Were you aware, as a woman and/or a U. S. citizen, that there are 10's of 1,000's of rape kits in many cities that are never opened/tested and crimes against women never investigated? It is assumed that there is not a collective statistical count available for the entire country; however, I had no idea that such unjust acts of unsolved crimes existed in our major cities throughout America.
In New York City alone, there were 16,000 rape kits setting on shelves left untested and, of course, with the statute of limitations expired and with molesters still walking the streets. In in this writer's opinion any rapist should get life in prison without parole and what is happening here? These rapists are walking free with no consequences for their violent actions.
How can this be happening?
There is a glimmer of hope, however, as one major city has started testing the rape kits for DNA in order to gather information on rapist profiles and link them to current crimes. Nevertheless, it was noted that some cities are 15 years behind discovery.
I am seriously rethinking my position on being an avid believer in all human beings having a "right to life" especially in rape crimes, and how can any other type of thinking be fair when women are not given equal rights in violent acts of crime such as RAPE? If a person isn't taken seriously by the justice system, why wouldn't they want the right to abort an unborn baby that quite possibly could be conceived of hate?
This may be getting a little off the subject but years ago I was a writer on a huge poetry site where you could access by a main directory the names of all the writers and read and/or review their poetry even if you did not know them. God only knows why I was always the reader who happened upon suicide poetry and/or situations where women had been raped ~ I somehow always managed to get involved in a supportive role.
One such incidence was of a woman who had been raped and left for dead in an alley. I never expected this poetess to live, much less give birth to her twin babies but she did. She survived the brutal beating and decided to give her twins the "right to life." I understand that her husband even divorced her because of this decision. But, here was a case where they caught the rapist, which may have given this particular victim more of a feeling of justice whereby wanting the babies she was carrying to live and be put up for adoption. What a horrendous ordeal.
I just can't imagine!!!
WAKE UP AMERICA and insist that women be given TOTAL equal rights. We deserve to have crimes investigated and criminals taken off the streets, especially in light of those victims who were brave enough to come forward for testing.
Author's comments: I give credit to Life Now of PBS for the inspiration in writing this article.
Suzy, this is a great article, and it is sad that women should be treated with such disregard for such a horrible experience, and being the victim of a rape. Having that many test kits that have not even been DNA tested is appauling. Someone needs to do some writing to the local and federal governments asking why this is...I for one will. This is something every woman should be made aware of, and men as well...It is so sad that these "criminals" are walking the streets seeking other victims to prey upon....Great article,and well informed. Your fan and friend ......... Gary
Yes, it truly is a REAL eye opener and, perhaps, something that might need correcting immediately and/or someone obviously has done some checking about it already ~ a for certain reason why so many rape cases go unreported ~ why bother unless someone has nearly been beaten to death or murdered, eh? The heck with those people who say that too many women dress in revealing clothing ~ that's just a way of getting out of placing the responsibility where it belongs and knowing that we have a lot of chauvenist pigs out there in many societies ~ I do imagine there are more in certain areas of the country. Not too long ago I had free tickets to go see a really good musician play at a local club but I couldn't get man or woman to go with me to this club because of it being boycotted because of its apparent exploiting of women. I was unaware of the complexity of the problem with the club as I don't frequent them.
Thanks again for your input ~ it is very sad situation in this day and age and it has helped me understand some different points of view. Suz
This is absolutely awful. Well done on this article, Suzy.
I believe that most rapes can be prevented! None of these rapes should be happening! Why do you think so many women are getting raped? I have a fair idea. I think that women are more vulnerable than they think...but they feel they don't need a man protecting them...they can take care of themselves...if their husbands, boyfriends, or fathers, or even another woman was with them, would they have been raped? Probably not.
There is too much carelessness. Many of these rapes are young college girls walking down the street alone on her way to the store, a friends, etc...I for one, if i had a daughter wouldn't let her out of my site as long as I had anything to say about it.
thanks Suzy for making us aware of this epidemic in this country.
Thanks, Angie, for stopping by to comment and I wish I had the answers about the rape situation but I do not. I would imagine some rape situations are not taken as seriously by some prosecutors due to it being a “he said-she said type of situation” and, perhaps, the particular prosecutor examining the case could be very relevant. These types of violations might be connected to date rapes.
I am not one to support hanging on a man’s arm and/or taking an escort with me everywhere I go ~ I was raised to be independent and when I managed a department in probate law, I encouraged surviving widows to not live by fear because it is not healthy. Many women were thinking that they would stay home the rest of their lives, after losing their husbands, unless they had a chaperone to go here and there and/or fearful to go out after dark. I managed to get them past that thinking and one very wealthy widow to set her fears aside and travel alone ~ the reality of it all, was that she loved to travel and would possibly be sitting home the rest of her life waiting on a travel companion. Many travel arrangements come unraveled for whatever reason. This particular lady was soon on a plane to, of all places, Afghanistan where one of her sons was a missionary. She became a “New Woman“ at the same time she became a widow. She never stopped traveling and was so grateful for my encouragement and advice that she offered to pay my way to Europe many times.
Women are free citizens and should be able to walk the streets safely and shop at malls alone ~ maybe not at any hour and, perhaps, taught self defense and to walk with confidence ~ definitely women should overcome timidness ~ I would think they could become easy prey to a stalker. Also, to be aware of surroundings at all times is important and keep the car doors locked when traveling ~ just a lot of common sense but there nevertheless is no excuse for a man treating any woman with lack of respect and/or not understanding that “NO“ means no if that should be the challenge.
Again, these are just my thoughts ~ I am no expert. Blessings! Suzy
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