Rape Culture exists in America

I see both the accuser and the accused getting their fair shake. In court, all evidence is examined, and if there is enough evidence, the rapist will go to prison and the victim will see justice. If there is a lack of substantial evidence or no evidence at all, then the accused will walk free, rightfully so. From what I can tell, men don't get off with rape any easier, white people don't get off with rape any easier, it's fair towards all and doesn't discriminate based on things like age, gender, ethnicity, etc. I'm not saying racism doesn't exist in America, but I think that if a black man commits a rape, he is not necessarily going to get more time than a white man who is convicted of the same kind of rape. Although black people are much more often accused wrongfully of crimes, I think, but that's a different topic altogether. And victims will get unsolicited advice, yes, that is life. People will be judgmental no matter what, it doesn't only happen to rapists. They will never be a society entirely composed of nice people. To throw out a number of how many rapes go unreported each year, while you did say it was a rough number, is still not super reliable. There's no way to know how many cases of rape go unreported. It may be possible to get a VERY rough number, perhaps within 40%, but to say roughly 60 percent of rapes go unreported is not validated. It could be 40 percent, it could be 80 percent, there's no way to know. All rape is a crime in America. Even before laws were changed many years ago to specify many more kinds of rape, rapists that didn't commit crimes based on that limited definition still got charged. But, definitions were changed, and all kinds of rape are a crime now. Another thing people who believe in rape culture like to throw out is the fact that a rapist can sue for custody. Yes, the rapist CAN sue for custody of the child, but he will not get custody of the child. It's obviously an oversight. The people who wrote the law probably didn't think about the fact that a rapist doesn't deserve rights to a child. I probably wouldn't have thought of that either if I wrote the law, it just doesn't come to mind. I have not discovered a single case in which a rapist actually got custody of a child. Some rapists do try to get custody, very rarely, although it happens. It never gets them custody, though. I think the law should still be changed just to avoid wasting court's and people's time and money, but people have enough common decency not to allow a rapist custody of a child. To say that 3 percent of rapists get justice is not factual. It is hard to say. No one knows how many cases go unreported, how many times a person falsely claims rape, and how many times people were raped, but see no justice due to lack of evidence. The way the courts are set up handle rape cases fairly well, I think. All get a fair judgement. There is also no "strict" definition of rape. If it's rape, it's illegal. You can't rape people over the Internet, you can't rape people by looking at them funny, you can't rape people by harassing them. Rape is forced sex, it's as simple as that. Getting a trial for rape is quite an ordeal, I agree. It's hard to get a trial for other things too, like murder or grand theft auto. That's the way it has to be. If you want to send a person away for twenty years or thirty years for rape, I would hope a substantial amount of paperwork and evidence is required. I wouldn't want an innocent man spending half his life in prison for something he didn't do. Defendants have their rights constitutionally protected, and so do the accusers. The lag time between the crime of rape and the reporting is an issue, I agree. It makes it harder to have a case that goes anywhere. It's sad that people don't want to report it, and I totally understand why, but that's not the court's fault. If the person is afraid of being judged, that is sad, but that will happen no matter what. There is no society in which no one will be mean to you or judge. People bully you in the real world, it's a sad reality. Mean people exist, I don't like them, but they are not unique to America or any other place for that matter. Society shouldn't necessarily be so concerned with asking questions about the rapist or the defendant, especially when most the time they don't even know any of the facts of the case. But, that sort of stuff is very popular. The OJ trial was huge, and I doubt most people watching that had really fully researched all of the facts. That sort of thing is not unique to rape cases. There will always be judgmental people. Being in a dangerous situation, like riding a shopping cart off a roof, doesn't mean you give up your right to safety or medical treatment. It is, however, stupid. They definitely deserve to go to the ER if they break bones or suffer any other sort of injury when they fall off the roof, but it was still a bad decision. I think most people would realize that's pretty stupid, and people wouldn't start calling that "victim blaming." If you're doing stupid stuff like that and you get hurt, it's your fault. Everyone knows riding a shopping cart off of a roof is dangerous and will probably injure you. It's not exactly the same type of deal as rape, but it's similar. It would probably be a bad idea to get in a car with a man you just met and go to his house. If a woman did that and got raped, I would not say that the rapist was not at fault, he of course was. However, some better decision making could have been made on the woman's part. It is common sense that it is not a good idea not to go home with a person you just met. I think it is reasonable to expect people to make decisions based on the risks involved. I wouldn't go to Chicago with a nice car and just leave it parked unlocked. I understand that bad people exist, and they will try to steal my car. The car-jackers would still be at fault, but it is common sense that Chicago is a crime ridden town and you don't leave valuables unattended with no security measures. I wish things didn't have to be that way, but this is reality and bad people exist. People should expect to get justice in return for the harm they unduly bore from another persons actions against them that they did not expect or desire, and they DO. If you commit a murder, you go to prison. If you steal from people, you have to pay for what you stole. The main reason government is set up is because the people understand that people are not all saints. Some people do bad things, and there need to be punishments in place for those who commit crimes. To expect that it would be possible to eliminate rape entirely or even mostly would be ridiculous. It will never happen. People get murdered each year, quite a few actually. Roughly one third of murders go unsolved. Do we have a murder culture? I think not. The one third of murders that go unsolved are not a result of society saying it is okay to murder. It is just that it is very complicated, takes a lot of work, and often times there is a substantial lack of evidence. It is sad, but that's reality. The fact that most sexual assault is perpetrated by someone the victim knows is what makes so many of these rape cases difficult to solve. If a spouse rapes their partner, there will most likely be no evidence. Therefore, nothing legally can be done. It is sad, but it is wrong to send someone to prison simply on an accusation. I went to that article you cited on wearawhitefeather. It was complete nonsense, not to mention one of the articles that lady linked to counted digital rape as a form of rape. So, I am not sure that is exactly the most reliable source. The article also claimed that men rape because they have been taught that they have a right to claim women's bodies. I don't think I even need to explain why that is complete nonsense. Anyway, thanks for contributing to the debate, I appreciate it.