Favor’s pendulum can swing more freely as victims of rape aim to get their assailants convicted. Lawmakers are beginning to take the subject of rape a bit more seriously.
Newly reformed rape shield laws give prosecutors more leeway to find attackers guilty. These statutes allow victims to cry rape in situations where consent for intercourse was given but then retracted during actual intercourse. This is a huge move for a government who once put victims on trial rather than their attackers.
However, wide spectrums of gray area are now left to be debated over.What constitutes a point of no return and when does yes begin to mean no? The lines of consensual sex are blurred. What was once a mere open and shut case now becomes a he-said-she-said or he-did-she-did spectacle.
Although done in good faith, these recent amendments present the same injustice to men that were once applied to women. Just as women were accused of provoking incidents of rape, too much fault can be placed on men.
As a result, presumed attackers will have to bear the burden of guilt before the trial begins.
You can also bet that doors will be opened to convict men found in sexual disasters of, “red light, green light.” These new laws are giving wishy-washy women a pat on the back and a box of tissues for their indecisiveness. Women are no longer, if at all, held accountable for their actions.
Take, for instance, Kobe Bryant’s hotel soiree this summer with a19-year-old woman. Both reported to willingly engage in sexual contact, butBryant’s accuser said she did not consent to intercourse. Yet, Bryant maintains e everything was consensual. At some point during their encounter there was an obvious break down in communication. Consequently, he got caught in mid-motion while his accuser contemplated calling “red light!”
Ladies, if you are going to be that sexual aggressor society says you should be, finish what you started. Once pushed off a building’s ledge, it’s hard to stop a 300-pound boulder from dropping to the ground.
Consensual sex is a cut and dry situation; either you do or you don’t. But if you are having the least bit of doubt about that person sitting next to you, be assertive and leave.
Monica Harden, 21, is a senior magazine production student from Hockley, Texas. She can be reached at mharden82@aol.com.