This document discusses rape culture and provides information to help stop its normalization. It defines rape culture as societal attitudes that normalize sexual assault and abuse by blaming victims and demanding they take precautions. Examples are provided of behaviors that perpetuate rape culture, like rape jokes. Statistics show hundreds of thousands of sexual assaults occur yearly in the US. Ways to avoid contributing to rape culture are outlined, such as not victim blaming or making inappropriate jokes. The document urges readers to care because rape culture affects all genders and makes campus unsafe. It concludes by listing actions from the UN Women to stand against rape culture, like promoting consent and challenging root causes.
1. Stopping the Cycle of
Rape Culture
When have your peers perpetuated rape culture?
#STOPTHECYCLE
2. What is Rape Culture?
Rape culture is a societal practice of
normalizing sexual assault or abuse. In
sociological views and studies, this is due to
societal attitudes towards gender and sexuality.
This protects rapists and abusers, shames
victims, and demands that women take
precautions to not get assaulted.
This includes:
- Victims being blamed for their own
assault
- Contributing to rape jokes or fantasies
- Telling victims it was their fault or the
things they shouldn’t have done
3. 463,634
Victims every year of sexual assault in the US (approx.).
Every 68 seconds, someone in America is sexually assaulted.
4. How Can I Make
Sure I’m Not
Involved in Rape
Culture?
1. Don’t make rape jokes! They
aren’t funny, no matter what.
2. Don’t tell people what they are
wearing is provocative. It’s not
the clothes, it’s you.
3. Don’t talk about people’s
experience on social media
platforms. You don’t know
what they went through, just
don’t say your opinion about it.
5. Why Should We Care About Rape Culture?
Rape culture can effect anyone, and in order to
make campus a safer place, it needs to be
brought to an end. Though it mainly effects
women, rape culture effects all genders.
Feeding into rape culture will only make things
worse on campus and make it a more hostile
environment to be in.
It does not matter what they were wearing, how
drunk they were, or what they said they wanted
before. What matters is the consent they give in
the moment and the free will to change their
mind at anytime.
6. According to the UN
Women, here are some
ways you can stand against
rape culture
7. 1. Create a culture of enthusiastic consent and sex
positivity
This means that you need to have sex positive conversations. Discuss healthy sexual relationships–learn to understand the value of healthy, sexual discussion.