The Silence of Rape

     

    If you are paying attention to the news you have heard E. Jean Carroll has accused former president Donale Trump of raping her in Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when he denied her claim. Trump has denied the assault occured. E. Jean Carroll testified in sometimes searing detail about the day she says Donald trump raped her in a department store dressing room two decades before he became president, allegations the Republican has repeatedly and vehemently denied.

    What grabbed my attention about the case was the statement she did not go to the police or the hospital after the alledged assault. The statement suggest that IF she was so hurt by the rape as she claims, why was she SILENT about it.

    When there is an assault to cause harm or what is labled as a criminal assault, people look for PHYSICAL evidence that an assault has occurred. Is there a busted lip, scratches, black eye, broken bones, knife stab, or a bullet wound. For these outward appearances of an ASSAULT people have sympathy, wants to render aid, help you find a policeman, or take you to a hospital. The assaulted person can walk around with the physical evidence able to speak for itself. But in the case of rape, there may not be any physcal wounds visible. How is sympathy or a feeling of wanting justice stirred in others when physical wounds are not present? How do they JUDGE a person has been HURT when there is nothing physical to see?

    Another thing that comes to mind is, there was no CRY for help. After the alledged rape Ms. Carroll was SILENT. There is a Bible passage in the Old Testament that addresses the silence DURING a rape. Yes. The Bible addresses rape. Duetoronomy 22:23-27 “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her."

    The Bible passage says the woman was to CRY OUT for help if people are around but will not be faulted for NOT crying out if she is in a place where there are no people, but in both instances the man is to be punished for the crime of rape which is comparable to MURDER. The crying out part is BEFORE or DURING the rape. Why is it then women do not cry out , before, during, or after a rape?

    When a rape occurs there is a CHOICE a woman must make. If a man, larger and stronger than she is, is physically willing to assault her, she has to calculate, "Can my stregnth outmatch his?" We know automatically the answer is probably a no. Rape as you can imagine doesn't take place with people around. The lack of the presence of people is actually a prerequisite to being able to rape. Crying out when there is no one around is a moot point. Back to the calcultions a woman must make when faced with the realization, "This man is going to rape me."

     The woman pretty much knows the struggle to keep from being raped is lost based on the physical makeup of a man versus a woman. With this in mind, she knows her retaliation must be above his. Her defense has to be more brutal and violent to avoid being sexually assaulted. Her options are, 'cause greater harm.' To this critical point, a woman has to decide, "Am I capable of using a force that may lead to MURDER?"

    To many, mostly those never faced with a decision of such grave consequences, the choice will be, murder. It is assumed we all have it in us to take a life to protect our own life. But, if you ask an actual rape VICTIM what was going through their head at the time, you may be surprised at the answer.

    Many rapes are done by people the victim knows. Stranger rapes tend to be more physically violent leaving the outward physical assault evident. But, what about the "I thought I knew him rapes?" Do you want to kill a person whose family you may know or hangs out in your friend circle? Is it easy to kill the co-worker you associate with at work or work for and see daily? Or do the victim succomb with the thought, "It's easier to let it go agead and occur and be over with without resistence possibly causing me more harm than to KILL the person?" Does the victim think "My LESSER ASSAULT (I'm not saying it IS a lesser assault but society has) is better than me having to MURDER someone?"

     What about after the assault of rape? Why don't victims go strait to the police or hospital to report the assault? It's a strange thing rape victims do. They take a SHOWER after a rape. If a person is shot, they don't take a shower. If a person is stabbed they don't go take a shower. Rape victims tend to want to WASH what in their mind is the EVIDENCE left after a rape. The TOUCH itself. The MEMORY itself is what is trying to be washed away because there are no OUTWARD signs for people to run to in an effort to show compassion, help, or justice. There is nothing for the eye to rest on after a rape unless you want to look at her VAGINA. A woman would have to put her vagina on DISPLAY and say here is the evidence. She would have to put her vagina in your face for you to view the harm. The very intimate place of her, covered from view, given sight to only those she chooses, would have to be paraded around and pointed to to gain compassion and sympathy. WHO on earth wants to do that and the victim knows there is no one who wants to see that. People say, "This is where I was shot," but don't say, "This is where I was raped."

