Staying Safe in Relationships
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Emma Stuettgen
When you enter high school, you expect a lot of new things. New classes, new students, and many other new experiences. One of the things many high school students also experience is their friends or themselves entering into more serious relationships. These more serious relationships can be beneficial to many and can teach adolescents how to prepare for romantic relationships in their future. But unfortunately for some, these relationships become toxic and tragic. This article emphasizes the severity of the potential issues that can often arise within these more serious relationships.
According to rainn.org, there are almost 500,000 victims of sexual assault or rape in the United States a year. Many of these assaults occur with someone the individual considers themselves to be close with. It has been noted that 1 in 10 women are raped by an intimate partner. According to National Statistics Domestic Violence, published by ncadv.org, “1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contact sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking with impacts such as injury, fearfulness, post-traumatic stress disorder, use of victim services, contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, etc.” With domestic abuse being one of the biggest problems in the world, we need to take a closer look into stopping these toxic relationships, whether it may be physical or mental abuse.
In a lifetime, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men are raped in the United States. The gravity of this situation appears even more serious after taking a look at these numbers, but still, what can we do? One of the biggest things that needs to occur is for the education system to put a bigger emphasis on this problem. We need to be learning about and teaching others about these very prevalent topics. I also strongly encourage you to start the conversation. How can we educate each other on this topic? How can we support one another? These are all questions we should be asking ourselves. There are many resources that are available to those who have been affected by rape/sexual assault. However, these resources need to be made more public to communities so that people are more likely to use them. Too many incidents go unreported, or even when they are reported, the perpetrators are rarely receiving the proper punishment. An article from Rainn.org, an organization that informs and educates the nation about sexual violence, reported that out of every 1,000 sexual assaults 975 perpetrators will walk free. With such little action being taken against these perpetrators, many cases go unreported. Many go unreported due to the stigma against sexual assaults; many of the victims who file reports are often accused of lying. The solution to this is difficult because of cases that are proven to be false, which only deters real victims coming forward with their story. Our nation as a whole needs to be truly working together to help those affected feel safe and respected.
Now for a recap, how does all of this tie together? For many, these intimate relationships begin in high school. As stated previously, many cases of sexual assault, abuse, and rape occur with intimate partner. Sexual assault/abuse and rape are all prevalent issues that are not talked enough about. I hope after reading this article you have become a bit more informed about these prevalent issues. Below are sources and tips on how to support yourself or others who have been affected. However, I strongly encourage you to do some research on your own as well! There are so many statistics and stories out there about sexual assault and rape that I believe would be beneficial to look into more to better educate yourself.
Here is a great article written by Vanessa Marin and published by the New York Times about sexual assault:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/smarter-living/sexual-abuse-assault-support-mental-health.htm l
Some of the biggest takeaways from this article are:
To listen to their story, but don't pressure someone to tell you if they aren't ready.
Educate yourself, so you can now how to respond and how to take care of those who were affected
Support them in any way you can on their good and bad days.
A few great sources from Rainn.org:
https://www.rainn.org/articles/tips-talking-survivors-sexual-assault
