A few thoughts on rape prevention/education

Hello fellow Community bloggers. After several attempts at creating a new account, I seem to have created one that works.  Huzzah!

On to the topic of my post.

I count Jodi Picoult novels among a guilty pleasure of mine.   In one such novel, The 10th Circle, a 14 year old girl is raped by her recently ex boyfriend while drunk at a party.  She even cites some seemingly true statistics (like, based on the amount of rapes that are reported, then the percent of the suspects that are arrested, then brought to trial, then convicted, then do jail time, roughly 94% of rapists walk free).

The story that unfolds is entirely too realistic . . . the girl is called a slut by her peers, insensitive comments abound, her parents’ marriage falls apart, and a friend of the rapist actually encourages her to drop the charges because she ‘knew she wanted it.’  The prosecutor tells her not to expect much from the trial, and she pretty much collapses into herself. 

My question is, how do we teach teenagers (male and female, queer, trans, all of the above) the nuances of valid consent, and how to respond when someone says that someone else raped them?   After all, the subject of consent is rarely, if ever, taught during sex education.  Prospective partners should want an ENTHUSIASTIC YES before engaging in any type of sexual activity.  Shouldn’t we all want willing participants in our sexual adventures?  I think teenagers especially could benefit from this concept.  We should stop shaming them for having consentual intercourse and start making them feel bad for not respecting the bodies and autonomy of their peers. Not that I ever think shaming is appropriate or effective, but making teenagers (and everyone) think twice about rape can never be bad.

Furthermore, the average American seems to believe that it is entirely acceptable to quesiton someone who makes an accusation of rape, even when the evidence is blaring in their favor.

I found a few resources I wanted to share, but so far this is all I got.  Any thoughts?

Just Yell Fire

Scarleteen

I have more, but feministing limited me to two links. 

Thanks for reading, and please participate.  I need some ideas.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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