    So there is the silence of rape. The body itself can not speak and say LOOK I've been assaulted unless it was a physically violent rape where a beating took place more than likely from a struggle which did not nigate being raped. There is silence because rape does not take place in front of witnesses. The rapes usually take place where the victim felt safe with the rapist or in a safe surrounding. There is silence after the rape because proving an assault where the assault took place between your legs is not a place easily viewed by others. Photographs would have to be carried aroud and displayed by the victim. There is silence because the rapist is known by people the victim is friends with, acquainted with, work with, hope to work with, or are familiar with his family and social circle. There is silence because the victim thinks the trauma is over after the shower. They themselves look in the mirror and see no evidence of an assault. To a rape victim it can seem as though it almost didn't actually happen. It's almost to them as though they need MORE for it to have been a CRIME. Maybe because society, the judicial system, everyday life says only certian proof constituates injury. 

    It is Mental Health Awareness Month as I write this post and we have to strongly KNOW that rape causes mental health issues sooner or later and you don't have to be in a straight jacket to prove you were harmed mentally by a rape. Some of the comments being made during the trial are OFFENSIVE. The most offending statement was by Trump himself. He said his accuser was NOT ATTRACTIVE and many people agreed. Rape is not about the VICTIM'S appearance, social standing, economic standing, physical proportions, beauty, or intelligence. Rape is about there being something WRONG with the rapist! There has been hurdle after hurdle for victims of rape to overcome and being called too UGLY to rape is just another one of the SHAMING of the victim that occurs with rape. Does anyone say, "He was to UGLY to shoot?"

    There is a SILENCE to rape that is birthed with the assault. The victim is too busy asking themselves, "Why Me. Is this My fault? Why didn't I see this coming? What do I do the next time I see him? What WILL happen if I say something? Why mention this to anyone, no one likes to hear stuff like this? Am I okay? Can I keep myself together." the SELF TALK is so much until it's hard to talk to others.

    Rape is such a LOW crime to the point people can't stomach it. Shootings and robberies are on the nightly news daily, but rape is not something that should come over the airwaves into respectable family homes. Bellow I've pasted some sexual assault facts by 32 Shocking Sexual Assault Statistics for 2023, by Jennifer Kuadli, March 30, 2023,32 Disheartening Sexual Assault Statistics for 2023 (legaljobs.io) 

General Statistics about Sexual Assault Although statistics on sexual assault can’t even begin to convey the suffering of victims and their families, they can offer a glimpse into the disturbing extent of the issue.

1. In 2019, over 652,676 women were raped.This figure excludes non-rape sexual assaults but includes date rape statistics; if included, data from non-rape sexual assaults would take the figure closer to the one million mark. What’s worse, it has been rising for the last decade at an annual rate of 2.9%, and this trend shows no sign of decreasing.

2. Over 40% of women in the US have encountered sexual violence. Sexual abuse, as shown by rape and sexual assault statistics, has affected 41.8% of women in the US who have been victimized by sexual violence other than rape.

3. Nearly 80% of female sexual assault victims experience their first assault before the age of 25. Exactly 79.6% of female victims who have experienced one or more completed rape did so before the age of 25.

4. Around 20% of American males have been the victim of sexual violence. According to Rainn statistics, outside of the correctional system, most rape victims are female. However, studies show that 21.4% of males in the US have been the victims of sexual violence and have experienced this outside of any prison facility.

5. A quarter of male victims of sexual assault were under 10 years of age. According to studies, an estimated total of 28% of male victims of sexual assault in the US will have experienced their first assault at 10 years of age or younger.

6. Rape Statistics show that less than 20% of rapes are reported. It is estimated that only 19% of rapes, completed or attempted, are reported annually. This figure runs consistently across the board. The general consensus is that rape is still considered something shameful, hence victim reluctance.

7. Women and men with disabilities face twice the risk of sexual assault than able-bodied individuals. Sadly, data gathered from watchdog organizations and US sexual assault statistics have found that disabled people were twice as likely to be victims of sexual assault than able-bodied people. Statistics of sexual abuse show that the majority of these heinous assaults were carried out in care environments (both facilities and home care). Yet, they were also reported as taking place during hospital or general practitioner sessions, as well as in individual therapy sessions.

8. Nearly 20,000 sexual assaults were reported in the military last year. A study on the level of sexual assault within the military from 2010 revealed sexual violence statistics that showed a figure of 3,577, of which only a quarter took place during deployment in combat zones. The study was repeated in 2019, and the sexual assault stats showed over 19,000 sexual assaults had now taken place in the US military.

