When we think about sexual assault on campus, it’s important that we understand the issue and recognize the contributing cultural factors. We must also be sure we act in accordance with our own values, not those of the media or other influences.
Out of a survey of 1,882 men, 120 admit to having committed rape (as long as the act isn’t called rape). That’s 1 in 15 men, over 6% of those surveyed. More than half (63.33%) of those were repeat offenders.
Rape and sexual violence is not only a heterosexual issue, it is a human issue. A society that questions or blames victims, or in cases do nothing due to a persons sexual orientation, is a society that embraces a “culture of rape” that threatens everyone. A survivor deserves compassion and support because he or she has endured a brutal assault and is a human bring, not because they “impress” us.
The CDC released the first set of national data on the prevalence of intimate partner violence, sexual violence and stalking victimization by sexual orientation, based on 2010 data:
This translates to an estimated 214,000 lesbians and 1.5 million bisexual women
Almost half of bisexual women (48.2 percent) and more than a quarter of heterosexual women (28.3 percent) were first raped between the ages of 11 and 17.
Nearly half of bisexual men (47.4 percent), 4 in every 10 gay men (40.2 percent) and 1 in 5 heterosexual men (20.8 percent) have experienced sexual violence other than rape in their lifetime. This translates to nearly 1.1 million gay men, 903,000 bisexual men, and 21.6 million heterosexual men.
Approximately 50 percent of transgender people experience sexual violence at some point in their lifetime.
Reference: Images from this article can be found here, statistics can be found here and here.