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Rape culture normalizes sexual violence against women through gender roles, trivialization of assault, and victim blaming. It is perpetuated by media, comedy, and legal systems that focus on victim prevention rather than perpetrator deterrence. Blaming victims and assuming gender stereotypes only solidify this culture.
The term rape culture describes any idea or action that normalizes sexual violence against women within a society. This may include how a culture or region defines gender or words and actions that trivialize sexual assault. The general way victims are treated by the legal system and society as a whole is also considered a component of this culture.
How a society defines a man and a woman is an important part of developing a rape culture. The classic description of a man paints the male gender as strong and, in some cases, predatory. Women, on the other hand, are often portrayed as weaker and, therefore, victimizing in nature. Many believe that this creates a kind of acceptance of violence against women, thus making rape and other assaults acceptable.
This definition of men and women can lead to a society that trivializes sexual assault, often in the form of comedy or the portrayal of sexuality in the media. The saucy jokes, both in private and in social settings, that portray both genders in these predefined roles are thought to perpetuate the growth of rape culture. Media that portrays women as subservient to men perpetuates this belief that men should pursue women until they give in and may inadvertently perpetuate the idea that sexual harassment or violence is, in fact, normal.
Outside of the roles both genders are often forced into in many different cultures, the general discussion of sexual violence is an important part of the issue. In many cases, people are taught how not to be victims of sexual assault rather than the discussion of how to dissuade perpetrators from committing a crime. The way rape is portrayed makes it appear that this type of assault is inevitable, thus leading to the acceptance of sexual violence against women.
Those who have developed the idea and definition of a culture of rape have found this overall acceptance of inevitable violence against women to be relatively new. In some areas of the world, sexual assault is a relatively non-existent crime, while in other areas women are advised to take proactive and protective steps to prevent attacks against themselves. This is part of the foundation of rape culture: the idea that one should expect to be harmed, rather than harm being a rare occurrence, tends to make rape and violence against women a normal part of daily life.
A society that makes assumptions about a victim of sexual assault or even blames the victim only intensifies the cultural acceptance of rape. In many parts of the world, a woman who reports a crime against her person is often questioned about what she was wearing or how she behaved. In rape culture, it is believed that blaming the victim not only trivializes sexual assault, but also demeans every other person in society itself, especially men.
Proponents of the idea of a rape culture suggest that insinuating that the way a woman dresses or acts can cause a man to lose all self-control is just as harmful to males as it is to females. These assumptions about both genders often occur in the legal systems of many different countries. This acceptance by governments and individuals, however unaware, only solidifies the development of a culture of rape.
