It is estimated that about 500,000 women are raped or sexually assaulted in the United States every year.
Rape is forced sexual intercourse and includes both psychological coercion as well as physical force. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, anal, or oral penetration by the offender(s).
Sexual assault has a wide range of victimization, and is separate from rape or attempted rape. These crimes include attacks or attempted attacks generally involving unwanted sexual contact between victim and offender. Sexual assaults may or may not involve force and include such things as grabbing or fondling. Sexual assault also includes verbal threats.
There are numerous lyrics out there that either advocate or condone rape and physical violence against women. This is not acceptable. One of the greatest embarrassments this great country of ours currently has is its lax attitude toward crimes against women, particular rapes and assaults.
How free are we as a society if women, half our population, cannot go outside alone at night without the fear or actuality of being raped or assaulted? And who are the women in our society that are tormented? They are our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, sweethearts, wives, family, friends, neighbors, and always somebody’s daughter.
Individuals should never be criminalized for their thoughts. However, at the same time, individuals and society need to be diligent in its guard to ideas and suggestions that plant seeds to greater evils, and resist them using legitimate means. The Nazi Holocaust created 6 million reasons why people should be diligent in our watch and resistance to destructive ideas that can take root, grow, and spread until it is out of control. Are racist messages really the only type of negative messages that influence people in a harmful and destructive manner?
How much lower as a society can we go when we glorify raping and sexually assaulting women?