Hey guys, I'm doing a second blog post tonight about something that happened this week really close to my heart. I took this class on a whim this year, and I'm really glad I did. It's honestly changed my perspective, my opinions, my life. Especially in light of recent events.
A good family friend of mine was raped and beaten last weekend at her school, Florida Gulf Coast University. I grew up with this girl, she's one of my sister's best friends, and what happened to her was horrific. I won't go into the details of the story, they're a little too gruesome, and the family is requesting privacy right now; it's not exactly my story to tell.
But what I will tell you guys is how this will continue to haunt her for the rest of her life:
1. This was her first sexual experience, and she was beaten and raped by someone she KNEW and TRUSTED. (This is often the case with women and their attackers). She wasn't drunk, wasn't doing drugs, and wasn't wearing anything slutty. The girl was in her PJs for Christ's sake. She wasn't "asking for it;" it only happened because he wanted it to.
2. She wasn't the only girl. In the past month alone, 5 girls have come forward and claimed they were sexually assaulted by this man, a student at FGCU, and this case is started to garner national attention. Imagine how humiliating it would be for everyone in the country to know that you were taken advantage of in such an intimate way.
3. Schooling. Think about this. Could you go back to school after something like this happened to you? After your sorority sisters had to rush you to the hospital? After your school, the local news and everybody on campus knew your name and associated it with your beaten face? She'll be taking next semester off, and she's already considering transferring.
4. The school has already begun protecting itself instead of the victims. This girl comes from a privileged family who is ready to sue FGCU-why, you may ask? Apparently, FGCU claims to have "rape cords" in all their dorms, and you pull the cord when you're in danger of being sexually assaulted. No, you heard that right. Rape cords. So apparently, according to FGCU, part of the fault lies with my friend (the one who was assaulted in her own dorm). Yes, that's right- it was her fault that she wasn't strong enough to throw off the man on top of her and crawl her way over to the fucking rape cord to pull it. At any rate, she claims there wasn't even that kind of cord in her room, so good call FGCU, see you bastards in court.
Another disgusting revelation I had because of this: rape culture is real.
This boy is a member of a prominent fraternity at FGCU. Already people have signed a petition in support of him. The testimonials are pathetically typical: "He's such a great guy," "I just can't imagine he would ever do something like this," "I don't believe it." Yes people, even after multiple testimonials and PHYSICAL EVIDENCE people still defend him! THIS IS RAPE CULTURE.
My heart goes out to my friend and the other victims at FGCU. I am so proud of how strong she is. There are no words for the hatred I feel for this man, the disdain I hold for this university, but also the love I feel for my friend.
Read more:
http://www.news-press.com/article/20131104/CRIME/131104027/FGCU-Student-Arrested-Sexual-Battery-Charges
This breaks my heart. The fact that people continue to deny the existence of rape culture saddens and disgusts me. My thoughts go out to your friend and her family, and I hope that she can continue to prevail as a strong woman in light of a horrible and devastating situation.
ReplyDeleteThis is actually revolting! First of all my thoughts are also with your friend and her family! I hope that she can recover from such a devastating tragedy and remain strong in the face of adversity. Secondly, I think the fact that there is a petition that even exists despite the fact that 5 women have come forward is absolutely sickening. It just shows just how far rape culture has infiltrated our society that a popular Fraternity boy, who is obviously a complete monster, is still finding support despite his despicable actions. This actually infuriated me when I read this, and I find it even more disappointing the way schools such as this one handle such events. You were completely right when you said they worry more about protecting themselves and their reputations as a University rather than aid the victims in anyway. This is a sickening example of how common place such events have become and how embedded rape culture is within our society.
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