2nd Blog topic - What can a woman do to reduce
her risk of assault?
Assault is defined as an unlawful physical attack or threat
of attack.
According to the Sexual Assault Resource Center, 1 out of
every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in
her lifetime. Among all victims, about nine out of ten are female. (http://www.sarcbv.org/get-info/stat)
With such a high prevalence of women being assaulted it
would be knowledgeable to tell men to stop assaulting women. Men are often
taught to disregard any respect for women, and that assault can be easily used
to achieve power or control from any situation. Everyone should know the importance of consent; people who violate should be punished for the violent actions they have committed. Women are constantly targeted
and persecuted by men, most of the time these men go on without any consequence
or remorse for the assault they committed.
Victims of assault live the rest of their lives with fear and anxiety, victims are told to suppress their emotions and just deal with the fact that they suffered through such a traumatizing event. Victims are also told that they were “asking for it”, consequently blaming the victim for their own assault. In my own opinion I feel like women have already done everything possible to avoid assault, but not enough has been done to tell men that their violent acts towards women are unsolicited. Women everywhere have been assaulted in some way, despite what they were wearing or their mannerisms towards men. Women should be able to live comfortably knowing they are safe from any type of assault.
Assault is prevalent in more women than men, reducing the risk for assault in women should start with men. Men should know from a young age that assault is a disgraceful act and that by assaulting a woman they are inherently damaging a human being in more ways than one. That being said there are few ways to prevent assault such as buying pepper spray or maybe enrolling in a self-defense class. But overall I believe the best way of reducing assault is by letting young boys and men know that women are not disposable objects, and that they have no right to violate women in any way.
