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The Risk of Being Raped This article is not a polite warning for
little girls to watch out for scary looking strangers. It is about the
truth and the facts that families and friends hide. It is a myth to belief that rape is about
a person looking for easy sex. Rape is a crime of violence. It is the
intentional, unlawful sexual intercourse with another person, without
content. It seems as though people are keen on
hearing the opinion of convicted rapists, forgetting that it has been
published that only 1 out of 35 rape victims report a rape. In the case
of male rape victims, even less report this crime. Of the 2.9% who can
get the courage to go to the police, a very small number of cases make
it to court. Of the small number of cases going through the judicial
system, about 5% of the cases lead to a successful conviction. Are the
convicted raped the most accurate source for information? It is a myth to believe that rapists are
only strangers in parking lots and public rest rooms. Those can be
unsafe places, but between 77% and 83% of rapists are people known to
the victim. It can be a friend, a date, a member of the family, someone
met at a social event, a co-worker or employer. Many rapes are well
planned beforehand. People seem to have the idea that a
rapist is a sex-starved mad-person. Many rapists are in “normal”
relationships and can even be married. As I mentioned before, rape is a
crime of rage, violence and hate. It is not about the normal need for
sex. Some rapists are in positions of trust, for example doctors,
priests, teachers, uncle, fathers and brothers. Most incest happens in
the victim’s home. Many people propagate that if women dress
and behave in a particular way, which causes men to get excited and rape
them. It is absolutely inaccurate, because tiny babies in thick nappies
and very old fashioned drab clothing get raped. Men, who were raped,
also didn’t wear revealing, sexy dresses. People should have freedom
to wear the clothing they choose. The reality is that any person can be the
victim of sexual violation. Victims can be men and women, young babies
and the elderly, uneducated and professional people. It is true that a rapist will pry on a
person who trusts him, who is less likely to fight back and who can be
intimidated. Some people belief that a woman who
fights back can prevent being raped. However it is a fact that most men
are stronger than women. Physical force and violence, or the threat to
harm the woman or her child/loved ones, is enough to scare most women
into submission. Most women obey the rapist because of fear. It can be
fear for their lives, fear for the safety of her family, fear of loosing
her job or fear that her child will be raped. There is no correct way to react after
being raped. Some rape victims take a long time before they can talk
about what happened. In many cases people are so terrified that they
“freeze” and are unable to do anything. If this happened to you,
don’t feel guilty and get medical and professional help, as soon as
possible.
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Wynand & Barbara Louw, Founders of ITN.
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