After going through the survey some wonderful G4G member suggested talking about Rape Aggression Defense (RAD), and I think that was a great topic suggestion.
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.
RAD is an amazing self-defense organization that is trying to change that statistic. RAD teaches women how to defend themselves by using preventative techniques, voices, and physical moves. It's not martial arts as much as it is techniques, tactics, and empowerment. RAD is a 12 hour course that is taken in 3, 4 hour sessions on 3 different days. I took the class, and I think that every single women in the world should take it. For more information click the link at the bottom of the page! So, if I was a RAD instructor, I would be FURIOUS about the incident that happened on the popular comedy central show Tosh .0 this past week. But before we get to that, I think it's important to talk a little about what RAD tries to teach, and prevent.
Rape - forcing someone to have sex without their consent
Sexual assault- forcing someone to preform a sexual act without their consent, or forcing a sexual act on someone else
Consent- an absolutely clear (1 interpretation), and voluntary agreement between the parties evolved (1). It means BOTH parties are on the same page, paragraph, AND sentence. Consent means your partner knows what you're comfortable with and what you're not. "A clear "yes," verbal or otherwise, is necessary. Although consent does not need to be verbal, verbal communication is the most reliable form of asking for, or giving consent, and individuals are thus urged to seek consent in verbal form (1)."
Consent cannot be given if you are...
- sleeping
- mentally or physically incapacitated (passed out)
- drunk
- high
- via threat/force (does not count, that's not consent because you're not willing)
- the absence of "no" means NO
- if you say "stop," that means STOP IMMEDIATELY
- No one ever "asked for it." No one asks to be raped
- Wearing "skimpy" clothing, being drunk, or flirting does NOT mean that it's okay for someone to get rapped, it does NOT in ANYWAY mean someone "deserved it."
every 2 minutes in the United States someone is sexually assaulted, that totals 207,754 people per year in the US alone.
Victims of sexual assault are:
73 times more likely to suffer from depression.
6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.
So can someone PLEASE explain to me why this happened.
"The other night during a stand-up routine, Daniel Tosh poked fun at rape. Saying that “all rape joke are funny” a woman in the audience then yelled back "Actually, rape jokes are never funny.” According to the woman Tosh then responded with - ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if that girl got raped by, like, five guys right now? Like, right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her?”
Since the incident Daniel Tosh has made an apology via twitter – “All the out-of-context misquotes aside, I’d like to sincerely apologize,” Tosh tweeted. “The point I was making before I was heckled is there are awful things in the world, but you can still make jokes about them.” #deadbabies. (3)”
Okay, I am trying my best to look at this objectively. I won't lie, I like off color humor jokes, and blunt comedians. I am not very sensitive when it comes to jokes. HOWEVER, I am disgusted that people tell rape jokes. Rape is not a joke, nor will it EVER be. Rape is a crime that severely damages women, and it takes so so so much strength for them to overcome. It's also something that I believe all women have a fear of. When a comedian (or anyone for that matter) tells a joke about rape it normalizes rape. Rape should not be normal funny conversation. Rape shouldn't be laughed at. Rape isn't funny. The main argument in support of Tosh is that he has freedom of speech. I am a big believer in freedom of speech, and he has the right to say what he wants, but that doesn't mean it's okay to make rape jokes. Just because you CAN tell rape jokes, doesn't mean you should.
What do you think?
Love,
G4G and Tinamarie
Citations:
(1)http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/definition-sexual-misconduct-sexual-consent-and-sexual-harassment
(2) http://www.rainn.org/statistics/
(3)http://www.thenewsburner.com/2012/07/11/daniel-tosh-rape-joke-sparks-controversy/
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