Sexual Violence & Rape Culture
Sexual violence is something that impacts everyone and it is the ONLY violent crime in Canada that is not declining. While it is a level of violence often used against women, it is important to recognize that same-sex couples, people of the LGBTQ+ communities, and men can all experience sexual violence.
What is it?
According to the criminal code of Canada, sexual violence is defined as any violence, physical or psychological, carried out by sexual means or by targeting sexuality. It can include:
- sexual abuse
- sexual assaut
- rape
- ritual abuse
- sexual harassement
- incest
- stalking
- indecent exposure
- voyeurism
- exhibitionism
- online sexual harassement
And so much more. As you can see it kind of fits on a spectrum, so it is a very broad term. You can see the Criminal Code of Canada's section of Sexual Assault here.
Did you know in Canada we have 3 levels of Sexual Assault? All levels of sexual assault by definition are considered to be committed in a circumstance of a sexual nature that violate the individual's sexual integrity but the differences are as followed:
Level 1: involves minor physical injuries or no injuries
Level 2: sexual assault includes a weapon, threats, or causing bodily harm
Level 3: sexual assault that results in wounding, maiming, disfiguring, or endangering the life of a victim.
Legal Consenting Age:
Most of us know that the legal age here in Canada is 16 years old, however even at 16 there are limitations. A 16 year old CANNOT consent to having sex with someone 5 years or more older than them. A person at the age of 14 CANNOT consent to having sex with someone who is more than 2 years older than them. Additionally, anyone who is in a position of authority cannot engage in sexual activity with a person under the age of 16.
What do we know?
We know that 1/3 women and 1/6 men will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. These numbers are astounding, and yet we still seem to act as if there is no problem. What's more skin crawling is that 80% of women with disabilities will be sexually abused in their lifetime. 80%. These are people who cannot legally consent for themselves and yet we have people who feel the need to take advantage of this.
Other facts:
- 82% of survivors know their perpetrators
- The YEARLY economic cost of sexual violence in Canada is $4.3 billion, compared to gun violence, coming in at $3.1 billion. Costs can include medical, lost of productivity, pain and suffering, criminal justice costs, social services, and employer costs.
- Alcohol is the most common drug used in drug facilitated sexual assaults.
- Only 2-8% of rape claims are false- that means 92-98% are TRUE
- Women and girls are 5 times more likely to experience sexual violence than males
- Majority of sexual assaults happen in private spaces like a residence or private home
- Sexual violence is considered to be amongst one of the more under reported crimes in Canada. In 2009 12% of cases were reported, but by 2014 this number dropped down to 5%.
With there clearly being numbers here to support the seriousness of the issue, why do we continue to not see a decline in rates? This is where rape culture comes into play.
What is Rape Culture?
Emilie Buchwald describes rape culture as a
"complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. It is a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent. In a rape culture, women perceive a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from sexual remarks to sexual touching to rape itself....In a rape culture both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life, however much of what we accept as inevitable is in fact the expression of values and attitudes that can be changed".-Transforming a Rape Culture
The basic idea is that it is imbedded in our culture and society. The jokes we hear, music we listen to, the TV we watch, the advertising, laws, words, and so forth, make violence against women and sexual coercion seem normal. I mean we all know society is not promoting it outwardly, but there are plenty of messages being passed subliminally and changes how we think about rape. It informally tells us about values, beliefs, and behaviours that are just seen as normal and "common sense". Still not getting the picture? How about some examples:
- A university in Canada that allowed the following chant to take place during a student orientation" Y is for your sister. O is for oh-so-tight. U is for underage. N is for no consent. G is for grab that ass"
- The song blurred lines is basically all about rape because "you know you want it" and the blurred lines are the uncertainty around consent.
- Steubenville. I mean oh my god that entire case. The support for athletes who were charged with rape and the blame to the victim for ruining "his sport career"
- Sexual assault prevention education programs that spend more time focusing on measures women can take to prevent rape instead of telling people not to rape
- Only 3% of rapists ever serving a day in jail
So why is rape culture so important to understand? Because it happens to fuel so many of the beliefs we see being perpetrated today. It tells us that false claims of rape are much more common than they really are, it shifts accountability from the rapists to the victim, and it tells us that it is not a problem. But rape culture doesn't just affect women- it affects men too. With such a deeply rooted background in patriarchal power structures, it ignores the fact that men can be victims or rape and sexual assault- and women can be the perpetrators. This leaves many men without legal protection an social supports, because we haven't invested into these things. They don't fit in with the idea of what is normal in our society.
Sexual violence and rape culture is something we should ALL take a stand against and work on together. It is a crime that often leaves so much destruction and trauma behind. As someone who has worked with many survivors, it is something I feel deeply passionate about and something I will continue to fight for. In the wake of movements like #metoo, we are starting to get conversation and I can only hope it goes up from here.
Join us next as we learn what consent is- helping us move from that grey area to a clear black and white area!
Sources
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