These are the statistical facts I told my friends:
Every two and a half minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
One in six American women are victims of sexual assault, and one in 33 men.
In 2004-2005, there were an average annual 200,780 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault.
About 44% of rape victims are under age 18, and 80% are under age 30.
Since 1993, rape/sexual assault has fallen by over 69%.
60% of cases are not reported.
About 44% of rape victims are under the age of 18
About 15% are under the age of 12
1 rape occurs every 8 minutes.
Verbal info on vaginal mutilation which takes place in tribes in Africa.
Reaction (male friends):
My friend was shocked with information especially with the amount of sexual assaults that take place. They were even shocked about the rape statistics. They don’t get to hear about such statistics in the media and the information was very revealing. One of my friends said that we need to questions ourselves as a community.
Even though one of my friends was from Kuwait he did not have any personal stories to share.
The reason he thinks violence against women takes place and more specifically sexual violence is because of lust, mental and psychological problems and the society.
He thinks that the government needs to step up and take drastic actions to reduce such occurrences. United and strong family values should spread amongst society. The family and society should create awareness in different groups. Parents should discuss these matters openly with children and make them feel comfortable to talk about a matter if something has happened. Schools should have classes informing students of the risks. Communities should be notified immediately if a registered sex offender is going to live close to their area.
Reaction (female friends):
Their initial reaction was sadness and that they hope it changes. Cher said that she hopes the class is not wasting time and looking at numbers but investing and practicing creative ways to change the number and help specific women.
Cher had a personal story to share about a close friend. Her friend was raped either by her father or her uncle at the age of 12. Now her relationship with guys is very casual. Sexual intimacy also comes very easily to her, and by this I mean she has multiple partners. She also has trouble getting close to boys and girls and she finds it difficult to build friendship. She is very suicidal and the surprising part is that she blames herself for it. She seems like a normal girl until you catch her on moody days.
Cher and Prachi felt that men should be the leaders in the relationship, but many times men use this too aggressively. They think that men should be submissive too and that being submissive should be equal. Women do not know how to be assertive. Families should be aware of aggressive personalities. People should be educated and men should create awareness and talk to buddies about respecting women. Also to create more opportunities within communities to reduce aggression.
My reactions:
I thought the reaction from my male friends was the standard thought process against violence to women. But I shocked with the reaction and story which Cher and Prachi shared. I felt good when they said that learning about a matter doesn’t stop there until you actually implement or take actions towards that. She is the first person I have spoken to someone who has a friend who’s sexually assaulted. The manner in which she told me the information made me really think about the long-lasting effects of violence. I had heard stories and read in papers that a high percentage of family members are involved in sexual assaults. This just makes me think that we cannot trust because of blood-relation but just leave it on character.