Knowledge is Power

Join us, the Butler County Rape Crisis Program, in giving voice to our concerns, opinions, experiences, and resources when it comes to stopping rape and sexual assault in our communities. We'd love to hear from you!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Easy as one, two, three?

I hate math. No offense to any numerical-loving people out there- I am, in fact, very thankful of your existence because that means someone else has the desire to do what I cannot. I know enough to get by; I can read a graph, follow a recipe, and add up my work hours, but I make it a point only to involve math when absolutely necessary. How does this even remotely relate to this blog, you ask? Well, allow me to further explain my unfortunate relationship with numbers.

I see a lot of statistics. About rape, child abuse, dating violence, incest, recidivism...and so on and so forth. And while I think statistics are very helpful in identifying the scope of an issue being studied, I also think they sometimes allow us to separate ourselves from the reality. This sounds counter-intuitive, right? Like, if someone is encountering the vastness of a problem, wouldn't they be more likely to see its relevance and reality? But, I would argue that whatever the issue, when it is reduced to numbers, the PEOPLE involved cease to be actual faces or personal stories and become a singular, over-whelming statistic that is hard to understand.

When I stand in front of a classroom and tell the students it is estimated that one in four women and one in ten men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, they generally respond with blank stares. However, when I tell them a specific story about an individual that was raped or sexually assaulted, they visibly respond with shocked expressions or audible gasps. It becomes personal. And unfortunately, it becomes even more personal when it is someone you know, someone you love, or you yourself. There is no substitute for personal experience and no number can capture that kind of pain. While I would rather no one ever witness the reality of rape, I do wish people would allow themselves to see the humanity behind the numbers and be affected. What if it was one of the four women in your family, one of the ten boys in your classroom, or one of the four women you work with? Would you be more likely to take action? More likely to notice the societal norms that contribute to oppression? More likely to talk about such an “unpleasant” issue? Math is great for perspective and shedding light on real life issues, but without recognizing the personal impact on real individuals, it is just a number and lacks the necessary motivation to get people involved.

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