I am so filled with  rage-sadness over this story because it perpetuates the myth that when the average woman says that she was raped, she is probably lying.  The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of sexual assaults go unreported and that more people lie about having their car stolen than being victims of sexual attacks. The real story is underreporting. This study of just the greater Boston area concludes that of 15,225 rapes in 1998, only 1,687 were reported, leading to 526 arrests. (And who knows how many of those actually faced convictions.) That’s only one metropolis. When you begin to imagine those numbers repeated across the country…

And I’m not even going to get into the racism of the “Hispanic man” she chose as her aggressor. I can’t, I just can’t.

Rape is so serious and the numbers are so terrible and it upsets me to no end that things like this get publicity and strengthen a rape culture that says that it’s okay to not take women seriously.

My only hope from all this is that it leads into a discussion of real victims and ways that we can teach men not to rape.

In addition to the above link, this is one of my favorite definitions on what rape culture consists of:

Rape culture is telling girls and women to be careful about what you wear, how you wear it, how you carry yourself, where you walk, when you walk there, with whom you walk, whom you trust, what you do, where you do it, with whom you do it, what you drink, how much you drink, whether you make eye contact, if you’re alone, if you’re with a stranger, if you’re in a group, if you’re in a group of strangers, if it’s dark, if the area is unfamiliar, if you’re carrying something, how you carry it, what kind of shoes you’re wearing in case you have to run, what kind of purse you carry, what jewelry you wear, what time it is, what street it is, what environment it is, how many people you sleep with, what kind of people you sleep with, who your friends are, to whom you give your number, who’s around when the delivery guy comes, to get an apartment where you can see who’s at the door before they can see you, to check before you open the door to the delivery guy, to own a dog or a dog-sound-making machine, to get a roommate, to take self-defense, to always be alert always pay attention always watch your back always be aware of your surroundings and never let your guard down for a moment lest you be sexually assaulted and if you are and didn’t follow all the rules it’s your fault.
–Rape Culture 101