Statistics

Here's an article I read that deals with the statistical possibility of a man being accused of rape aptly titled  5 Things More Likely to Happen to You than Being Falsely Accused of Rape.

For those of who want to read it yourselves here's the link:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/charlesclymer/5-things-more-likely-to-happen-to-you-than-being-f-fmeu

You have two minutes... the rest of us will wait.

For the rest...

This article covers a list of  five possibilities traditionally understood to be unlikely including winning the lottery and compares how much more likely it is for said thing to happen then for someone to be falsely accused of rape.  Number 5 on the list, is how much more likely a man will be raped than he will be falsely accused of raping someone else. 

The answer?  82,000x more likely that he will be raped.

Inconceivable?  I think not, the numbers don't lie.

Issues with men, rape, thinking of things from the male perspective- twisting the viewpoint.  More men are raped than falsely accused, yet the bigger issue society is concerned with is the second.  Only about 2% of rapes are false accusations, that means 98% of them are true.  Despite those numbers people in general believe that women lie about rape 50% of time.  That means that 48% of women who are raped are categorically disbelieved about it.

This leads into this issue of ignoring the big issues for a smaller one.  Yes, false accusations are a problem.  They can have a negative effect on those falsely accused, the also make it harder for those who do suffer a rape to be believed when it happen to them.  However, the bigger issue is recognizing how many people are raped, and recognizing that we need to believe and support those who have the courage and fortitude to speak up when they are raped.  To accuse their attacker in our prevalent rape culture which frequently supports the rapist over the victim.

Another issue ignored when we focus on false accusations of men is that fact that men are raped as well.  Far more men are raped than falsely accussed, not recognizing that fact makes it even more difficult for victims both male and female to seek justice and support.

I'm about to link a relevant poem. don't worry I'm not making you read it.

Just listen, the dude will read it to you.

Here's a poem about rape I think is pertinent to the topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikd0ZYQoDko&noredirect=1

The poem discusses the issues that arise when our culture expects men to be sexual and sexually aggressive beings.  A young boy is raped, but because our society expects males to be ready for sex at any and all times, instead of supporting a child through trauma he is expected to enjoy his assault due to his gender.  That's wrong.  Rape is rape, no matter who it happens to when or how old.

When rape culture promotes the idea that men are sexual beings and that women have to protect themselves from men, it's bad for all genders.  This idea states that all men are sexually aggressive at all times, anything outside of that is deviant.  This idea states that all women are sexually passive at all times, anything outside of that is deviant.  Both of these ideas are wrong.  Not all men are aggressive and not all women are passive.  Also, those of whatever gender who are aggressive and/or passive need to be aware that consent is a necessary thing.

Retraining is what is needed.  All throughout our lives we should be taught that consent is important in all relationships and sexual activity.  From all partners.  If we teach consent it will change they way our society looks at the world.   If we all recognize consent as important that we all recognize that rape and sexual assault are inherently wrong.  Teach consent and we can change our culture for the better.

I'm done with the speechifying now.  Off you go.