Sexual Assault Awareness Month

So, April is is National Sexual Assault Month. It's a very important and busy month for sexual assault centers across the nation. When awareness months like this come along people often want to know what they are for. SAAM The goal of SAAM is to raise public awareness about sexual violence (focusing on sexual assault and rape) and to educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence. This is the single month where people are seeing how state and federal agencies are tackling the problem of sexual assault.

Our office continues to see an influx of clients and that may not be entirely because people are being assaulted more often. They could just finally feel ready to report their assault. But, it has been proven by many sociologists that in times of economic hardship crime rates tend to rise. But, before we can look at the present workings of Sexual Assault centers I think it's important to look back at the history of the movement.

Women's protests for right began in the 1920's when we were struggling to have rights. Once we received those rights we became an automatic target for violence. Why? Because we were asking to be seen equal to that of men, and some of them have been pissed about it ever since that moment. Women's organized protests against violence began in the late 1970's in England with Take Back the Night Marches. These were formed as a way to educate people about the violence women were receiving as they walked the streets at night. Eventually, the women of England began to coordinate with the women of the United States. The first Take Back the Night Marches took place in 1978 in New York City and San Francisco. SAAM initially was held in October along with Domestic Violence Month, but eventually sexual assault awareness groups wanted to have month focuses it's entirety on Sexual Assault. So it was moved to the month of April.

Which Brings us back to this month. We have a variety of activities we are assisting with during this month. Here's a list in case anyone wants to come check it out.

4/4/09 UMW Multicultural Fair @ University of Mary Washington 9am-5pm
4/6/09 Anarcha-Feminist Workshop @ University of Mary Washington Monroe 203 7pm
4/8/09 Take Back the Night Ralley @ University of Mary Washington 7pm-9pm
4/25/09 Caroline Family Fun Day 9am-3pm Caroline Middle School Bowling Green, VA
4/26/09 Stafford Family Fun Day 9am-4pm McDuff Park Fredericksburg, VA

Objectification of women

Women have had many thing to contend with throughout the course of history. One of the most prevalent issues that women must still deal with today is objectification. There are many reasons why objectification has been taken up by society such as constructing gender through female bodies, the male gaze, and the objectification of women in popular culture. Along with these methods of objectification there are also numerous consequences of objectification for girls and women to deal with. However, there is hope for girls and women everywhere if they learn to move from the objectified woman to the embodied woman.

Women are often seen in the position of being an object. It was Simone de Beauvoir that first brought attention to the fact women's objectified status in society has much to do with their bodies. One of the first instances of women in the United States trying to break out of society's objectification would be the public demonstration against the Miss America pageant.

When we talk about objectification, we are saying that a woman is being perceived not in terms of her own individuality but in a way that dehumanizes her. It takes away her identity along with her agency and depersonalizes her to being simply a body, or even parts of her body. For example, comments made about a woman's hair color could be seen as objectification, or when a person comments on a woman's clothing, and the one that is most prevalent for today's society is advertisements featuring women's bodies in order to sell certain products.

Objectification of women has drawn on the fact that gender can be constructed through the female body. We have learned a lot about the fact that gender is socially constructed through actions, roles, verbal, and non-verbal language as well as our thought processes. In terms of women our gender has been socially constructed in terms of our bodies and physical appearance. Femininity is ruled by media and the representations of females. Women are expected to maintain certain hairstyles, body weight, and clothing styles.

Another issue that women often have to deal with is the concept of power and objectification also known as the male gaze. When we discuss the male gaze we are talking about the idea of women being observed, on display, or under scrutiny as being projected by men as the observers. Women are constantly being put on display in terms of their bodies. For example, in Pretty Woman the opening scene begins with a camera scan of Julia Robert's body without ever showing her face. That would be a way in which her body is being viewed through the male gaze. it is also very clear that women's bodies are seen in terms of sexual entertainment. Our society lives and breathes the concept of "sex sells." And, at the center of this concept are women's bodies. This is not even delving into the world of adult entertainment. We can look at any magazine rack in the country and find numerous examples of women's body image and tips. Victoria's Secret ads alone could pave the way for sexual exploitation of women. All of these images make it very hard to be a woman. If you look at the surrounding images of idealized, sexualized, distorted, and dehumanized versions of women it begins to take a psychological toll on women in general. Women often start comparing themselves to these representations. Wanting to have better legs, a more appealing butt, needing to look like their favorite celebrity.

