3.  Rape is forced, unwanted sexual intercourse of any type. It occurs when the offender forces a sexual act on an unwilling victim or any victim not able to give full consent. This includes a victim who is unconscious or severely intoxicated.  Rape is not “sex”. Rape is attempting to gain power by violating another person’s control and sense of self.  Rape can happen to men and women and commonly goes unreported.

4.  An integrated set of beliefs, norms, values and conceptions (non-material culture) that encourages and promotes the victimization of women embedded in compatible structural arrangements.  Norms in culture that promote objectifying women as sexual instruments instead of fully human individuals with personalities, likes and dislikes, and consent.

5.  “It is a complex set of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. It is a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent… In a rape culture both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life, inevitable as death or taxes.” (preamble)

6.  There is no genuine equivalent for “bitch”, “whore”, or “slut” for males. Even the term “man-whore” compares a man who has a lot of sex with a typically female slur.  Sex is considered a ‘triumph’ for males, while women who ‘achieve’ a lot of sex are considered ‘easy’.  When someone is being cowardly we call them a “pussy” and tell them to “grow a pair”.  These norms create a standard for women being an inferior gender.

7.  For women: › Every 2 minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. That’s 207,754 assaults a year (and only the assaults that are reported.) › 5% of women report an attempted or completed rape during one academic college year, however more than 75% of rapes commonly go unreported.

8.  For men:  "Men should be offended when someone claims that women should prevent rape by not wearing certain things or not going certain places or not acting in a certain way. That line of thinking presumes that you are incapable of control. That you are so base and uncivilized that it takes extraordinary effort for you to walk down the street without raping someone. That you require a certain dress code be maintained, that certain behaviors be employed so that maybe today, just maybe, you won’t rape someone. It presumes that your natural state is rapist." - Unknown

9.  If you or someone you care about has experienced sexual trauma, reach out. You’re not alone. › Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network: 1.800.656.HOPE. › Cleveland Rape Crisis Center 24-Hour Hotline: 216.619.6192. › BW Counseling Center: 440.826.2180. › RA On-Duty: 440.973.6568.

10.  Check out The Vagina Monologues at BW. › Performance of The Vagina Monologues: February 9 th, Kleist Theatre, 7:30 PM › Risen Voices- An Open Poetry and Music Event: February 13 th, 6:00 PM › Stay tuned for other events as posted. › Want more information? Look up “V-Day” and “One Billion Rising” for more information about the movement.

11. Bulletin Board made by Laura Dunson, Baldwin Wallace University in Cleveland, OH. Undergraduate Resident Assistant majoring in Psychology and Religion.