"I Was Raped," T-Shirts for Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Posted by The Astute Fem 04/04/2008 10:37 AM

Tags: Fashion Women Men, Feminism, Sexual Assault, Rape, Abortion

"I Was Raped," T-Shirts for Sexual Assault Awareness Month

The statistics of rape are staggering, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) reports about 1 in every 6 American women gets raped and about 1 in 33 American men experience rape (yes, that's right I included the men). On an even more startling level, every 21 hours a rape happens on a college campus and 90% of college rapes happen under the influence alcohol. As a nod to Rape Awareness, Scarleteen.com, a sex education website, features t-shirts made by Jennifer Baumgardener. Baumgardener, a feminist and writer based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, created the tees to bring attention to the under discussed and seldom covered subject of sexual assault. This not a new venture for Baumgardener, she was the creator of another controversial garment with the phrase "I had an abortion." The "Abortion" tees were worn by infamous female icons like: Gloria Steinem and Ani DiFranco. The Abortion tees are just as cool as proclaiming, "I just morning after-ed your sperm" or my personal favorite, "Your sperms are dead because I just spermicid-ed their asses!"

In the same vein, the "I Was Raped" shirt aims to empower and leave rape victims unfettered from the stigma of rape. The new shirts are not as literal as the "Abortion" tees, instead the image is a small note inside of a safe with the haunting phrase "I Was Raped." Personally, I doubt this approach will really drive home the horror of sexual assault, but it's an interesting approach to say the least.

Whilst preparing for a weekend of boozing, be sure to watch out for people with chloroform doused cloths and unidentifiable white tablets .

Comments

Anonymous says,

wahhhhhh Posted 04/04/2008 10:40 AMReply

The Astute Fem says,

To the Anonymous comment-

Is that the sound you plan to make after you get raped? Posted 04/04/2008 12:25 PMReply

Anonymous says,

hahaha the astute fem

-ash Posted 04/07/2008 10:02 AMReply

Anonymous says,

The Department of Justice needs to create a special department within itself that spcecifically focuses on sexual assault and rape investigations. Just like the Justice Department has the Drug Enforcement Agency for illegal narcotics investigations, it needs to have a special department for sexual assault and rape investigations. Present statistics are a s follows: An average of 1 in 6 women report being raped every year. However, seeing as how most rapes are not reported, it is estimated that actually 1 in 4 women are raped every year. And, in the rape cases that are reported, the conviction rate is about 5 or 6 percent. That is a deplorable conviction rate! I believe this low conviction rate is why many women don't report their rapes. They know there will probably be no conviction, so why bother? If men were being raped with such frequency and the conviction rate was that low, I believe most of the Justice Department's investigative resources would be geared toward bringing those rapists to justice. I believe that if the Department of Justice created a special agency for investigating sexual assault and rape, state and local law enforcement agencies would follow suit, just as they have done with illegal narcotics investigations (i.e. the drug task-forces they have set up). Think of a woman in your life; your mother, daughter, wife, sister, aunt, niece, etc. In our society today, she stands a very good chance of being raped and very little chance of being served any justice for that rape. The Justice Department should do more to protect the women of our society. Posted 04/08/2008 03:56 AMReply