It is because of this that there can be many consequences for girls and women when dealing with objectification. One example would be negative views of their body image. Body image refers to the mental picture each person has about their bodily appearance as well as the associated feelings we have about perception of size, shape, and attractiveness. These negative views occur because of the media's representation of the "ideal" woman that women often have far lower self-esteem than that of men. Something else that ties in with this is beauty trends, and it is definite that women have had more to uphold in this arena. There have been certain beauty trends that women are to achieve such as the voluptuous curves of a corseted look, the waif build, bodies without cellulite, etc.

There are certain ideas that girls and women have about themselves. And, often women internalize an observer's perspective as the primary view of their physical traits. This can often lead to women monitoring their bodies and can increase anxiety. The objectification theory explains, "that in a sexually objectifying culture, girls and women learn to perceive themselves as objects and to adopt an observer's perspective on their own bodies." This basically discusses the way in which women internalize their views of their bodies. This is also where the concept of self-objectification begins. Self-objectification is an idea that involves a habitual and chronic preoccupation with self-surveillance that disrupts a woman's connection to her subjective experiences and divides her attention. It is this constant internalization that often leads women down a very dangerous path to eating disorders, negative self-esteem, and plastic surgery. "Women's self-loathing paves the way for beauty maintenance behaviors that are actually self-destructive.

The best way for women to move past this harmful idea of body image is learning to take control of themselves and embodying their actions. It is this concept that women should learn to live in their bodies as opposed to monitoring one's body from the perspective of the observer.

I know this isn't exactly on the topic of sexual assault. But, I spent a lot of time watching movies over the weekend from major blockbusters to trashy Lifetime movies. And, it was while watching Lifetime a network FOR women that I began to see even they do not have a realistic portrayal of female beauty. They followed the same script of putting women in an objectified gaze. In my office I see so many women who suffer from self-esteem issues, eating disorders, trust issues. It just brought up all my concerns for women in this idea that we struggle to be what society views we should be.

A small group of people can make a difference

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
-Margaret Mead

Sometimes it seems that we face an insurmountable task. I have taken hope from this quote and the truth behind it. Would it not be great to live in a world where sexual assault was a rarity instead of a plague? Is it true that small groups such as ours can really initiate lasting change? History says it not only can, but does.

Mental Illness at one time was considered a spiritual curse upon the person inflicted. The “insane” were treated like criminals or worse. A handful of people such as Dorthea Dix decided to do something about it and our society today may still have unfortunate stigmas attached to mental illness, but we certainly have come a long way in the treatment of both the disorders themselves and the people affected.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) began with 24 members in 1824 in England. Today almost every city has an SPCA and the consensus of most Americans is to treat animals humanly.

The NAACP was born in a tiny room of an apartment in New York City in 1908.It now had over half a million registered members and widespread influence in the world. In one generation the civil rights movement has gone from outlawing segregation to having an African American become the leader of the free world.

RCASA began with the vision and determination of 4 women in 1986. Since then as a society we have seen great advances such as marital rape being recognized as a crime in all fifty states, the strengthening of rape shield laws, the advent of the sex offender registry, the campus security act, and many more advances for the cause. Within our agency we are advancing in leaps and bounds as well.

The counseling program has grown both in numbers and services. We have a state of the art trauma program as well as art therapy, group, supportive and of course, crisis counseling. In fiscal year 2008 we served 253 counseling clients. In the first two quarters this year we have served 665. Our crisis response team is really responding, fewer victims are “falling through the cracks. Last fiscal year we responded 500 crises, the first half of this year we have responded to 983. Our court advocacy program is gaining momentum and we are getting referrals from victim witness in unprecedented numbers. Our education outreach is exceeding expectations and we are getting out a lot of information on prevention, healthy relationships, coercion, and services. Basically, we are growing fast and keeping pace.

We are changing the way our community deals with sexual assault. Other communities are watching us to see how we fare. We are committed. While we all have different reasons, backgrounds, and roles in our quest for change, we all have the same goal. To help victims become survivors and change the old attitudes and stigmas attached to sexual assault. We are here, we are working hard, we care, and we will persevere.



By: Corey Creswell