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Life

08th Jun 2016

PIC: An Irish woman has illustrated how to tackle rape culture in Ireland

This is powerful...

Rebecca Keane

Following the Stanford university rape case ongoing in the US, the trial of Brock Turner has evoked serious emotional responses from women across the world.

The rape victim in the trial read her powerful letter aloud to the court which made the world stand still.

Following her harrowing account of being brutally raped by Brock Turner and not being served correct justice, the conversation on rape culture has only intensified in the US and here in Ireland.

As many women recount their tales of sexual assault online in a bid to spread awareness about rape, they are being met with a damning show of apathy.

Some men have been replying to tales of sexual violence angrily implying that rapists are only a certain group of people and nothing to do with the other men of their gender.

Many have gone so far as to say that rape culture is not a real thing, denying the increasing rates of rapes and disrespectful behaviour to women on our streets.

One Irish woman, Ciara Kenny has responded to the men crying out ‘not all men’ and denying rape culture in our society.
ciara1For anyone having trouble reading the words, the illustration reads:

Road safety ad campaigns are aimed at and seen by all drivers, not just the responsible ones…

You’re probably one of the good drivers (“no penalty points on this bad boy”)…

Most of your mates are probably good drivers too, but some of them, some of them aren’t…

Some of them drive too fast, or too carelessly, or too aggressively, making life difficult for other roads users…

If someone you knew behaved like that, you’d probably have a word…

You’d probably tell them to cop on (“Lad, grow the fuck up, would ya?”)…

You wouldn’t complain about having to watch an ad about speeding, because while you know that it might not be very relevant to you, that doesn’t mean that it’s not relevant to ANYONE…

You wouldn’t shout, “NOT ALL DRIVERS!”…

So, when people try to have a conversation about rape culture, violence against women, street harassment, or general misogyny, and you feel it’s not representing you, before you valiantly jump to the defence of all the good men out there…

Maybe realise that we’re not talking about you…

We’re talking about your friend, your colleague, your brother, the one that shouts lewd remarks at women on the street for ‘banter,’…

The one that gropes strangers in nightclubs…

The one that thinks rape jokes are funny…

Maybe take him aside and have a word. Maybe tell him to cop on. And maybe, just maybe, you could change something…

Maybe stop shouting #NOTALLMEN and instead remember #YESALLWOMEN

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

We need more artwork like this.

THANK YOU CIARA!

Image via Twitter