Date Rape
Uploaded by wendi13081 on Jun 06, 1999
Rape is a very strong word. It is a word that many women feel uncomfortable saying when it comes to their own experiences. Many women have been raped and may not even know it. This is called date or acquaintance rape. Someone the victim knows or is aquatinted with commits this rape. The man who is committing this rape often doesn't believe that he is committing a crime, but he is. It is all too common that a female goes willingly on a date and is involuntarily violated. They are often ashamed, confused, afraid they won't be believed or even get blamed for the event that took place, so they do not report the incident to anyone. Teenage girls are especially at risk for date rape. 38% of all rape cases reported the victim's range in ages fourteen to seventeen. This to me is a high percentage for such a small age range.
There are many sad stories of girls who have been violated by someone that they know. They almost all begin with a wonderful night and eventually get taken advantage of. The woman in the situation may feel as though she asked for it. The male may feel as though she didn't say no, so if I do this I am doing nothing wrong. It is horrifying how many times this has happened to a woman. Men take their strong, masculine image and use it to their advantage. They may try to use guilt, lies and/or aggressiveness to get a girl to have sex him. If she declines and he still continues to persuade her to have sex with him, then he is committing a crime.
Tara was once in a situation that she felt to be fine. Tom, a guy she knew from school, had asked her out on a date. Unsuspecting she agreed to go. They went to a movie and on the way home they stopped on an abandoned road to talk. They talked for a little while and then Tom began to come on to her. Tara politely declined his gestures. Tom began to get angry and began touching Tara forcefully. Tara continued to tell him no, but Tom continued to force her to have intercourse. After he dropped her off at home and acted as though nothing had happened. Tara felt confused and ashamed. She had many unanswered questions and felt as though she had...