“i live in a world where two truths coexist; where both hell and hope live in the palm of my hand”- alice sebold (lucky). In her life Alice Sebold has lived in between the horror and beauty of all things that complete the world we know and live in. Sebold has a gift for bringing the things of the damned and dark to life. Rape and its brutality followed her everywhere and haunts every piece of work she brings to life, she flourished despite her pain but remains followed by her demons. In the memoir “lucky”, american novelist and poet Alice Sebold uses her personal experience of rape to illustrate how this trauma shapes an individual, drives an inner strength, and how it creates an obsession within the victim. Alice Sebold used her writing …show more content…
Before graduating from college, Sebold fought long and hard to bring justice to herself and to many women like her, rape victims, and women whose lives were forever changed by the pain of male aggression and forceful domination. Sebold was walking along a street just outside her college campus in syracuse when she spotted her rapist and she immediately went all the way back to the safety of her campus dorm and contacted the police to give her statement and report him. For many women who are victims of sexual abuse, seeing their rapist or abuser behind bars is not an option but Alice Sebold did not want to become another forgotten case in a filing cabinet as “closed” or “unsolved”, she wanted justice for herself and for all women like her and she was willing to do all it took to make sure she got it. However, a case study done by RAINN states that “Out of every 1000 instances of rape, only 13 cases get referred to a prosecutor, and only 7 cases will lead to a felony conviction.” (Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Incident-Based Reporting System, 2012-2014 (2015)). After many long months of battling her case in court, with the police, and battling the personal effects it had on her as well, she was successful in having her rapist convicted and he is now serving the maximum sentence for rape and will
In “Crime and Punishment: The saga of Richie Parker” published in Sports Illustrated, Gary Smith helps to explain just how many people are affected by a single sexual assault case. He does this in a very unique style by giving 12 sections explaining the incident from different points of view and the effects of a single crime. One person affected was Jill Agostino, the sports copy editor for Newsday. Her unnamed colleague had given her a copy of an article he was writing on Richie Parker and called asking if she liked it. Little did he know, stories like his were keeping her up at night, reminding her of the time she was raped nine years earlier.
On February 7, 1978, the 19-year-old student that attended the College of William and Mary reported that she was sexually assaulted at gunpoint. She informed police investigators that on that afternoon she went to her “fiancé’s apartment in Williamsburg, Virginia after her morning class was cancelled. When she attempted to enter the apartment with her arms full of groceries, she was then confronted
Did you know Around 11% of college students are sexually assaulted; 23% female and 5.4% male? In America between 2% to 10% of people in prison are innocent people that are falsely accused. “Picking Cotton” by Jennifer Thompson-Cannion and Ronald Cotton. Jennifer Thompson was a college student living off campus in an apartment. One night her apartment got broken into and she was raped at knifepoint.
When the attacker finds out that the victim spoke up they will likely use scare tactics as a way to frighten them, such as, when Andy confronted Melinda in the janitor’s closet. This dose of reality is important for rape victims to encounter before experiencing it first-hand because if it was not expected it can deter them from continuing to speak up. Along with intimidating aspects of coming forward, Anderson also shows the reader that moving on is a possibility and that if the victim is persistent it will get better when people see the
After spending nearly a year fighting over the devastating trial, another rape victim has their justice ripped from their grasp. In January of 2015, Brock Turner, a well-known Stanford swimmer committed an act of assault on an innocent victim who couldn’t recall what had happened. Two nearby bikers who witnessed Turner on top of the victim in an alleyway behind a dumpster, chased down and tackled the unforgiving man. Because of the victim’s intoxicated state, Turner’s attorneys used that to their advantage, claiming that only Brock could recollect the events that happened in that evening. The victim received no opportunity to express how the assault had mentally damaged her as his attorneys picked and prodded the victim through questions about
Yet a sober analysis of the matter reveals that the victim is important and the fact that Brock Turner sexually assaulted her should not be disregarded just because he was a great student and athlete. Dan Turner blames the partying culture of college for his son’s behavior but in reality, there is no excuse for sexual
She passed a man wearing a black jacket which was odd considering it was hot outside. On her way back from her jog she had seen the man again just standing there. So she went through the water to go by him but as she did that the man grabbed her. He dragged her into the woods and attempted to rape her but did not succeed to penetrate. The man beat her up, and brutally assaulted her.
