Why don women report date rape?
Much of the silence surrounding rape stems from the nature of this crime, a history and culture of sexism in America, and the challenges involved with prosecuting these cases. Based on the Bureau of Justice statistics on crime, we know that sexual assault is the most underreported violent crime in the United States; it is difficult to report for many reasons. In some instances a survivor of sexual assault goes through a phenomenon known as “victim blaming”, whereby not only the survivor but other people as well tend to blame the survivor for the crime. These other people can include friends, family members, etc. Unfortunately, by being pressured to think that the rape is their own fault many survivors of sexual assault have been made to feel ashamed, guilty, or embarrassed about the incident, which are feelings that often interfere with a person reporting this crime. It’s important to know that rape is never the victim’s fault. No one asks to be raped. Sexual assault is only the fault
