A sensible, useful and necessary article. Sadly, we need to ensue that rational and objective enunciation of rape culture is constantly put in front of the public.
Is oughtn't to be necessary. It has all been said before. I have no doubt that the majority of abusers do know that their actions are harmful, abusive and wrong.
I understand the fear that causes so many bystanders not to attempt to stop abuse they witness. I was once beaten and thrown off a bus by perpetrators because I attempted to stop them. None-the-less, I would do it again. - There is safety in numbers, they say, but someone has to act first.
Our society is sick. There are biological differences between male and female that contribute to men acting in a sexually inappropriate or abusive way. However, we are no longer relatively ignorant beings living in a distant past with few, if any, moral codes and little understanding of the impact of purely instinctive behaviour on others.
Men, (for there is no doubt that men are predominantly the perpetrators), need to take control of their own instincts, desires, feelings and behaviours. Men also need to take control of those same factors in their male peers.
Men and women, across society and societies, need to take action to curb the constant conditioning through the thousand of inappropriate depictions of women in advertising, puerile televison, titillating films and other such media. We are exposed to a bombardment of false, misleading & inappropriate depictions of women every day of our lives and it needs to stop.
No, I am not mentioning that in order to excuse bad behaviour of men but rather to highlight that this is not a simple issue that can be fixed by the flip of a switch. Nor can it be fixed by empty promises & rules, regulations and/or penalties from government. This is not effective action. We have convicted and even executed murderers for many years and in some places still utilise the death penalty but it has not stopped murder. All of you could point to other breaches of the law that continue in spite of potential consequences.
No, the only way, (in my view), that such behaviour will be eradicated is when men take responsibility for both themselve and other men and when society takes responsibility for the models it allows to be incessantly presented to all and sundry.
Profit before people plays as much a role in promoting sexual abuse as does biological driven excitement and desire to propagate. As human beings, we are intelligent and knowledgeable enough to control these factors and to change things.
To do so, we need the brave to speak up, whether they are victims, witnesses, or simply fair-minded and compassionate human beings who know that this has gone too far for too long.
