"We so often think about rape and sexual assault as "women's issues" and we focus on individual cases. But the facts are that boys and men have a significant role to play in stopping rape and rape culture, and it's just that, a part of our culture."
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I agree that often rape is looked at as a women's issue that should be kept quiet. However, rape is not a rape issue, it is a public issue since rape effects everyone whether it be directly or indirectly. Men/Boys have the ability to speak up and stand up against rape but the question becomes, will they? Usually they hesitate out of fear, embarrassment, tradition or pressure from society (men's society). Standing up to end hateful acts such as rape (that's usually directed towards females) does not make you less of a man but rather more of a man. Over the past few months I joined a organization that is dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The majority of the volunteers were women however, 3 men were courageous enough to volunteer to provide support to these victims. This was the most men they ever had volunteer at one time. We need more men/boys to step up and end sexual assault towards women/girls. Any effort is better than no effort. Men and boys need to remember that this could happen to anyone including their mothers, sisters, wives, daughters etc. Let's stop labeling certain issues as private/group specific issues and start acknowledging them as a public-social issue.
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