Let me just say something. Something quick and heartfelt and totally reactionary but not angry, just important. Just because you don’t know a single person who would rape anyone doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. That’s like saying racism doesn’t exist, homosexuals don’t get discriminated against, men don’t have their own weird standards to live up to, and domestic abuse doesn’t happen just because you don’t know anyone who would commit crimes like that. If you are shocked by statistics, please don’t immediately discredit them. Allow yourself to be upset by what you see.

Regarding the percentage statistics I’ve just posted, please don’t assume that educated people (see: “college men” in the study) are incapable of committing rape. People still connect rape with the “drunk and/or sexually frustrated man jumps out of bush, forces sex upon random attractive woman” motif more than you might realize. So when you discredit rape, you discredit all the women who have been hurt and confused and you overlook all the endless situations during which rape occurs. 

Yes, creepy dudes rape. Yes creepy dudes answered those questions to create statistics that read: 2 out of every 25 college men have raped women. But what is your idea of creepy? Roided out fraternity brothers? Book worms? Crust punks? Middle of the road dudes? They’re all creepy if they all rape. When a finger is pointed toward a man who can blurt out three Greek letters while shot gunning a Coors, it not only stereotypes all fraternity members but distracts from all the weirdos who don’t fit that specific bill who are predators.

Rape is common and yet people treat the issue like it’s old hat. Yes we know it exists and it’s awful but ladies PLEASE stop yacking about it. Survivors are treated like ghosts. Whether a woman defeats the feelings of shame or not, she is still feared and is a nuisance to folks. I’ve heard people react to stories of rape. “Why would anyone rape her?” “I heard she was raped, which explains a lot.” “Maybe she got raped for a reason, like a life experience.” These are all crazy things to say and yet to bring them up makes people yawn. Yes, we’ve heard these ghost stories before.

So please be aware and think critically and take the time to listen and honor the constant battle to educate people about rape and to bring the violence and ignorance to an end.