Awareness is not Enough to Address Sexual Assault

I appreciate the event in isolation as a recognition of the trauma I and many others have experienced. However, in the context of rape culture and how SA is weaponized or ignored for political gain, simple awareness is nowhere near enough.

Content Note: References to child sexual assault, sexual assault, trauma, homophobia, sexism, “corrective rape”, and abuse.

Awareness flags for Sexual Assult Awareness Month on Watson Lawn at KU. Photo from SAPEC

I have mixed feelings around Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). I appreciate the event in isolation as a recognition of the trauma I and many others have experienced. However, in the context of rape culture and how SA is weaponized or ignored for political gain, simple awareness is nowhere near enough. Our culture fails to understand or respect SA on the most basic levels, demeaning survivors and the horror of their assault over and over. For me, this issue is quite personal.

When I was 6, a stranger broke into my home and assaulted me. I won’t describe the attack in graphic detail - the important detail is that it happened to me at all. Since then, I've noticed a pattern of dehumanization, a sense that my consent and wishes meant nothing. My body, as someone born female, is seen as an object to impregnate. My feelings on having children don’t count. I'm not trusted to speak honestly and accurately about my identity or needs. My worth is my ability to sell myself to corporations that would discard me in an instant. Sometimes I wonder if I would be better off just selling my body: regular jobs don’t treat me with any more respect or decency. I’m still something to use, either way, at least as far as most institutions are concerned.

When I discuss my trauma and political values, I encounter a mix of outright disrespect towards the trauma of SA, weaponization of the horror of it for bad faith arguments, and occasionally the gem of actual support. These gems can be rare. It is especially sickening when someone you trust acts kindly to your face, helps you and supports you in recovery, only to say something awful about SA. I’ve heard family, people who saw what that assault did to me, regurgitate disgusting points about women “asking for it” when they dress provocatively. I’ve heard them compare queer attraction to pedophilia to my face, even knowing I am queer and a CSA survivor. That intimate betrayal is something I can’t forgive or forget.

It’s maddening having to hear absolutely nonsensical takes on sexual assault. Many seem to envision SA as something that men, driven mad with lust, force onto women or children. Many male victims get dismissed, others get talked over about their own experience. Sexual assault gets framed as sexual perversion, when it is just violence. The reason rape occurs is indentical to why people beat their children. The point is ultimately power and control. The typical predator is a family member, a teacher, a doctor, a priest, a cop. Authority is alluring to those that want to abuse it, so often those we should trust end up being the ones that harm us.

You can see this desire to enforce power in the rhetoric around rape. How many women have been threatened with rape for feminist politics or provocative clothing? How many queer women and enbies get threatened with rape as a “corrective” act, as if the assault would override their identity? Rape is a tool to hurt: this is especially why I find the comparison between pedophilia and homosexuality foolish. It smacks of a complete disrespect for the horror of sexual assault, the breach of bodily autonomy and choice. Perhaps they don’t even believe children deserve bodily autonomy. Either way, it’s an insult to survivors and queer folks all at once.

Then there’s the Epstein files. These are the ultimate betrayal - evidence this country has no morals or justice. If this country had any decency, every single monster implicated by those files would be dead. If any conservative actually gave a shit about children, those files would be shared wide and far, and the executions would be publicly televised. They wouldn’t insist children victimized by rape should be forced to carry the pregnancy to conception. They wouldn’t prioritize pro-life sentiments over the victimized child. Conservatives point a finger at queer folks because they don’t care about children or sexual assault: what matters is power. And thus, sexual assault becomes a pawn in their political game. The rights of sex workers and queer folks are framed as predatory to shut down critical thought, even as those politicians happily participate in the exploitation of children. SAAM isn't enough, we need real consequences and justice.

Edited by Sasha