This is a pretty heavy topic, so please, lets be civil.
I read a recent Cracked.com article talking about women's experiences with sexual assault. It mentioned the famous statistic that 1 out of every 5 women will face sexual assault by the time they reach their college years. This can include groping, manhandling, and more serious crimes, especially in colleges, where such crimes often go unreported. The comment section was then filled with antidotes by women who claimed to have been assaulted before turning 14, or who talked about being scared to walk down streets at night, because groups of men would make cat calls and scare them.
Now, I should add that I have some stake in this. I have two friends who have been raped, one of which had the incident hushed up by her high school. On top of that I've had several friends and acquaintances face attempted assault on campus. I've also had friends who faced domestic violence by their partners. This includes men as well, particularly members of the homosexual community I've spoken to, who feel like these are issues no one talks about. Furthermore, since I work with campus faculty, we've been briefed on the policy changes created by the new title nine legislation passed by the government. As a result this has been looming over my head as of late.
The statistic seems startling, and most guys I know don't take it very seriously, and yet it doesn't seem excessive to me. My question is simple: have you, or someone you know, male or female, ever felt endangered because of gender related issues? I'm curious how prevalent of an issue this is, and if people feel that these are major issues that are swept under the rug. Because this is sensitive, I do ask everyone be respectful to individuals who want to discuss any experiances. Otherwise, I'm curious how large scale of a problem this is, or how it can be improved.
I read a recent Cracked.com article talking about women's experiences with sexual assault. It mentioned the famous statistic that 1 out of every 5 women will face sexual assault by the time they reach their college years. This can include groping, manhandling, and more serious crimes, especially in colleges, where such crimes often go unreported. The comment section was then filled with antidotes by women who claimed to have been assaulted before turning 14, or who talked about being scared to walk down streets at night, because groups of men would make cat calls and scare them.
Now, I should add that I have some stake in this. I have two friends who have been raped, one of which had the incident hushed up by her high school. On top of that I've had several friends and acquaintances face attempted assault on campus. I've also had friends who faced domestic violence by their partners. This includes men as well, particularly members of the homosexual community I've spoken to, who feel like these are issues no one talks about. Furthermore, since I work with campus faculty, we've been briefed on the policy changes created by the new title nine legislation passed by the government. As a result this has been looming over my head as of late.
The statistic seems startling, and most guys I know don't take it very seriously, and yet it doesn't seem excessive to me. My question is simple: have you, or someone you know, male or female, ever felt endangered because of gender related issues? I'm curious how prevalent of an issue this is, and if people feel that these are major issues that are swept under the rug. Because this is sensitive, I do ask everyone be respectful to individuals who want to discuss any experiances. Otherwise, I'm curious how large scale of a problem this is, or how it can be improved.