It is Rape Awareness Week this week. Nobody needs to be told that rape and sexual violence exist, but the extent of the problem is something that far too many people are ignorant of. The statistics are so shocking they are incredibly hard to believe: One in four women will suffer some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, as will one in eight men. Most importantly, we need to dispel the myth that rape means strangers attacking women in the dark of night: The great majority of rape victims know their assailant.
If I wanted to stop people drink-driving, I probably wouldn’t start by talking to the potential victims of drunk drivers and telling them about all of the terrible things that might happen to them, and how they have almost no ability to stop it. Yet for the past 30 years in rape prevention education, this is exactly what we have been doing – educating women about the threat of rape and sexual violence.
Even rape prevention educators acknowledge the futility of such an endeavour. It’s not victim blaming, but it’s close. We need to drastically change our approach, and place the focus on educating young men about the causes of and solutions to sexual offending. It is men that need to be aware of the harm that can be caused, and what we can do to make sure that our sexual encounters are positive for everyone involved. We need to teach ourselves about sexual ethics.
We have two articles this week that discuss issues around rape and sexual violence. Charlotte Greenfield has unsheathed her feature-writing pen to look into the proposed reforms to the prosecution of cases of rape and sexual violence in NZ; and the powers that be have let me out of feature-writing retirement to look into the failure of rape prevention over the past 30 years, and a possible way forward through the teaching of sexual ethics.
We also have a lighter article (believe it or not) on abortion by the always-entertaining Maddy Phillips, who puts herself in the shoes of a pregnant 18-year-old and looks into her options.
If you are a rape or sexual violence survivor, then you need to know that parts of this issue discuss rape in brutal detail. I’m sure that you’ll know for yourself what is okay for you to read and what isn’t. We have put trigger warnings before the most graphic moments.
If after reading this issue, you want more information, or want to speak to someone, then please contact the awesome team at Rape Crisis on (03) 474 1592, or email them at rcrisis@xtra.co.nz
— Joe Stockman
Editorial | Issue 9
