Carmen Rivera
No one wants to believe the worst about their brothers, sons, or prominent celebrities when it comes to an allegation of rape. Well-publicized cases like Kobe Bryant’s and Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s, where the prosecution virtually crumbled under pretrial pressure, make people wary that rape victims might be manipulating the system. But is there really a need for all the suspicion of the accuser?
The statistics on sexual violence in America are startling and could potentially explain America’s odd obsession with CSI and the rise of online forensic nursing schools. It is something you can’t escape. One in six women will be victim to rape or attempted rape in her lifetime. The numbers are around one in thirty-three for men, according to the Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey, which is taken twice a year. Two-thirds of rapes are committed by someone known to the victim. But what really stands out about these numbers is that they do not reflect the number of convictions for rape. In fact, the likelihood of being convicted for rape is slim. Only three of every 100 reported rapists will ever spend one day in jail (NCVS 2006-2010). Not quite half of rapes committed are ever reported to authorities. The system is undoubtedly rigged–but it’s not on the side of the accuser–false or not. It’s on the side of the rapist. (more…)
Inherently Human 