*DISCLAIMER* This article represents the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Her Campus.
There has been an uncomfortable amount of conversation surrounding rape in the media this week – and it frustrates me greatly. It seems ridiculous that we are still discussing this topic in such an archaic manner, when social views seem to be progressing in so many other spheres. This week we’ve had countless females in the film industry alleging they were harassed/raped/sexually abused by Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein. Thus, further confirming that the film industry is a place where many women are subject to sexual exploitation. To add insult to injury, female fashion designer Donna Karan of DKNY defended Weinstein arguing that these actresses were ‘asking for it’ in the way that they dressed. It is 2017. How can a modern woman working, in a male dominated industry promote such an ignorant and incredibly uneducated view?
I turned to popular media for some answers. For example, recently ITV has attracted over 8.14 million viewers with its newest drama ‘Liar’. Some have argued its ‘contemporary’ subject matter has shed a new light on the way rape victims are perceived by the public. This is true; to an extent. I have to admit that my initial opinions of the protagonist, Laura, were not positive. She came across as hysterical, obsessive, maybe even insane, whereas the accused: the wealthy, attractive, successful doctor comes across as honest and an unjustly, falsely accused victim. The show has been merited by many for reflecting society’s perception of rape victims back on the audience, as it turns out that Laura was indeed raped and drugged by the accused.
Some would argue that this is a step in the right direction, as the drama attempts to de-stigmatise discussions around accusations of rape, but it feels fundamentally wrong that we’re making drama out of something that remains a huge issue within our society. ‘Liar’ falls into the trap of aggressively demonising the perpetrator Andrew as soon as the truth is revealed. His portrayal switches to that of a villainous, calculating, and serial rapist. Of course, this is a reality for a proportion of rapists, as Rape Crisis reports 90% of rapes are committed by someone the survivor knows. However, Liar represents only a small fraction of rape cases. In reality, it does not address a key question, which asks if inadequate consent education is the true root of the problem in a majority of cases. While cases similar to Andrew and Laura’s clearly take place in the real world, the dialogue we are not having is about boundaries and about consent: this is the topic dramas are not exhibiting (See Big Little Lies, Apple Tree Yard both aired in 2017).
I acknowledge that, it conveys progress as Donna Karan has been hugely slated for her comments stating the victims of Weinstein were ‘asking for it’ and, that a mainstream television channel is utilising its Monday night 9pm slot to stimulate the discussion about the portrayal of rape victims, but it’s somehow not good enough. It does not represent the majority of survivor’s stories, which surely is the best way to prevent rape and sexual assault from happening in the first place. ‘Liar’ and the Weinstein news story both show that consent education needs to be bettered. It should be the pillar stone of all sex education and we need to start talking about this sooner rather than later.