000-7,000 (Texas ranked second in nation for “forcible rape”)” and “Number of rape kits left untested in Detroit, listed by Forbes as one of two the most dangerous places for woman to live in the US: 11,303.” How is that for some justice? My hope one day is to open a non-profit that raises money to run rape kits, but in the meantime please please understand what a problem this is, educate yourself, help others, and if you are a guy, listen when a girl tells you “no”.