A coworker was discussing the Penn State scandal. He was so angry. “Don’t the student rioters and Paterno supporters have any sympathy for the victims,” he asked? “Don’t they understand how hard it must be for the victims to see and hear them defend the coach?”
A friend from college posted about Penn State on his Facebook page. He questioned why the media refer to what Jerry Sandusky did in the shower as sex instead of rape. He was amazed some Penn State supporters favored the football program over the well-being of the victims.
A listener called in to a sports radio program I was listening to during my commute to work. He just couldn’t comprehend how so many people knew about Sandusky’s actions and didn’t make him stop.
It’s called rape culture gentleman, and it sucks. And because I’ve been writing about women’s rights for the last four years I am unfortunately familiar with it. I get the anger you are feeling over what happened at Penn State. I feel it too – I read the grand jury report and I cried. Sadly, I don’t share you’re shock and disbelief over the way Penn State handled the accusations. Nor am I surprised by the rioting students – sickened, sure, but not surprised. And the media, well, I’ve just read too many stories about rape to expect anything else.
Rape culture, gentlemen, it contributes to Hollywood celebrities rallying behind Roman Polanski, the rapist who fled the country. And yes, even though the media said Polanski had sex, it was rape. His victim was a child.
Rape culture contributes to sportscasters declaring during the 2011 Super Bowl that a win could mean redemption for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who was accused of sexually assaulting (yes, we know that means raping) several women. As if a Super Bowl title could wipe out a violent crime?
Rape culture: definitely a factor in a community victim-blaming an 11 year old girl in Texas who was gang raped by up to 18 men and boys; some of the accused were star athletes in the community.
And could it have been rape culture that contributed to at least a dozen people watching the gang rape of a 15 year old girl in Richmond, California and not helping her?
Rape culture: it’s what we get when we accept the media euphemisms for rape, or we invoke false rape claims as a reason to discredit victims, or when we put the accuser on trial and hold them to a higher moral code than we do the accused, and when we support the accused because friends, neighbors and colleagues say he was a “good guy.” It’s hard to witness, impossible to comprehend and we’ve seen it rear it’s ugly head at Penn State.
So please, continue to support the Penn State victims and express your outrage at the cover up, the coverage and the misguided reactions. Call people out. Use social media, send letters to editors. And then, remember to extend the same to all victims. They all need our support.
For more facts on rape and information on prevention and victim support, visit RAINN, The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
Like what you’ve read? Then sign up here to receive future posts by email or RSS.
Photo used courtesy of acaben’s photostream on Flickr.
Education is our best hope Susan.
Some days I despair…
AmazingSusan recently posted..22 Pearls of Everyday Feminine Wisdom (24)
[...] Had more women truly been integrated into the leadership structure at Penn State, is it possible the culture of rapewould never have flourished? We should [...]
[...] about. Penn State Teaches Rape Culture 101 (Georgia Platts, Ms. Magazine blog, November 17, 2011) Gentlemen, It's Called Rape Culture (Hello Ladies, November 13, 2011) Just Detention [...]
Exactly Kim – tell it like it is.
Barb,
I wish none of us knew the term. Didn’t know you were a PSU grad. What a tough time for all. Of course, the victims must come first and then the school needs to move forward for the sake of the people who depend on it – students, faculty, the community and alum.
[...] we are creating a new kind of oppression for ourselves and others based on what one writer called, a culture of rape. I take that term to include but also go beyond sexual exploitation to human exploitation, which [...]
I’ve never heard the term “rape culture,” and what a chilling term it is. Yet how accurately it describes what we’ve seen over the last few days. I’m relieved to see that at yesterday’s game, the focus finally came back to the victims.
Signed, saddened PSU grad
—I get soooooooo angry when I hear people say: “I had sex with them …” OR, “Did she have sexual relations with him?”
NO NO NO
Say the freaking name: RAPE!
SAY THE PROPER NAME! It’s calle RAPE!
In response to Eileen’s comment about a grown man who witnessed the rape by Sandusky and didnt do the right thing ->
Seeing evil in action, which in my view is based in lack of empathy for others, can be daunting for small people and grown people. I don’t admire what the witness did and did not do either and think getting information out there about what to do is part of remedy.
Today I found the following information and hope Liz’s readers will find it useful as well.
http://www.crisisconnectioninc.org/sexualassault/pedophilia_and_molestation.htm
Thanks Eileen and you make a great point: “rape culture and sports are so heavily intertwined.”
What I can’t understand is a twenty eight year old man witnessing a child being raped and what action does he take? He runs home to telephone his father to ask what he should do. Chilling… gentleman, how do the two of you sleep at night? Wonderfully written Liz and I find it scary that rape culture and sports are so heavily intertwined.
Thanks Anne. Great point you make about reporting abuse.
Brava. Brava. Thank you for addressing the Penn State issue from this very important perspective. It is also important for people to know that it most states anyone who suspects a child is being sexually abused by an adult can anonymously report it to that states department of child protective services. The department must respond with an investigation and will not reveal the reporter’s identity.
Alternately, the person can report his/her concerns to a mandated reporter (physician, teacher, nurse, psychologist, etc) who is legally bound to report the suspected abuse.
The single most important means for stopping further abuse is to report and stop the current abuse.