This is what Rape Culture looks like

I wasn't planning on making a post about everything going on in Steubenville, Ohio. I think everything that can be said probably has. It's a very, very sad case - made worse by the fact that it's not that unusual. Yes, things spread to a bigger scale with the use of social media and the celebrity-like attitude towards the football team - but the things that were being said are not different. The attitudes, the threats, the humiliation, the cover ups and the victim blaming are in no way unusual. They happen every day in towns all over the world. That's what rape culture is, and it permeates everything.
One thing that's different, thankfully, is the global reaction. People all over the world are finally seeing (and saying!) that this behaviour (all of it, not just rape) is not ok, and that we won't stand for it anymore. People all over the world are finally standing up for victims of sexual assault. A global conversation has been started, and it could mean great new things, someday. Rape culture won't change overnight but more and more people are joining in the efforts to influence it. Here's just some of them:

Dear Jane Doe

http://webelieveyou.tumblr.com/

Dear Jane Doe is a project started with the aim of speaking directly to victims and telling them that they are believed, they are cared for, they are thought of and they are not alone. Of the people running it, some of them are survivors, some aren't - either way, they're all doing something awesome! This is a space to watch!

CNN Petition

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/cnn-steubenville-rape-petition_n_2901462.html?ir=Media

Speaks for itself. If you haven't watched the video (TW), it's abhorrent. Reporting like this is part of the reason that rape culture exists and should never happen; this petition is hoping to make sure it doesn't.

Prinniefied.com

http://prinniefied.com/wp/category/steubenville-ohio-gang-rape-case/

The author of prinniefied, a former resident of Steubenville, was one of the first to take great notice of this case and spread needed information about it. She documented things posted on social media that were later removed, which she saved and contributed to the trial. She created a channel for the residents of Steubenville to anonymously discuss the case and give any insight they had. It wouldn't be much of a stretch at all to say she helped convict the rapists, and her blog has become a space for conversation about rape culture and how badly it needs to be changed.

UniteWomen.org

http://www.facebook.com/UniteWomen?ref=stream

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/03/20/1195598/-Stand-Support-Jane-Doe-All-Rape-Survivors-UniteWomen-org-Launches-Worldwide-Campaign

This is a project anyone and everyone can contribute to - whether you are a survivor, whether you know one, whether you're a man or a woman. The idea is simply an inclusive conversation about rape culture and attempting to put an end to the shame, blame and guilt that survivors feel.

Men Can Stop Rape

http://www.mencanstoprape.org/

These people have been around for a while, but they could always use more support and for their actions to be spread and more widely recognized. It'd definitely be worth your while to take a few minutes to look through their site and then share it with a few people!

These are just the outcomes I took the most notice of - people, conversations, projects and movements will probably be springing up from this for months, if not years. The next time something like this happens, there will be less shameful reporting, less opportunity for cover ups to succeed, and hopefully less victim blaming all because a handful of people in the world have said something this time. Because finally we are saying - shouting! - that this is not ok.