Is It What I Wore - 1504 Words

Imagine walking through the hallways of your school, of a place that has always brought you a sense of safety, a sense of hope for the future, and acted as a fountain of knowledge for the majority of your life. Now imagine being there and out of nowhere an individual, a fellow student, or even a friend grabs you, pulls you into a dark room, and maliciously attacks you. As you feel yourself lose complete control of the situation and of your body, the world around you turns to a blur and all you feel is pain. A pain that engulfs your entire being. A pain that you cannot even begin to cope with. A pain that leaves you feeling robbed of your innocence and numb to the world around you. You sit there alone and afraid and ask yourself, Why me?†¦show more content†¦For centuries societies have systematically oppressed women through the perpetuation of rape culture. The origins of the word rape, which is defined as any form of sexual intercourse committed without consent of the secon d party, come from the Greek root- to steal. The very etymology of the word rape hides within it the cultural assumptions that pervade our society’s mindset. As time has told throughout the history of law, the rape of a woman, until very recently has been seen and constructed as a property crime in which redress was awarded to a husband or father rather than to the actual victim. This objectification of women in the eyes of the law has been seen as early as the Code of Hammurabi, which stated that both the perpetrator and the victim were liable in the instance of rape and therefore are both sentenced to death. Early Hebrew law also followed this same rule of equal liability but also added concessions about the time frame and location in which the crime occurred. For example, if the rape took place within city limits it was up to the women to scream and actively portray her lack of consent in order to hopefully attract the attention of other city dwellers that would then assi st in stopping the rape. If a woman was raped outside city limits, where aid during the attack was less likely, the woman was not punished and instead the assailant was to pay a bride price and marry his victim. During the Middle Ages, specifically during the reign of