Sexual assault and rape are real problems in today’s society. According to a United States Department of Justice document, in 2013 alone, there were over 173,610 cases of reported rape and sexual assault by victims aged 12 or older in the United States.
The term ‘rape culture’ has been thrown around in the media as a way to explain the prominence of (and reaction to) these types of crimes.
Google Dictionary defines ‘rape culture’ as “a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse.”
After experiencing the effects of rape culture firsthand, a woman named Laurah Lukin is speaking out.
Laurah is a jogger, and her Facebook page is filled with photos of her exercising and running marathons. In a post that has since gone viral, Laurah describes one of these events, writing:
“This past Sunday, I ran a half marathon. It was a great day. I raced with my friends. We all ran well. I set a goal for myself and exceeded it. My husband and daughter cheered for me at the finish line.”
Sounds like a good time, right?
Well, sort of.
She continues, “This morning I woke up to a notification that I was tagged in a race photo on Facebook. Interested to see how the day had been captured, I clicked it and was left speechless by several comments from a man I do not know.”
“That’s because she doesn’t have any damn clothes on and she’s running for her life…. No wonder joggers get raped.”
Laurah, a co-founder of LaoTong, a “community that unites and empowers women through running”, took to her website to discuss the comments more thoroughly.
Laurah says that her first instinct was to defend her choice of outfit, but, she says:
“There were photos from the race of shirtless men, men in short shorts, men in tight shorts, yet he did not feel motivated to comment on their potential for inviting sexual assault.”
She continues, in bolded text, “It is not my responsibility to choose a race outfit or workout apparel to deter the temptation of men. The length of my shorts is not an indication of interest, invitation, or consent.”
This man’s statement is blatant victim blaming, a strong element of rape culture. Southern Connecticut State University says that people use victim blaming as a way to make themselves different from the victim.
They explain, “By labeling or accusing the victim, others can see the victim as different from themselves. People reassure themselves by thinking, “Because I am not like her, because I do not do that, this would never happen to me.’ […]
“Victim-blaming attitudes marginalize the victim/survivor and make it harder to come forward and report the abuse. If the survivor knows that you or society blames her for the abuse, s/he will not feel safe or comfortable coming forward and talking to you.”
The good news is that most people seem just as offended by the man’s statement as Laurah was…
But the fact that this man thought his statements were a reasonable thing to say proves we still have a long way to go.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