9. 7.2% of all children surveyed in 2019 had been victims of sexual assault. Child sexual abuse statistics highlight the harrowing revelation that teens aged 14 to 17 were in the highest risk category for sexual assault, with more than one in four adolescents (27.3%) having been sexually victimized during their lifetimes.

10. Approximately 70 women commit suicide every day in the US following an act of sexual violence. Women sexual assault statistics reveal some extremely disturbing facts. An estimated 70 women commit suicide daily in the US, directly as a result of sexual violence. Worryingly, this figure has grown by 2.87% over the last year.

11. Sexual violence incidents, preceded by stalking, increased by 1.9% in 2019. According to statistics and sexual harassment facts from 2019, the incidents of stalking that led to sexual assaults have increased steadily over the last year. What makes this figure even more alarming is the fact that initiatives were put in place to prevent and protect victims from such occurrences. So, governmental legislation and thinking about the issue must be reviewed.

12. During 2019, 13% of all women in California were victims of rape. Sexual harassment statistics reflect a large percentage of Californian women have been reported as having been a victim to an attempted or completed rape in 2019. Current rape statistics by state show that 13% of all Californian women are in danger of being a victim of sexual assault.

13. Statistics show that 1 in 6 US women will be raped annually in the US. Surveys and rape statistics by gender have found that 1 in 6 American women, and 1 in 33 American men has experienced an attempted/completed rape as a child or adult. This disturbing figure has been predicted to rise exponentially over the next three years.

14. Over 1.5 million women were raped by an intimate partner in 2019. Statistics on sexual harassment from the Department of Justice suggest that over 1.5 million women and 834,700 men are raped and/or physically assaulted annually by an intimate partner in the United States. This staggering figure is both disheartening and unnerving.  Experts have created focus groups to analyze and explore these sexual assault statistics by state in more depth.

Little Known Facts About Male Victims of Sexual Violence According to sexual assault statistics, males are also high-risk victims of sexual violence.

Which means that: Sexual abuse is not limited to females, and the abuse of boys has little to do with either the abuser’s or the victim’s sexual orientation.

Perhaps unsurprisingly: Male rape statistics show that most perpetrators of male sexual assault are men. These predators choose to rape both gay or straight men because rape is an act of aggression and domination, not of sexual desire.

Contrary to popular belief: Girls and women can most definitely be perpetrators of sexual violence toward males, and instances of this kind are more prevalent in society than most people realize.

In contradiction to the sweeping statement thinking of most people, male sexual assault statistics have now proved that most males who experience sexual assault (at any age) do not automatically go on to become sexual abusers.

In many cases: According to gun violence statistics, attackers can use various weapons, physical force, or even the threat of force to gain the upper hand. Others, according to rape victim statistics, may use blackmail or their position of authority to threaten someone into submission.

15. Approximately 16% of males in juvenile prisons have been sexually abused. A 2019 study by the US Center for Disease Control examined woman rape statistics in juvenile prisons for incidents and frequency of sexual violence. The results showed that 16% of males had been victims of sexual abuse, whereas over 60% of males in these facilities had encountered the threat of sexual violence.

16. In Florida alone, a staggering total of 1,477,000 men have been victim to sexual assault. In Florida, 20.4% of men, or 1,477,000 men, have been victimized by sexual violence over the last decade.

17. Over 25% of male sexual assault victims will experience their first assault before 10 years of age. According to sexual assault statistics 2019, studies and statistical analysis, in excess of 25% (27.8% to be exact) of male victims of sexual assault will probably experience their first attack by age 10 or younger.

18. Nearly 40% of adult males that experience sexual violence from an intimate partner are left with psychological scarring. Reports and studies on  US rape statistics show clearly that 39.7% of men who have experienced sexual assault from their partner such as rape, stalking or physical violence, are left with long term impacts such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other types of psychological injury.

19. New York statistics show that 18% of all rapes in the city involved a male victim. According to rape statistics, extensive studies, and focus groups, 2019 involved a record high of male rape victims within the city, with a record high figure of 18% - which is 5.7% higher than 2018.

Sexual Assault Effects on Society

20. Over 80% of sexual assaults are committed by an acquaintance. Relatives, teachers, religious leaders, former spouses - unfortunately, the list of possible attackers is one of people who will most often have a very intimate relationship with the victim. Statistics on rape indicate that this connection normally results in most rape victims shying away from reporting such incidents due to obligatory or emotional pressures.

