American feminists introduced the term rape culture in the 1970s. The term was first used in the book “Rape: The First Sourcebook for Women” published in the United States in 1974 by the New York group Radical Feminists.
In 1975, the American documentary Rape Culture popularized the term. Rape culture describes a social and media environment in which sexual violence finds justifications, excuses, is simply trivialized, or even accepted.
But, before we get into the details, what are we talking about? What is rape? What is sexual assault? What is sexual harassment? In France according to the Penal Code, “Any act of sexual penetration, of any kind, committed on the person of another, by violence, coercion, threat or surprise, is rape.” And, “Sexual assault constitutes any sexual assault committed with violence, coercion, threat or surprise” Rape is, therefore, sexual assault, but any sexual assault is not rape. Rape is strictly linked in law to the idea of penetration. Sexual harassment is equated with any form of serious (even unrepeated) pressure for the real or apparent purpose of obtaining a sexual act, for the benefit of the perpetrator or a third party. In practical terms, the transition from sexual harassment to sexual assault occurs when the harassment becomes physical, especially through misplaced caresses (buttocks, thighs, chest, crotch) or the famous “stolen kisses” which are sexual assaults.
Some examples of these things that some believe and that constitute rape culture:
- The victim exaggerates…
