It is estimated that the percentage of completed or attempted rape victimization among women in higher educational institutions may be between 20% and 25% over the course of a college career. ( Fisher, B.S., Cullen, F.T., & Turner, M.G. (2000). The Sexual Victimization of College Women. National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.www.nsvrc.org/saam/campus-resource-list) This is a startling statistic for most people to take in, because when we tend to think of rape as something that we only hear about or something that only happens to people we don't know. That is, until we come to the realization that 1/5 women will be a victim of rape over the course of their college careers.
Here is a story for you, better yet a poem, that I wrote immediately following an incident that happened to me on my way back to my dorm after a basketball game at my school. Keep in mind, it was dark outside (probably about 9:30-10pm or so).
"Why should we have to be scared
People act like they are completely unaware
Of the culture that surrounds them
Walking back to my dorm
Minding my own business
A car window rolls down
'Hey baby you wanna go down to Smith?'
Not much long after, another car slows down
Matching the pace of my walk.
Heart pounding in my chest
Hands sweaty, afraid of what might happen next.
Only seeing me as sex, I try to hide my face
Act like I can’t hear them and pick up my pace.
Feeling so much smaller now
being reduced to my physical
But if they only knew
How it feels to be afraid of walking alone
Like its not even safe to go home
Rape culture is a problem that most don’t seem willing to address."
The walk back to my dorm is only about a two-minute walk, but it was the most unsafe that I have ever felt while walking on campus alone. I know what you're thinking, "you're being over-sensitive, boys will be boys." But that reaction is just the problem, and to clear up any further misconceptions, I was wearing jeans with high-top converse, a regular t-shirt and a cardigan that night. Regardless, it's those questions that are at the core of the issue when it comes to rape culture. Blaming the victim, and allowing boys to continue to see women as hardly anything more than their physical.
If I asked my classmates, I bet that more females than males would report similar experiences to mine. Being "cat called" in the daytime is a completely different experience than what I am talking about, however, it is still inappropriate and shows a lack of maturity in guys. The scenario I am talking about is one where there wasn't just a fear, but there was a potential danger. I was walking alone, in a place I thought to be safe. However, considering I am only 5'3'' and about 130lbs, it would have been nothing for either of those cars to stop and pull me inside. Thank God that didn't happen, but it is what I feared most.
Our culture needs to change. Boys, respect girls and girls, respect boys. It is only a culture of mutual respect that can change such horrific statisitics.
