Sexual Assault Awareness Month – Rape Culture in 2022

Trigger Warning: Mentions of sexual violence and examples of rape culture

As a follow-up from last year’s April blog post, of which I was inspired by, we know that sexual assault of all kinds is still extremely prevalent in our world. After all, programs and agencies like Mutual Ground wouldn’t need to exist if sexual violence was eradicated entirely, or at the very least, wasn’t as prevalent as it still is.

What I’d like to follow up with is an analysis of the cultural expectation of sexual violence, from our personal day-to-day experiences all the way to the wide-spread acceptance of this form of violence as a normal part of our society. Even in the year 2022, we find that ideas behind rape culture are reinforced consistently. Some of the questions I find myself asking include:

Where does rape culture come from and why is it still around?

How does rape culture impact the way we view sexual violence as a whole?

What can we do as individuals, communities, and culturally to combat and end rape culture?

These are some pretty big questions. As with the analysis of most ideas, we need to begin, well, at the beginning. Where did rape culture come from, anyway? The term “rape culture” itself was coined in the 1970’s by second-wave feminists, insistent on bringing awareness to the culture created around the degradation of women and other marginalized groups. The cultural piece of this originated long ago, with traces to ancient Greek society and mythology, medieval England, and Victorian societies. Rape culture is defined as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against [any person] is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture”, according to a post by Marshall University’s Women’s and Gender Center. Let’s break down this definition with examples of what rape culture looks like in practice.

There is no question that sexual violence is very prevalent in our environment. The data doesn’t lie; check out last year’s post linked above for prevalence statistics. Sexual violence being normalized and excused in media and popular culture, encouraged in some instances even, has more nuance. Here are some prime examples of how rape culture might show up in our day-to-day lives (from Marshall University’s site linked above):

• Victim blaming (using phrases like “they asked for it”, “you could/should have said no”, “look at how they were dressed”, “they are just crazy”, “that wasn’t really rape”, “they want to ruin that person’s life”, etc.)

• Trivializing/minimizing sexual violence (using phrases like or holding the belief that “boys will be boys” or that experiencing sexual violence is “no big deal”)

• Sexually explicit jokes

• Tolerance of sexual harassment in workplaces, homes, schools, public, etc.

• Inflating false rape report statistics

• Gratuitous gendered violence in popular media like TV shows and movies

• Defining and enforcing societal gender roles like “men are dominant and aggressive”, “women are submissive and sexually passive”, etc.

• Pressure on individuals to “score” sexual experiences, particularly men

• Assuming only promiscuous people (or any one group of people) experience sexual violence

• Assuming that men and people of genders other than women (or any one group of people) do not or never experience sexual violence

• Refusing to take rape allegations seriously

• Teaching people to avoid sexual violence instead of teaching people how not to engage in/perpetrate sexual violence

Often, when my clients sit in my office and share their stories, I hear things like what are listed above. If you have seen or heard any of these, or perhaps all of them, you may now understand how sexual violence is normalized in our society and why the term “rape culture” makes sense. Our society not only normalizes, but sometimes sensationalizes sexual violence, making it mainstream and acceptable to the masses. Think about popular shows such as Game of Thrones, where on-screen rape appears many times and sexual abusers are glorified. This website outlines what they refer to as “unconsenting media”, offering statistics on how much sexual violence is portrayed as well as offering a feature where you can search different media titles to screen for sexual violence. Reflect on popular music and how much of it mentions ideas behind “slut shaming” promiscuous people, especially women. Even the news media consistently perpetuates sympathy for sexual abusers. Former President Trump directly contributed to rape culture when a leaked tape from 2005 depicted Trump minimalizing conversations on sexual violence to “locker room talk”, essentially bragging about being a sexual abuser. This is a clear sign that our cultural norm is one where sexual violence is not only accepted, but encouraged, even by our highest leaders.

So, what do we do about it? How do we combat a piece of our culture that is so pervasive? Here are some suggestions, once again based on the Marshall University site linked above:

• If someone you know tells you they have experienced sexual violence, believe them without question and offer your support and solidarity

• Do not use language that degrades any person, sexually active or otherwise

• Speak out and correct people when you hear them contributing to rape culture, such as making jokes about sexual violence, trivializing sexual violence, excusing sexual violence, or victim blaming

• Think critically and analyze how the media you consume portrays sexual violence, relationships, gender roles, etc. and how that may impact your view on the topic

• Always gain active consent to touch another person (sexually or otherwise) and be respectful of people’s boundaries

• Never assume consent and communicate with sexual partners

• Stand with survivors of sexual violence and ask them what you need to do to best support them, such as advocacy for better protection under the law, ending stigma, being an empathetic listening ear, etc.

• Call in sexual violence perpetrators and hold them accountable for the harm they have caused

• Get involved! Join an organization like Mutual Ground, anti-violence clubs at your school, or other projects dedicated to ending sexual violence

If we make individual and community change, slowly but surely, we will see a cultural shift where sexual violence is no longer tolerated under any circumstances. This is the ultimate goal. If you’re wondering what you can do to contribute to ending rape culture, consider volunteering at Mutual Ground, where you can make an impact with survivors in so many meaningful ways.

Written by
Shae Hunt, MSW
Therapist at Mutual Ground

Mutual Ground’s Sexual Violence Hotline is available 24 hours a day: 630.897.8383.