#12: She's Called a Victim for a Reason

"Look at it this way, at least you weren't a virgin."

 

"Why didn't you scream?"

 

This is also a topic that tends to get me very angry. Rape is a VERY big problem in our country and around the world. Girls as young as 4, and possibly younger, have been raped. A lot of the time the rape occurs in the home by someone the victim knew. So many people blame the victim of rape/sexual assault/domestic violence when it is totally and completely NOT their fault at all. Not even when pigs fly or hell freezes over. These ads are made to help victims of sexual assault, but the slogans they use are common things people might say to survivors of sexual assault.

The first ad completely downplays what someone could have gone through. "At least you weren't a virgin". Oh well, hmmm you have a paper cut, let me just cut your whole arm off. You were already bleeding. Point made. Rape is rape is rape is rape. No cirsumstance can change the fact that someone was raped. EVER. The fact that someone isn;t a virgin wont change the fact they were raped. It doesn't make the situation any less painful.

The second ad blames the victim. "Why didn't you scream?" Okay, you get hit by a drunk driver. You saw the car didn't you? Why didn't you stop it? Oh yeah, you couldn't. If she doesn't say yes then it's rape. Just because she didn't say no doesn't mean she said yes. Some survivors have said they have felt physically paralized while being raped. They couldn't move, see, feel, or speak. That's why they didn't scream. Or, they could have been fearing for their life and thought if they screamed they would have been hurt more. Or, the thought of screaming might not have even crossed their mind because they were being raped! Ever think of that? And, screaming does not mean the rape will not happen. Rapists have the mentality to do anything and everything, so even if the victim screams or fights, it is probable the rape will continue to go on.

The ad uses a distortion of the picture in both ads. To me this represents the feelings of the survivor after the rape. Many victims don't know what to do or how to act. Less than 5% of rapes are reported to the police. Many victims also do not get any counseling to deal with their experiences. The colors are also dark which sets teh tone for hte topic which is dark and scary and evil.

The target audience for these ads are people that have been raped because it gives them a place to go for help. It could also be targetting people who may have had those preconceptions that it is the victims fault, and that organization could answer some very important questions and get the community more informed on the subject.

This ad uses the appeals Need to Nurture because it shows a woman alone and hurt and it makes the viewer want to help her and make her feel better. It also uses Need to Feel Safe because it gives the viewer, if they have been abused, a safe place to talk and get their problems out in the open. This ad uses the advertising techniques Plain Folks because it uses different types of woman which makes the viewer realize rape can happen to anyone, not just a certain type of woman or race or age.