On March 8, a controversial article was published on the New York Times website; a website belonging to one of the most highly regarded U.S. newspapers. Although the article is titled “Vicious Assault Shakes Town,” the journalist, James C. McKinley Jr., shows little to no empathy for the victim at hand. The details of the story are as follows: an 11-year-old girl in Cleveland, Texas, was allegedly picked up by a 19-year-old male named Timothy Ellis, who asked if she would want to “ride around.” He then proceeded to bring her to his trailer where he and other multiple individuals, as the arrest record states, repeatedly raped the 11-year-old while others watched and took pictures and video.

            As terrible as this occurrence was, the story only gets worse and worse, partly because of something called “rape culture.” As a matter of fact, the way this issue was handled is a prime example of that phrase. So when McKinley decided to obtain quotes from the residents of this town, they were somewhat biased and disturbing.

Things like: “These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives,” “Where was her mother? What was her mother thinking?” and “It’s devastating, and it’s really tearing our community apart.”

No comments were made about the victim and how it would affect her for the rest of her life. Nothing was said about how it tore the lives of the girl and her family apart. And if we’re really going to put the blame on anyone’s mother, shouldn’t it be placed on the mothers of the 18 men who decided to exploit, humiliate and tear apart an 11-year-old girl physically and emotionally? Better yet, why don’t we stop feeling sorry for these animals and focus on getting this little girl help?

            Now, in case you were wondering, a definition of rape culture from ‘Encyclopedia of Rape’ by Merril Smith consists of the following description:

            “A rape culture is one in which rape and other sexual violence against women and children are both prevalent and considered the norm. In a rape culture, rape and sexual violence are accepted as inevitable and are not challenged. The term rape culture originated in the 1970’s during the second-wave feminist movement and is often used to describe contemporary American culture as a whole.

A rape culture, according to the editors of ‘Transforming a Rape Culture,’ “is a complex set of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women.” A rape culture believes that sexual aggression in men is    biologically determined, rather than learned behavior. In turn, it considers women to be sexually passive and meant to be dominated by men. Consequentially, a normal sexual encounter is represented as a heterosexual man forcing himself upon a woman. Thus in a rape culture, rape is the model for most sexual activity.”

            Rape culture and sexism not only exist in the minds of many men, and even women, across the globe, but it even seeps into our very own government. There was recently a bill entitled “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” also known as H.R. 3. It’s pretty self-explanatory as it is intended to keep taxpayer money from paying for abortions, which is all fine and dandy, until it begins to exclude the funding for rape victims.

This bill decided to redefine, so to speak, the actual definition of rape. Apparently, drugged women, date raped women, incest of a non-minor and mentally handicapped women do not have the ability to be “forcibly raped.” Apparently, it only really counts if you’re bruised and bleeding.

Let me clarify something for those of you who have questions regarding rape: Rape is always wrong, “boys will be boys” is not, and will never be, a sufficient excuse to justify rape, and all rape is indeed, forcible. They have since removed the “forcible” part of the bill, due to the outcry of many people who fret for the progress women have made over the past few decades. However, the bill still includes many revisions that would hinder the access to funding for abortions, and it still excludes funding for women who are victims of incest.

            Not only is this an issue, but Georgia State Rep. Bobby Franklin has recently introduced a bill that mandates that criminal codes refer to rape victims simply as “accusers.” Domestic violence and stalking victims are to be within the same playing field. Meanwhile, people affected by crimes that are less sexually charged, such as robberies and embezzlement, are still considered victims.

            It’s interesting that we live in a society where we show equal or more sympathy for rapists than the women they assault. It’s astonishing that we can raise our sons to rape someone and not feel an ounce of guilt. Women must take extra measures to ensure their safety. Don’t wear this, don’t smile like that, don’t make eye contact, don’t drink, don’t walk there alone at night, etc.

Where are the precautions for our men? Sure, we have the “no means no” mantra that is seen almost as a joke. When are they taught to respect women and told, quite simply, not to rape them. I hate to blame the media, but because of popular film, television and advertisements that dehumanize women, we are told that it’s “okay” to treat our ladies like that.

Pornography and strip clubs are notorious for objectifying women. With the exception of a few, men watch these films and see these dancers and assume all women are to be treated as submissive objects that one can take advantage of. That everyone is ready to have sex at the drop of a hat. That all people are, in fact, sexually active. These abusers and monsters that are so-called men need to realize that this is someone’s child, someone’s sister, someone’s mother. No one deserves to be treated as an object of someone’s sexual mistreatment.

            According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, 272,350 Americans were reportedly victims of sexual violence last year. Forty-four percent of those victims are under the age of 18. Sixty percent, more than half, of all sexual assaults are not reported to police and only 6% of rapists ever spend a day in jail. Sexual assault could result in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, self-harm or injury, Stockholm syndrome, depression, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy, sleep disorders, eating disorders, intimacy issues, dissociative body disorder or even thoughts of suicide.

            No woman should be blamed for the trauma imposed on her body by a sexually aggressive force. There is such a thing as putting oneself in a bad situation; because of the society we live in, women do have to be cautious. However, it is no one’s fault but the attacker.

It does not matter how a woman is dressed, how flirtatious she is, how much she had been drinking or whether she was alone and vulnerable, it is never okay for anyone to for themselves on another person. Maybe I’m putting too much faith in the general population, but until we move past these hindrances and respect the very people that are able to bring life to this earth, we cannot call ourselves truly evolved or civilized.