Rape myths are at the center of the problem of how rape and sexual assault cases are looked at, and treated as in society. Rape myths vary, some excuse the rape, others try to minimize the severity of the situation, while others doubt the act even happened in the first place (Levit and Verchick, 196). Some examples of rape myths include: a victim was “asking for it,” a victim’s previous sexual history, regretful sex is not rape, a woman’s “no” means “yes,” and women lie about rape all the time. Rape myths are targeted towards women, not the rapist. Despite, rape myths being proved false by empirical evidence, they are still prevalent in society.
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town is a in-depth look at the issue of sexual assault on college campuses as told through the stories of students at the University of Montana in Missoula. Through the narratives, author Jon Krakauer ties in statistics and information creating an effective work that stands as emotionally compelling while remaining grounded and applying these stories to the greater problem of sexual assault. It tackles one of the biggest problems surrounding sexual assault in general, the treatment of the accused compared with the treatment of the accuser. Though Missoula focuses on the victims, it does provide much of the necessary background and possible motivations for the assaulters. These insights contribute
The documentary The Hunting Ground by Kirby Dick was created specifically to spread awareness of the vast problem of sexual assault on college campuses and to try to show that the problem needs to be solved. The creator wanted those struggling with their sexual assault and the unfair treatment they were exposed to, as well as anyone who may have to go through sexual assault in the future, to know that the problem of sexual assault that universities tried to hide in the dark is finally being given the spotlight they deserve. The spark of this idea of the documentary was the many stories of survivors across the nation from many different universities, specifically the story of Annie and Andrea who helped other survivors get the justice they deserve.
The documentary called The Hunting Grounds, had multiple concepts that relate to sociology. Using a sociological perspective, it was very prevalent to see the ways college campuses use patriarchy and gender stratification to keep women who have been sexually assaulted on campus from disclosing information or even getting help about these issues. Through the discrimination against women at these gender institutions the women formed a Feminist movement to bring awareness and help to the victims on campuses all around the world and to stop the assaults from reoccurring. The Hunting Grounds is a documentary that reveals the untold stories of women on college campuses and how these women have fought to have their voice heard about sexual assault on campuses. Sexual assault and rape on campuses has always been a major problem for colleges all over the world yet very little has been done to protect the students.
As sweat pooled down her face and a low guttural grunt escaped her mouth, DePaul University student Natalie Marcrum gave one final thrust of her knee to the imaginary predator. Learning to defend herself, as well as others Marcrum works to prevent sexual assault before it happens. In support of April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness at DePaul University has partnered with various departments and student lead organizations to bring forth information in coping, recognizing and preventing sexual violence. “It’s important for colleges to be involved because sexual assault is most prevalent on college campuses,” said Ava Bibergal, a DePaul University student.
In Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba Pattillo Beals describes her arduous battle for racial equality in the brutal town of Little Rock, Arkansas in the late 1950s. When she was only twelve years old, Melba survived attempted rape by a white man. Scared and confused, Melba went home and told her family. However, they instructed her to keep quiet about the abuse because they believed getting the police involved would only make things worse. Unfortunately, thousands of sexual assaults still go unreported for a myriad of reasons, including distrust in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, the possibility that the abuser will not be punished, and victim blaming, a common occurrence in our society.
Recent headlines have highlighted the fact that rape culture is prevalent in our society, most noticeably on college campuses. To understand why this is a social issue we first have to understand what rape culture entails. Rape culture is a set of assumptions that reinforces male sexual aggression and disregards violence against females (Hildebrand & Najdowski, 2015, p. 1062). Simplified, it is an environment where sexual violence is normalized and most of the time excused. One out of five females in the United States are sexually assaulted by a male at some point in their lifetime (Hildebrand & Najdowski, 2015, p. 1059) and college aged females are four times more likely to be a victim of rape than any other age group (Burnett et al.,
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday. The name evokes smoky jazz clubs, half drunk tumblers of whiskey and the ache in your chest every time you hear her sing. Born Eleanora Fagen in 1915, Billie lived a hardscrabble life. Abandoned by her father as a young child, and raped at age 10, she began a life of addiction and painful living that haunted her until her dying day.