Overview
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ASSIGNMENT: Please respond to the classmates discussion post below:
Aga Baca:
This topic feels very heavy for me as a woman and especially as a mom of two daughters. The story about the four-year-old child rape was horrifying. Whoever committed that act is a beast. Watching these videos was difficult because I feel like I live in a bubble and am not always aware of how much injustice still exists. It was painful to realize how widespread sexual violence is.
At first, I was unsure what it meant to say that forcible rape is a political act. I don't think this refers to government politics, but to power. Across college campuses, the military, religious institutions, airplanes, and conflict zones, we see men abusing positions of authority or situations where women are vulnerable. This supports the idea that rape is often about power and domination rather than sexual desire.
The piece on college campuses especially terrifies me because my daughter is a freshman. Universities should be safe environments. The Southern Baptist Church scandals stand for me in the same line as the Catholic Church cases; they protect perpetrators instead of victims. Emotionally, I find myself wishing there were a squad line, like in wartime, when soldiers were held immediately accountable for their crimes. I feel anger and frustration at how often institutions fail survivors. Accountability should always come first.
As a psychology major, I was aware of the discussion of tonic immobility. Many victims experience involuntary paralysis during assault, but we still ask why they did not fight back. This trauma response needs to be more acknowledged and popularized because misunderstanding it contributes to victim-blaming.
I believe the Me Too movement has helped shift awareness by allowing survivors to speak openly. However, awareness alone may not fully work. Real change requires institutional accountability, education about consent, and systems that actually support survivors. The movement is an important step, but lasting change will depend on whether society truly addresses the power imbalances that allow abuse to continue. I am not so sure that will ever happen.