I am so tired. No, tired doesn't even begin to describe it. I cant even use the word exhausted because it still doesn't describe how I feel about teenagers and young guys being let off of rape and sexual assault charges because they are young. Because "everyone makes mistakes." Because "they have a bright future in front of them." That is complete bull and everyone knows it; and by everyone, I mean everyone *who has even the slightest bit of morals.* You raped someone. You made a conscious decision to force someone into sex, against their will. In what world is that okay? When someone reports that they have been raped, they get violated all over again. However, this time the attacker isn't some monster you met at a party, or knew your whole life, or even a complete stranger; it's someone in a black robe that is supposed to be on your side.
When I was younger, it happened to me. It was someone I knew and trusted. Did it matter that I was young? No, I looked old for my age. Did it matter that I made a mistake in trusting that person? No, I shouldn't have led them on. Did it matter that I had a bright future in front of me and now I freak out every time a stranger touches me or looks at me funny or for too long? Does it matter that I can't fully trust anyone? Does it matter that I cried myself to sleep at night for years before I told anyone? No, I should be flattered that he wanted me. I should just "get over it because boys will be boys," right? Wrong.
Not all of the male population- most, actually- would never even consider touching someone against their will. So when you justify these awful monsters by saying "boys will be boys," you are saying that it is normal for boys and men to be sexual predators. In case you didn't know, that's not normal. It is just as harmful for boys as a whole to have this kind of mentality. When are we as a society going to stop blaming, shaming and interrogating the victim, and start treating the perpetrator for what he is, a criminal, regardless of their age.
Another thing our society seems to perpetuate is that boys and men don't get raped. It happens all the time, by both men and women. Boys report even less than girls do, and that's not much to begin with. They are scared they are going to be ridiculed for not being "masculine" enough to fight off their attacker, or risk being called gay if the crime was committed by a woman because "they should have enjoyed it". It is not a hard concept that rape is never the victim's fault.
Rape is rape. Rapists are criminals. No matter the age, no matter their status, no matter whatever circumstance you can come up with, they need to be held liable for their actions. If you rape someone, you are a criminal. I know I keep repeating this but it seems like some people have a hard time grasping the concept so I am going to say it one more time: if you rape someone, touch them against their will, or force them into doing anything that they are not comfortable with, then you are a criminal. The fact that guys are being told that this behavior will go without punishment because "they were just being a boy after all" tells us as a society that we have a lot of work to do.
