Some people are under the misguided impression that the repercussions of rape are negotiable. Factors such as the victim’s attire or level of intoxication are often brought into question when determining such. Apparently, the act of forcing oneself upon another without consent is not enough to ensure consequences.
The justice system should have definitive ramifications for rape. Outside factors should be considered irrelevant to the rape once proven. The only investigation pertaining to a rape should be surrounding the confirmation of it’s truth. Scrutinizing the victim with an allegation of somehow luring their rapist only perpetuates victim-blaming.
Someone who is dressed provocatively does not owe anyone their body. Someone who is under the influence does not deserve to have any less control of themselves in the hands of another. Those points seem to go without saying, yet some people are still in need of clarification.
Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, recently withdrew Obama’s policy on campus sexual assault, Title IX. This guideline made it so discrimination against gender was not tolerated at any institution which receives federal funding. According to DeVos, those accused of sexual assault are more worthy of the benefit of the doubt than victims, the majority of whom do not bother coming forward due to the stigmas attached.
Most rape victims remain silent. Eighty percent of cases go unreported, and only two percent of claims are ever false. Women hardly have a voice as is, and yet the current administration is trying to belittle them even more. DeVos is on the wrong side of this argument in being empathic to the few falsely accused over the plethora of women left with unresolved trauma.
If the intend of DeVos was to put a stop to rape, perhaps she would have considered having more formidable consequences to rape so that rapists are intimidated to the point of not committing assault. But as of right now, there are rapists who walk freely or serve little time for being personable as if rape is not a character flaw. Evidently, the off chance of a false accusation is priority at the moment, not rape itself. One can expect only continuity in the handling of sexual assault in that rape is still up for debate thanks to the Trump administration.