Tuesday is Good News Day
In response to my August 26th post about date rape drug detecting nail polish, a reader sent me an article she's read recently that offered 11 Ways to Solve Rape Better than Nail Polish. It's well worth the read. Elizabeth Plank hits the nail on the head with all her suggestions, and love it we're going beyond these news articles to have serious, deep conversations about these important issues.. I agree that by focusing our efforts on conversations with women about how to be safe we've been talking the wrong approach in rape prevention; to prevent rape let's educate boys and men about consent, let's hold offenders accountable, and reduce victim blaming. If a pretty manicure gives women helps women feel safer as we're working on the bigger issues, that's OK too.
So probably at this point you're thinking , "Where's the good news in all this?"
I predict we're approaching a tipping point where in social change. The NFL recently sent a strong statement about relationship and sexual abuse. Every day I read articles questioning how assault victims are treated on campuses and in courts. From the local papers, to the NY Times, to ESPN, there's serious coverage about domestic violence and sexual assault... and the focus is on the actions of the perpetrators. After 35+ years of advocates assisting (and often defending) victims, our society now seems ready tackle the social norms that 'excuse' sexual violence and redefining the problem. Instead of asking 'How to we prevent victims?' let's ask but 'How do we prevent assaults?' As John Dewey said, "A problem well put is half solved."
Taking a critical step toward a solution... that's good news.
Related posts: http://maggiefronk.blogspot.com/2014/08/we-need-more-red-pens.html
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