Teen Perspective
These articles about teen issues were written by student journalists and appeared in the Chronicle, the newspaper of Barron Collier High School, Naples, Florida.
A true story by Samantha H.
Ann and Amanda are at a party and Ann puts down her drink to dance. She comes back and takes a sip. A few minutes later, everything seems to be blurry and she feels sick. Then a nice boy comes over to ask if she is ok. She says she doesn't know where her friend is. He offers her a ride home.
Rape happens when a person is forced into a nonconsentual sexual act. People seem to think that in an act of rape the attacker uses violence or a weapon to get you to comply. This is not true at all. Most rapes (43%) are the result of someone being drunk, using drugs, or slipping a drug into your drink/food without your knowledge.
Studies show that 44% of rape victims are under the age of 18 and 15% are under 12. Teenagers 16-19 are more than twice as likely to be raped than any other age group. One in every six American women have been the victim of attempted or completed rape. A common mistake people make is that it is only women who get raped, but the fact is that 10% of rape victims are men.
An error many people make is thinking that only strangers are guilty of rape, but two-thirds of rapes are proven to be committed by someone the victim as been intimate with (16%) and friends/acquaintances (48%).
Rape is never a victim's fault! Some attackers will try to make the person believe that they brought it on themselves and that they made the attacker rape them.
If you or someone you know is raped, then you should seek medical attention immediately. You might have contracted a sexually transmitted disease. You should also call the police as soon as you can. Even if an attacker threatens you with violence or even death, there isn't much they can do from inside a jail cell. Also, preserve the evidence. Do not bathe, shower, change clothes, or wash/comb your hair until a forensic expert can gather the evidence.
To protect yourself from rape, and other sexual assaults, always go somewhere with a friend. In case one of you becomes drunk or your judgment becomes impaired, you will have someone to watch out for you. This isn't always the case, but most of the time it works.
Never under any circumstance leave your drink unattended at a party or club. By drinking it you could be consuming one of many date rape drugs. Always keep your drink in you hand with your fingers covering the top. If you by any chance leave it unattended for even a matter of five seconds, get a new drink, because five seconds is all it takes. The three most common date rape drugs, as they are now being called, are Rohypnol-roofies, GHB, and Ketamine-animal tranquilizer.
If you ever need to talk to someone about rape you can contract a local telephone helpline. You can also go online to http://www.RAINN.com which gives you more information about rape and lets you interact with rape victims.
Every two minutes an American is sexually assaulted. 248,000 of these assaults are rapes. Out of those 248,000, only 38.6% were reported to the police. This means that 61.4% of rapists are still roaming the streets. Be careful.
Inquiries? Please contact Dr. Jami Jones