Many collegiettes are not educated on what exactly prevention and protection are, especially when it comes to rape culture. Many people think that prevention and protection go hand in hand. Preventative measures are often placed solely upon the women of our society, telling women that they can prevent being raped by being aware of the message their outfit is sending others, by traveling in groups, not getting too drunk and keeping an eye on their drink. Society especially tells women that they need to control and limit their behavior so they can prevent becoming a victim to sexual assault. How are women expected to do this? They have to protect themselves. Women have to engage during the oncoming assault by either passively talking their way out of it or actively stopping the assault with anything they can get a hold of, whether that is a shoe, hairspray or set of keys. At what point does the line between prevention and protection become blurred?
By now I’m sure many of you have heard about the four young men from North Carolina State University who have created a company called Undercover Colors. These men have developed a nail polish that can detect drugs used for date rape by simply slipping a finger into the drink. Apparently the polish will change color by exposing your painted nail to a drug used to incapacitate someone, such as Xanax, GBH, or Rohypnol.
While this is innovative technology, and could really come in handy… we shouldn’t be living in a society in which this technology has become necessary. The development of this drug-exposing nail polish basically says that we live in an era where we shouldn’t trust anyone because they could be bringing us a drink laced with a drug. It says that our society is full of men who are going to take advantage of us. It passes judgment on these men, often fraternity men, and implies that they are going to be the ones drugging and taking advantage of women. It’s been debated whether products like these (see “rape resistant” underwear developed by AR Wear in 2013) actually help prevent and reduce rape incidents or just reinforce rape culture. It perpetuates the ideas and supports the mindsets that many people already have –believing that women need to be more responsible about what they wear, or where they are, or what they drink; and if they do not do these things, then they were “asking for it” or they “deserved it.”
Parents and loved ones all over the country that will one day be sending their daughter or son off on their own have probably stressed over the idea of whether their child will be safe. Parents with children of all ages constantly think about the safety and well-being of their kids. No one should be afraid of a college experience. College is the place you begin to find yourself, you grow up, you find new passions, and you become a more comfortable version of yourself. The college men behind this polish said on their Facebook page “with our nail polish, any woman will be empowered to discretely ensure her safety by simply stirring her drink with her finger.” These men mean well and have worked hard to develop this product, but they seem to be missing the point of anti-rape activists and feminists alike. The goal is to end rape culture, not live in a world where women must modify their lives to accommodate rapists.
Something to think about… what if there simply isn’t a drug in the drink? What if it is just full of alcohol and someone has simply consumed too much, becoming way too inebriated and potentially finding themselves in a compromised position? It seems that this would happen more often than someone being drugged. Not to mention there are other substances that have been used that are not among the “common date rape drugs”, such as cannabis and cocaine.
This isn’t a campaign against technology that is created in the interest of keeping people safe; it is a crusade against rape culture and working toward a society that doesn’t have the need for this type of invention. We don’t need to be telling people to avoid parties, or bars, or to avoid an outfit they find themselves attractive in. We need to be the people of this society that finds ways to stop perpetrators of violence, instead of trying to actively avoid a predator in a place you are trying to unwind like a bar or just pick up a cup of coffee on your way to work.
As a collegiette of three years, I have noticed I have been one of those women who tend to take a preventative route that ensures not only my own safety, but others. Women tend to take precautions such as always having a friend with them when going somewhere, and women don’t usually steer from a route that is well known, and well-lit when going somewhere. I didn’t realize I was taking protective measures until my first break from school freshman year when I went home, and my mother had a taser waiting for me. As much as I appreciate my mom for thinking of my safety, I don’t want to be a woman who believes that other members of society are out to get her. I want to be a woman who advocates that we can change the views that young women are the only ones who need to be held responsible, and that it is only women who need to be “on guard”. I want to be part of something that changes the view that if a person doesn’t take caution, they “asked for it”. Changing views takes time, changing habits to reflect those views takes even longer. As a society as a whole, we have the power to change the way we look at prevention and protection when it comes to rape culture.
However, those changes haven’t quite hit us all yet, and to put many minds at ease, here are some pointers to use when you’re at a party or a bar, and just any public space, for all genders and ages.
1. Use the Buddy System. This has been preached to us since we were old enough to go to the mall on our own. You don’t go anywhere without having a buddy with you. Going to the bathroom? Get your buddy. Walking home alone at night? Get your buddy. Waiting for a ride? Get your buddy. Find the Blair to your Serena and stick together!
2. Get your own beverages. If you’re at a party where alcoholic beverages are present or at a local bar, watch your drink being made or get it yourself. Once you get your drink, keep a hand placed over it and don’t pick it back up if you set it down unattended.
3. Know how you are getting home. There is always going to be a friend who isn’t going out the same night as you, and if they’re a good enough friend they will come get you when you call. Also, Appalachian students are lucky enough to always have the option to catch a sober ride, thanks to Boone Student Beeper. Call one of them, pay them two bucks, and get home safely (hopefully with your buddy). If you’re hanging out at a local bar or near campus and live in a dorm or know someone who does that will let you crash with them, walk to the nearest university building and call Safe Ride for free.
4. Monitor your own drinking. Everyone should know their limit, and if you don’t, then take this useful tip: for every alcoholic beverage you consume, drink a cup of water after. Don’t set out to “blackout” (unless you are wearing all black for App State).
5. Know safe zones on campus. The ASU campus police department is located right next to Rivers Street Parking Deck; they have a phone number to call during office hours and an emergency line number for after hours. Also, all along campus there are emergency telephone poles lit by a blue light that have a button you can press that will connect you to the university police department if you don’t feel safe.
6. Other safety measures. If you still aren’t feeling safe all the time, you can invest in some mace to clip onto your keys or a low voltage Taser. There is also a nifty app called “SafeTrek”. You hold down the screen when you don’t feel safe, and when remove your finger it will call the local police department unless you enter your four digit code.
Gloria Steinem once said, “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn but to unlearn.” Unlearn the victim blaming, unlearning the “what was she wearing,” unlearn the stigma that only women can be raped, and unlearn the idea that it is solely a woman’s job to not get sexually assaulted rather than a man’s job to not sexually assault.
A special thanks to my dear friend MG for her amazing insight, and always inspiring me to speak up.
Images:
http://www.elle.com/news/beauty-makeup/nail-polish-prevent-rape
http://susannassketchbook.typepad.com/susannas_sketchbook/2009/05/may-14-2009.html
http://gizmodo.com/5918077/what-the-lines-of-a-red-solo-cup-actually-mean