SEXUAL CRIMES OCCURRING UNABATED

Sir,

It is particularly troubling to live in a day and age where women and children are being sexually violated by the very same individuals who ought to be protecting them. For the most part, rape is often perpetuated by rape culture. In common instances, some men deliberately disregard women’s rights because they’ve been raised in a society where women are regarded as low class citizens and are generally undervalued.

Most, not all, men see women as objects and regard them as less intelligent and do not rate them as equals but instead classify them as under par. This is evident in the behaviour observed in public spaces, where women cannot even walk freely without being subjected to cat-calls and involuntary touching.

Forceful

From a young age women are objectified and degraded through forceful proposals where some men threaten young girls into relationships and make derogatory remarks to girls as young as five. In no way am I against love proposals or courting, I am simply highlighting how we have normalised objectifying women such that no one sees a problem with men or boys proposing to girls who haven’t even come of age or better yet, reached puberty. By normalising this, we condone rape culture, which eventually leads to rape. Most men can agree that one thing they hate more than anything is rejection and most of the time when these romantic advancements are initiated, the female is more likely to reject the male.

This, therefore, causes resentment from the male, resulting in them doing one of two things, either accepting the rejection or retaliating by assaulting or sexually harassing the victim. I know most men will instantly approach this letter in a negative light but this is in no way an attack; it is merely trying to enlighten society. In any case, if you are not a perpetrator of such acts, why would you be offended? It is important that we are constantly informed on issues that affect each and every one of us, such as rape.

The main issue that surrounds rape culture is ‘consent’. Not many people are entirely aware what consent is and why it is so important. Sexual consent is loosely defined as a voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity with another person. If consent is not given by both people, it is considered sexual assault.

Partake

Consent must be clearly expressed and articulated in words and behaviour, if this is not the case then the other person is not willing to partake in the sexual act. It is vital that both women and men are aware of this in order to avoid cases of naivety or ignorance. It is unsettling to think that sexual crimes are occurring unabated simply because we are not doing anything to tackle rape culture. How long will women cry out for help with no response? And why are we constantly turning a blind eye on this issue.

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