by Mar°a B. Del R°o
Daily Lobo
According to Albuquerque's Rape Crisis Center, a woman has about a one-in-three chance of becoming a sexual assault victim sometime in her lifetime.
In the film "Rape Is," victims tell their stories. The documentary takes a comprehensive look at the rape issue, exploring its meanings and consequences. Through testimonials, the documentary looks at rape as a human rights violation and links child abuse and pornography to sexual assault.
"Rape is an act of violence that tries to control someone," said Shawn Shepherd, executive director of the Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center. "Rape Is," supports this theory with the example of rape being used as a tool of war and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia.
The film also uses the poetry and words of famous rape awareness activist, Eve Ensler, playwright behind "The Vagina Monologues." She discusses the ideas behind V-Day, a day designed to help stop sexual assault.
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Sallamishah Tillet, creator of the performance art piece about rape "The Long Walk Home," speaks of the impact rape has on a victim's life.
In the film, an Asian woman describes how rape has affected her life. She is one of 200,000 Asian women who were kidnapped and raped in Japanese comfort camps. The film shows the woman, along with other Asian women who went through the same experience, crumple to the floor after telling their stories at a conference in Geneva.
Although 98 percent of all sexual assault perpetrators are male, men have a one-in-five chance of being raped, according to the Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center.
In the film, one man tells his story. After being molested as a child, he said he turned to a lifetime of violence and is now in jail. His story is reflective of more statistics.
Shepherd said 71 percent of all sexual assault victims are 18 and younger, but 67 percent of sexual assault perpetrators are over 18.
"Often these assaults are between people who know each other," Shepherd said.
According to the Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center, New Mexico has the third-highest rating in the country for sexual offenses; 50 percent of all reported rapes occur in the victim's home or the home of the attacker; 75 percent of rapes are planned and less than 5 percent of rape cases are reported.
In "Rape Is," filmmakers ask why rape occurs, and some victims point to the rape culture in America that reinforces the message that it's ok to rape. Victims say rapists use pornography as an instruction manual on what to do to children, and that pornography reinforces the idea that sexual assault is normal.
Vednita Carter founded and directs Breaking Free, an organization devoted to helping prostitutes, and the connections she makes between rape and prostitution informs much of the discussion about pornography and violence in "Rape Is."
According to the film, selling sex is a $7 billion a year industry supported by governments, businessmen and travelers.
Shepherd said to prevent rape, two things must occur. "There should be honest communication with partners, where it's ok to say 'I'm not comfortable with this,'" he said. "Mutual respect for people should be a culture, not only on campus, but everywhere."
