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Rape Education in the Last Century
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1920-1930
The reclaimed sexuality women found in the roaring 1920’s was met with a very limited definition of rape. Since 1929 rape has been defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as only forcible rape, and requires, “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will” . By this definition only when a man forcibly penetrated a woman with their penis was it considered rape. Definitions are an essential part of education. Rape is often educated around the parameters set by legal d -
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The Great Depression
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1930
There is little to no formal education on rape at this point in history. Therefore social values, mores, and belief systems are being constructed by other socializing methods. The mainstream media is teaching the public about rape; the majority of media coverage on rape is closely tied to racial issues. -
1930-1940
i. 1931 “The Scottsboro Boys” – nine black teenagers were accused of raping two young white women in Alabama. Their prosecution is typically discussed as an example of judicial injustice as none of the nine boys received a fair trial. All but one boy was convicted of rape and sentenced to death. However it is also important to note the message this case and its coverage conveyed to the country. Newspaper coverage commonly portrayed the “white image of interracial rape as a black beast attacking -
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World War II
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1960-1970 Anti-Rape Movement
In the late 1960’s the Anti-Rape Movement operated in conjunction with the Women’s Liberation Movement, the Sexual Revolution, as well as the Civil Rights Movement.
For the first time rape was not being discussed as an act that took place as a result of men who could not control their instinctual sexual desires. The conversation now began to look at power dynamics, gender roles, and social control. -
1970's Rape Crisis Centers
Rape Crisis Center began emerging across the United States, some of the most well known being Washington D.C’s Rape Crisis Center and the Rape Crisis Center in the greater Toledo.
Many if not all Rape Crisis Center offer educational programs to the general public. In addition to preventative workshops the centers also provides programs on media violence, legislature, and how to deal with sexual abuse.
Some crisis centers provide programs and conferences catered to specific demographic areas -
1971 The New York Radical Femininsts
The New York Radical Feminists held their first “Speak-Out” in which victims of sexual violence could tell their stories as well as take a deeper look at the elements that perpetuate the problem. The New York Radical Feminists also held a conference on rape that same year. Increased public awareness and called for greater understanding -
Susan Brownmiller's "Against Our Will: Men Women, and Rape"
c. Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape by Susan Brownmiller is published in 1975 and addresses the issue that rape is often employed by men as a means of controlling women keeping them in fear. Bronwnmiller wrote, “I believe rape has played a critical function. It is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear” . -
Legal Definition of Rape
Although the definition of rape has not changed on the federal level, following the Anti-Rape Movement most state had altered the definition of rape to include forced sexual vaginal, anal, and oral penetration. -
The Ms. Magazine Campus Project on Sexual Assault
The Ms. Magazine Campus Project on Sexual Assault – Mary Koss, a well known research psychologist, directed the federally funded field study and analysis of data for more than 7,000 students at 35 schools.
The study focused on date rape on college campuses. At this time the public believed the majority of rape was committed by strangers. According to Ellen Sweet , a coordinator on the project, 1 in 4 college women were victims of rape or attempted rape. Only 1 in 4 women met the legal definition -
Ms. Magazine Effects
This study illustrated a need for increased education and awareness, while also noting schools already on their way to this end.
1. Cornell University organized an Acquaintance Rape Task Force
2. Ohio State University was nationally known for its rape awareness and prevention programs
3. Swarthmore College produced a video on acquaintance rape. -
Diana Russel's "Sexual Exploitation Rape, Child Sexual Abuse & Workplace Harassment”
According to her website the publication challenged existing academic literature by making and extensively supporting the claim that rape, child sexual abuse, and workplace harassment are caused by many of the same social and cultural factors. This has lead to a more comprehensive understanding of exploitation and in turn better means of combating it. -
1994 Violence Against Women Act
Congress passes the Violence Against Women Act
The legislation established the Rape Prevention and Education program under the Center for Disease Control, as sexual assault is considered a significant public health issue .
Some of the goals set by the RPE are conducting educational seminars, professional training, and leveraging resources. -
2011
2011 The Uniform Crime Report Subcommittee of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services unanimously voted to expand its definition of rape in the Uniform Crime Report. The new definition, or simply rape rather than forcible rape, would now include “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim”
New legal parameters of rape allow not only women but all of t -
Advances Reaching Around the World
Advances are reaching around the world; the new ways of looking at rape that emerged in the American Anti-rape movement are now making their way across seas where the understanding is severely needed.
The “No Country for Women” national campaign in India. Their objective is to, “to change the problematic attitude of a country toward half of its population. It fights problems of gender-based violence and discrimination through education, conversation and action”
