Are you man enough?”Are you man enough to stop sexual violence?” That’s the question posed on pledge cards that are being distributed this month by the Crime Victims Center of Fayette County. Men are asked to sign a pledge to end sexual violence.
It’s a bit gimmicky, but so what? Sexual violence is pervasive in our society. Take a look at the daily police logs, monthly court docket. The complaints are there. What they don’t show are the victims, whose identities are kept confidential so as not to expose them to double victimization, as sex crimes carry a stigma that no other classifications of crimes do. The victims are young. They’re old. They are poor and rich. College grads and high school dropouts. Girls, boys, women, and yes, even men.
And the official reports barely tell the story. So often sexual violence goes unreported. The days of hushing up and hiding the dirty laundry must be banished for good. And the perpetrators of these crimes must be held accountable.
The subject of rape and molestation make many uncomfortable. But these crimes need faced head-on. That’s what is behind the annual drive by the Crime Victim’s Center. It’s a time set aside once a year for the group to set out the facts about sexual violence.
– Last year nearly 36,000 Pennsylvanians, nearly 10,000 of whom were children, needed services from the network of rape crisis centers.
– 70 percent of rapes go unreported.
Women and children aren’t the only victims; one in six men will be sexually assaulted during his lifetime. Yet, 99 percent of those convicted of rape are men. Clearly sexual violence is an issue for men as well as women.
The Crime Victims Center is asking men to sign the pledge cards vowing to not commit, condone or remain silent about sexual violence, and to challenge other men to work toward ending sexual violence. This is a good start, if it goes beyond the mere signing of a card.
Men who are fathers or mentors can take an extra step in talking with their sons or charges about sexual abuse. Those who think it’s not a problem might want to consider a few other statistics from the Crime Victims Center:
– In a survey of high school students, 76 percent of boys believed forced sex was acceptable under some circumstances.
– In a survey of male college students, 35 anonymously admitted that, under certain circumstances, they would commit rape if they believed they could get away with it.
Clearly, young men haven’t gotten the message that forced sex is never acceptable. It’s up to adults to teach them this. Are you man enough?