Date rape and acquaintance rapes are forms of sexual assault. Rape has been to a greater extent recognized as a somewhat common problem within society. "Although the early and mid 1970's saw the emergence of education and mobilization to compact rape, it was not until the early 1980's that acquaintance rape began to assume a more distinct form in the public conscious."(1) I feel women do not really comprehend the troubles with rape today. No one deserves to be raped. Being in a man's house or car does not mean that a woman has decided to have sex with him. Women are often raped by typical acquaintances that resemble "common guys." Rape occurs when one is forced to have sex with against their will, whether they have determined to fight back or not. "Everyone's right to say "no" should be honored, regardless of the activity which preceded it."(1) "Communication is the most important avenue to understanding another person's desires and needs--often the rapist will ignore the women's attempts at communication, will misinterpret them and continue his actions or will realize what the women is trying to say but will decide that she "really needs to get laid" and does not care."(1) After understanding this, I comprehended that yes means yes and no means no.
In order to stand up for yourself, you have to use all the strength in you to stop the rape from happening. Keep in mind communication is a big factor. Be firm in setting limitations for relationships. Determine a person by their actions, not race, looks, social status, or their connection to you. Watch out for someone who gets hostile when you say "no." When a guy pays no attention to your wishes or tries to make you feel guilty or blame you of being uptight if you say "no" to sex, then that person could be a rapist. Just be careful of situations when you do not feel relaxed. Have faith in and act that you come first and they will treat you and your opinions with respect.
