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grooming their victims in preparation for the crime. He sees these as the power rapists as they don't generally use excessive violence but instead use a battery of psychological weapons to force their victims into complying.

Becoming educated is the first defense against the damages of myth. The biggest and most prevalent lie told about rape is the woman is in some way responsible. For many years the victim of the rape was only victimized a second time by police, lawyers and courts. From evaluating the woman's clothing to their personal sexual relationships the blame has been repeatedly placed on the woman. In a male dominated court system and society many excuses have been made for the actions of young men involved in this crime. The stigma of being a rape victim is a painful one, being viewed as "damaged goods" these women are often driven into hiding and left to deal with the devastating effects of this alone. Until people, men and women begin to support the victims of this crime and realize that no one asks for something like this, too many will continue to go unreported.

No one asks a victim of a robbery if they had their purse unzipped, or a victim of a car jacking if their windows were down with an accusatory tone. You don't hear such ridiculous statements such as, "he is a young man, he doesn't deserve to have this mark on his life, he got swept away in the moment, or this man simply misunderstood her refusal" in trials of other types of crimes. In many societies rape is not seen as criminal at all, only a bad judgment. The days of women being viewed as property should have been long since over, yet today no does not mean no. In many states a woman cannot successfully prosecute her husband for raping her, as sex is his right. The only thing that will correct these demeaning and ignorant myths is education. We must teach our young men that a woman has the same rights as any man, that each person can determine their sexual choices. We must educate our young women to understand they have the right to say no and to have that respected. Society has to enact stricter guidelines and sentences for this crime making is as serious as armed robbery for instance. Rape is a crime of violence that is never the fault of the victim.

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