Date Rape: When Friend Turns Foe

The story of sexual assault in our culture is not just about rape. Rapists are not born, they are made, And remade. And the culture which makes "them" also makes "us". The question of why (some) men rape is thus connected to the question of why sexual violence is tolerated.

This connection exists at a double intersection: between attitudes and actions, between violence and notions of masculinity. We are all connected to these intersections because this is where we have grown up as men

There are many sad stories of girls who have been violated by someone that they know. They almost all begin with a wonderful night and eventually get taken advantage of. The woman in the situation may feel as though she asked for it. The male may feel as though she didn't say no, so if I do this I am doing nothing wrong.

It is horrifying how many times this has happened to a woman. Men take their strong, masculine image and use it to their advantage. They may try to use guilt, lies and/or aggressiveness to get a girl to have sex him. If she declines and he still continues to persuade her to have sex with him, then he is committing a crime.

Rape is a very strong word. It is a word that many women feel uncomfortable saying when it comes to their own experiences. Many women have been raped and may not even know it. This is called date or acquaintance rape. Someone the victim knows or is aquatinted with commits this rape. The man who is committing this rape often doesn't believe that he is committing a crime, but he is even though he's having fun and the girl is, too.

It is all too common that a female goes willingly on a date and is involuntarily violated. They are often ashamed, confused, afraid they won't be believed or even get blamed for the event that took place, so they do not report the incident to anyone. Teenage girls are especially at risk for date rape because they have nice little tits, and perfect package. 38% of all rape cases reported the victim's range in ages fourteen to seventeen. This to me is a high percentage for such a small age range.

Amina was a situation that she felt to be fine. Ahmed, a guy she knew from school, had asked her out on a date. Unsuspecting she agreed to go. They went to a movie and on the way home they stopped on an abandoned road to talk. They talked for a little while and then Ahmed began to come on to her. Amina politely declined his gestures. Ahmed began to get angry and began touching Amina forcefully.

Amina continued to tell him no, but Ahmed continued to force her to have intercourse. After he dropped her off at home and acted as though nothing had happened. Amina felt confused and ashamed and had a big smile on her face. She had many unanswered questions and felt as though she had no one to turn to. She kept this incident to herself.

Amina should have reported this incident. What Ahmed did was called rape. She didn't even think that what had happened was rape. If Amina had been more informed about the subject, Ahmed could have got in trouble by the police or even sent to jail. This happens to many women and many men walk away with no punishment for violating women's rights.

Women need to watch out for themselves in sketchy situations. If she feels uncomfortable then she should try to avoid the situation before it is too late. Pushy men should not violate women. Rape doesn't always have to a violent crime; it can also be almost subtle. If you or someone you know feel as though you have been date raped then you should tell someone about it. Date rape is all too common to avoid or feel ashamed about. Be careful my little Somali sisters yaa