Rape is forced, unwanted sexual
intercourse of any type. It occurs when the
offender forces a sexual act on an unwilling
victim or any victim not able to give full
consent. This includes a victim who is
unconscious or severely intoxicated.
 Rape is not “sex”. Rape is attempting to
gain power by violating another person’s
control and sense of self.
 Rape can happen to men and women and
commonly goes unreported.

An integrated set of beliefs, norms, values
and conceptions (non-material culture)
that encourages and promotes the
victimization of women embedded in
compatible structural arrangements.
 Norms in culture that promote objectifying
women as sexual instruments instead of fully
human individuals with personalities, likes
and dislikes, and consent.


“It is a complex set of beliefs that
encourages male sexual aggression and
supports violence against women. It is a
society where violence is seen as sexy
and sexuality as violent… In a rape
culture both men and women assume
that sexual violence is a fact of life,
inevitable as death or taxes.” (preamble)




There is no genuine equivalent for “bitch”,
“whore”, or “slut” for males. Even the term
“man-whore” compares a man who has a lot
of sex with a typically female slur.
Sex is considered a ‘triumph’ for males, while
women who ‘achieve’ a lot of sex are
considered ‘easy’.
When someone is being cowardly we call
them a “pussy” and tell them to “grow a pair”.
These norms create a standard for women
being an inferior gender.

For women:
› Every 2 minutes someone in the United States
is sexually assaulted. That’s 207,754 assaults a
year (and only the assaults that are
reported.)
› 5% of women report an attempted or
completed rape during one academic
college year, however more than 75% of
rapes commonly go unreported.

For men:
 "Men should be offended when someone claims
that women should prevent rape by not wearing
certain things or not going certain places or not
acting in a certain way. That line of thinking
presumes that you are incapable of control. That
you are so base and uncivilized that it takes
extraordinary effort for you to walk down the street
without raping someone. That you require a certain
dress code be maintained, that certain behaviors
be employed so that maybe today, just maybe,
you won’t rape someone. It presumes that your
natural state is rapist." - Unknown

If you or someone you care about has
experienced sexual trauma, reach out.
You’re not alone.
› Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network:
1.800.656.HOPE.
› Cleveland Rape Crisis Center 24-Hour
Hotline: 216.619.6192.
› BW Counseling Center: 440.826.2180.
› RA On-Duty: 440.973.6568.

Check out The Vagina Monologues at
BW.
› Performance of The Vagina Monologues:
February 9th, Kleist Theatre, 7:30 PM
› Risen Voices- An Open Poetry and Music
Event: February 13th, 6:00 PM
› Stay tuned for other events as posted.
› Want more information? Look up “V-Day”
and “One Billion Rising” for more information
about the movement.
Bulletin Board made by Laura Dunson, Baldwin Wallace
University in Cleveland, OH. Undergraduate Resident Assistant
majoring in Psychology and Religion.