Sexual Awareness, an Issue Society Should Take a Little More Seriously

Sexual Awareness, An Issue Society Should Take a Little More Seriously

"Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted." A scary notation, but what is the scarier is that it is actually is a fact. In 2000, there were 261,000 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. Of these 261,000, 114,000 were victims of sexual assault, 55,000 were victims of attempted rape, and 92,000 were victims of completed rape. [2000 National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics.] But actually what is more shocking than those statistics is the fact that "72% of rapes/sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Those rapists, of course, never serve a day in prison." [1999 NCVS] This doesn't mean what these rapists did was okay; it means those rapists continue to go about stalking and finding other individuals to take advantage of. Sexual assault is a big problem in our country. Most victims of sexual assault are women. One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape). A total of 17.7 million women have been victims of these crimes compared to about three percent of American men. A total of 2.78 million menÐ'--have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. [Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women 1998.] These statistics are frightening!

Approximately 62% of the female victims knew their attacker, 43% of victims are raped by a friend or acquaintance; 34% by a stranger; 17% by an intimate; and 2% by another relative. [2000 NCVS.] About 7 out of 10 victims of rape/ sexual assault reported that they took some form of self-protective action during the crime. About four out of ten sexual assaults take place at the victim's own home. Two in ten take place in the home of a friend, neighbor or relative. One in ten take place outside, away from home. About one in 12 take place in a parking garage. Over fifty percent of all rape/sexual assault incidents were reported by victims to have occurred within one mile of their home or at their home. 43% of rapes occur between 6 pm and midnight. 24% occur between midnight and 6am. The other 33% take place between 6am and 6pm. [Statistics in this section are from: Sex Offenses and Offenders. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, February 1997)

The home is suppose to be a place of security, but when invaded becomes a place of insecurity. "A woman should be able to leave her house and walk to the corner store to get a gallon of milk and not be scared" (Direct Quote from Kats Lecture on 4/24/02 @ Towson University.) Sexual Assaults are decreasing at a slow pace but a percent of the public is not utilizing the awareness and steps for prevention. Women are in a society today where they have to be defensive and alert not only on the streets but also in their own home. Sexual Awareness causes a woman to be prepared for the worst consequences when put in a position of vulnerability. Several easy steps can be taken just to make a woman appear less vulnerable especially if living alone such as, an alarm system, friends frequently dropping by, a male voice on the answering machine, communicating with the neighbors, and the easiest step just be alert at all times. Our world has become a society in which a woman must live in defense to survive. All woman no matter how young or old are vulnerable to sexual assault. An example is college women, myself for example. I always have to be alert and prepared and I do that by checking in with friends regularly, carrying pepper spray at all times, walking in groups, not walking in the dark, carrying a cell phone, and by wearing running shoes. I feel as though you have to be prepared for the worst circumstances. My eyes were further opened by an incident not long ago, when I was working as a cashier as a grocery store, the store was robbed, the robber was not physically abusive but verbally abusive. This even shook me to the core. I was aware of sexual awareness but I didn't take is seriously because hey it had never happened to me. This even opened my eyes to the crime and violence in today's society. It is sad and emotionally traumatizing but at least it opened by eyes to being always being prepared to take care of yourself when violence looks you in the face.

Can we totally eliminate sexual abuse? No we can not but we care be aware of the statistics and take measures not to become a stat on the FBI"s percentage summary of sexual attacks for the year. No woman wants to be a statistic on a rape survey, so in order not to be, we have to be aware of the problem and take steps to prevent it.

Sexual Awareness if the first step. You need to know the facts; most people don't think that every two minutes, someone is being sexually assaulted. That is thirty people being assaulted an hour. How alarming is that. Ignoring