21. Almost 95% of child victims knew their sexual attacker. Rape stats by RAINN show that the vast majority percentage (93.98%) of child victims in the US in 2019 were familiar with their attacker. In almost all of these cases, as reflected by teenage sexual assault statistics, the child had spent a significant amount of time (10 plus hours, in one full duration or segmented) with their attacker prior to the sexual assault taking place.

22. The rate of false rape claims in the US is well below the 10% average mark. Although false rape claims do happen, it is important to keep in mind that the majority of rape claims are legitimate, as sexual assault statistics reveal. In fact, data collated in 2019 from false rape statistics, shows that a combined rate of 6.9% of rape claims were false. 

23. Sexual assaults cost the US billions of dollars annually. Findings from college sexual assault statistics and other reports show that although sexual assaults take heinous tolls on their victims and cause terrible emotional damage, there is another cost that is rarely factored into such tragic events - the cost on society in financial terms. According to stats on sexual abuse, when we factor in the costs of funding and running sexual assault services, the resulting lower educational aspirations (a common affliction amongst adolescents who have been the victim of child abuse), and the cost of lost earnings of victims who have been traumatized to a point where they are unable to work, the costs on the US annually are in excess of $450 billion. A staggering figure on paper, and one that has, according to stats on sexual assault, been increasing yearly by 1.8% on average.

24. 69% of rape victims in the US are women aged between 12 to 34 years old. Sexual violence figures from 2019 were significantly higher compared to sexual assault statistics 2018. The 12-34 age bracket has been known to encompass the majority of rape victims in the US on an average year.

25. Transgender college students have a 5% higher rate of getting raped than other students. After conducting studies on sexual assault statistics by gender, US colleges have reported a rise in sexual attacks on transgender students. College rape statistics about transgender, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming (TGQN) students have shown that in 2019 an average of 23% of students were in danger of being sexually assaulted, compared to 18% of non-TGQN students. These stats are concerning because they are significantly higher than college sexual assault statistics 2018, which means the problem is getting out of control.

26. Bisexual women are more than twice as likely to victims of rape than straight women. Of all the women at the greatest risk from sexual assault in the US, bisexual women are statistically in the danger zone. Sexual abuse statistics show that 46% of bisexual women reported being a victim of sexual assault in 2019, compared to 17% of straight women.

Furthermore, sexual assault on college campuses statistics show an interesting correlation, which reveals that bisexual men face similar issues, with 47% of them being victims of sexual violence, compared to 21% of heterosexual men.

27. The majority (90%) of rape victims are female. Findings from sexual assault reporting statistics have unsurprisingly revealed that women make up the vast majority of rape victims. This figure reflects rape statistics US and includes adult victims but excludes juvenile victims, who, if included, would total 82% of all rape victims.

28. An American is sexually assaulted every 93 seconds. Sexual assaults are on the rise throughout the whole of the US. On average, state by state comparative analysis (including rape statistics by race data) shows that there are approximately 325,566 victims of rape and sexual assault (age 12 or older) in the US every year.

29. People with disabilities are twice as likely to be victims of rape and sexual assault as those without disabilities. Both males and females with disabilities experienced higher rates of victimization than able-bodied males and females. Surprisingly, rape statistics in the US show that those with a type of cognitive-functioning disability were at higher risk of violent victimization than those with any other type of disability.

30. Girls and women between the ages of 16 and 19 are 4x more likely than girls and women in other age groups to be assaulted or raped. Results gathered from numerous studies show that campus sexual assault statistics have found patterns on the locale of victims. In general, 46% of sexual assault victims were sleeping or performing another activity at home when they were victimized.

Nearly 23% were traveling to and from school or work, shopping, or running errands. Some 19% were working when they were, 9% were attending school, and 19% were doing some other activity.

31. One out of every six American females is a victim of attempted or completed sexual assault.According to sexual assault facts, one out of every six American women will most probably be the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. This ratio has doubled in the last five years, and analysts predict the same to happen over the course of the next half a decade.

1 in 33 American men (about 3% of the total percentage of women sexually assaulted) have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. This figure has increased by 22.4% over the last five years.

32. For every 1000 rapes in the US, 995 perpetrators will go unpunished. Studies covering unreported sexual assault statistics show that the overwhelming majority of perpetrators will escape punishment of any kind. US rape stats show that too many victims are afraid to follow through with the legalities of their claim, leading to perpetrators escaping punishment of any form.