The lists of what I would ban/limit and what I would be proactive about was a great way to look at the articles we talked about today. What I found very shocking what that on average there are 350 rapes that occur on college campuses. Seriously? I might hear of one or two, but never 350. Imagine, that is 350 women that do not report going through such a traumatic experience. But a question that I think of when I think of those numbers is where is the supervision? In class, we discussed the drama between the WSU Police Force and the Pullman Police don't exactly "get along." Honestly, that really frustrates me. Isn't the point of a police force is to make sure that all of society is safe? So shouldn’t their shared goal is to make sure the citizens of Pullman, including the students, be safe?
What I also found very shocking was the idea that one person in the entire Pullman area is certified to run a rape kit, who is usually located in Moscow. Resources are so scarce that it only makes me wonder, how many rapes really do go unaccounted for? So many women that go through rape and their perpetrators don’t even get caught, because someone wasn’t able to perform the rape kit? The necessary resources and funds to help prevent rape are at such a minimum, that its amazing that we as a society even consider it a crime anymore. And unfortunately, this is what our community has come too. The choice of language we use to describe such a harsh and brutal crime are soft and not at all intimidating. And unfortunately, this crime is intimidating and we need to make it so. This crime should never be taken lightly and yet it is.
I really enjoyed talking about the idea’s and things that we can do to help prevent rape. Unfortunately, banning/limiting is never a good idea because that may cause a rebellion. I feel as though, there are more things that we can to help prevent rape that we are not doing. By creating more resources for young women on college campuses would be a great first step. Here, at WSU, I feel as though there aren’t very many known resources that women can turn to when in need. As for women’s transit, I have never personally used it but it would be nice if that was advertised more at the bars, so women aren’t walking home by themselves. Also, adding more lighting to off campus streets and places women are walking at night. B-Street is a very poorly lit street and even at 5 p.m. in the winter time, it’s a sketchy place to be walking alone at. Another area that needs improve are the parking garages. After talking to many of my female friends, they express their fear of parking garages. With barely any cell phone service, poor lighting and tight parking spaces, it can be a very scary place for women to be alone. I know I am always looking over my shoulder to make sure that everything is okay.
Rape is a very sad case that goes unreported. Now that I am more aware of this crime and how brutal is truly is, I find myself being more cautious is public places and finding myself choosing to stay in than go out anymore. When I am by myself, I am learning to become more aware of my surrounding, with just three weeks of class underneath my belt. Imagine the results if this knowledge became everyone’s knowledge. This crime would barely occur.
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