Spring Break
The problem here is men
Men are the most common perpetrators of sexual assaults
Sean Reed
Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: Opinion
Fact: Every two minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.
That amounts to over 272,000 victims every single year. Of those victims, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, the largest anti-sexual assault organization in the U.S., nine out of ten will be women.
Even more haunting, 60 percent of these crimes will never go reported, and, even worse, at day's end, 15 out of 16 offenders will never serve a single day in prison for their crime.
Factor in nonsexual domestic abuse - another unacceptable reality for far too many women - and the statistics only feel more overwhelming.
These numbers are bad enough. What's worse is that behind every one there is a story and a score of lives - of the victim, their families and loved ones - that are forever changed.
But remarkably, many of these women, in spite of it all, do not fold. These are women who, rather than succumb to their experience, even though it would be perfectly understandable for them to do so, choose to survive.
These survivors are all around us - mothers, daughters, coworkers, friends, and significant others.
On Thursday, students from across campus gathered in support of these survivors and the many victims, both past and future, whose lives will be touched by sexual assault at the annual "Take Back the Night March."
The event, hosted by the Campus Feminist Alliance and the Office of Women's Programs and Studies, is just one of the many "Take Back the Night" events held on college campuses since the original event was hosted in 1978 in San Francisco.
That night, nestled in the Lory Student Center Sculpture Garden, survivors and supporters, men and women, listened to the stories of others and the need to transcend sexual assault and gender inequality in the U.S.
In the last two years, there has been considerable progress in eliminating sexual assault. Organizers stated that incidents have dropped by 60 percent during this time period.
That amounts to over 272,000 victims every single year. Of those victims, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, the largest anti-sexual assault organization in the U.S., nine out of ten will be women.
Even more haunting, 60 percent of these crimes will never go reported, and, even worse, at day's end, 15 out of 16 offenders will never serve a single day in prison for their crime.
Factor in nonsexual domestic abuse - another unacceptable reality for far too many women - and the statistics only feel more overwhelming.
These numbers are bad enough. What's worse is that behind every one there is a story and a score of lives - of the victim, their families and loved ones - that are forever changed.
But remarkably, many of these women, in spite of it all, do not fold. These are women who, rather than succumb to their experience, even though it would be perfectly understandable for them to do so, choose to survive.
These survivors are all around us - mothers, daughters, coworkers, friends, and significant others.
On Thursday, students from across campus gathered in support of these survivors and the many victims, both past and future, whose lives will be touched by sexual assault at the annual "Take Back the Night March."
The event, hosted by the Campus Feminist Alliance and the Office of Women's Programs and Studies, is just one of the many "Take Back the Night" events held on college campuses since the original event was hosted in 1978 in San Francisco.
That night, nestled in the Lory Student Center Sculpture Garden, survivors and supporters, men and women, listened to the stories of others and the need to transcend sexual assault and gender inequality in the U.S.
In the last two years, there has been considerable progress in eliminating sexual assault. Organizers stated that incidents have dropped by 60 percent during this time period.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Registered Independent
posted 4/28/08 @ 9:15 AM MST
Enthusiastic applause for this article!
Kudos to you, Mr. Reed, for taking a public stand and stepping out in front on this issue. Rather than leaving women to grapple with this problem by themselves. (Continued…)
Or, we could remember
posted 4/29/08 @ 12:56 AM MST
prison rape and all of a sudden 9 out of 10 female victims is cut in half. Oh, I'm sorry, that doesn't count because they deserve to be there, and rape's part of the punishment, right? Just wanted to make sure you knew a hypocrite looked back from the mirror. (Continued…)
Peace Love
posted 4/29/08 @ 11:10 PM MST
This is just too lame.
Bad guys are everywhere all the time.
Smart confident women already know how to stop them.
They do what it takes to:
Get trained in self defense. (Continued…)
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