Jennifer Baumgardner's "I Was Raped" T-Shirt Breaks Secrecy of Sexual Assault
Baumgardner can't interview every women in America. Yet she wants to help women voice their truths and dispel the secrecy that surrounds sexual assault.
Louder Than Words
So she's created a t-shirt that says what many women find impossible to speak out loud: "I was raped."
It's controversial. Just as controversial as the previous t-shirt she created and distributed three years ago that said "I had an abortion."
Designed to Tell
Baumgardner has a list of answers to the question, "Why wear a t-shirt that says 'I was raped'?"
The t-shirt design isn't meant to shock. It depicts a safe with its door open. Inside the safe sits a small card bearing the three words in tiny script. It's a slow process of digesting the message, understanding what you're reading...and realizing what the woman who's wearing the shirt is saying.
Baumgardner wanted a shirt that would literally open the door to an uncomfortable subject and start conversations. That's exactly what she's accomplished in the few short days the shirt has been available.
Safe Topics
Fittingly enough, she's chosen to release the t-shirt design in April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
According to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), 1 out of every 6 women is a victim of sexual assault. If you doubt the truth of that statement, talk to any woman who's revealed to her friends the deeply guarded fact that she's been raped. She'll tell you that once a woman opens that door, others begin to talk. And it's unsettling to find out how many women keep this secret hidden.
Rape Revealed
Most women will never wear Baumgardner's shirt. But if a woman can unburden herself and speak out about her rape, her assault, her abuse to one trusted and empathetic friend, that's how the conversation begins. That's how we bring rape out of the closet, dispel the fear women have that if they report it they won't be believed, and help more women to pursue prosecution and eventually, justice.
Comments
The Department of Justice needs to create within itself a special department that specifically focuses of sexual assault and rape investigations. Just like the Justice Department has the Drug Enforcement Agency for illegal narcotics investigations, it needs to have a special department for sexual assault and rape investigations. Present statistic are as follows: An average of 1 in 6 women report being raped in this country every year. However, since most rapes are not reported, it is estimated that 1 in 4 women are raped in this country every year. And, in the rape cases that are reported, the conviction rate is about 5 or 6 percent. That is a deplorable conviction rate! I believe this low conviction rate is why many women do not report their rapes. They know there probably will be no conviction, so why bother? If men were being raped with such frequency and the conviction rate was that low, I believe most the Justice Department’s investigative resources would be geared toward bringing those rapists to justice. I believe that if the Department of Justice created a special department for sexual assault and rape investigations, state and local law enforcement agencies would follow suit, just as they have done with illegal narcotics investigations (i.e. the drug task-forces they have set up). Think of a woman in your life; you mother, sister, daughter, wife, aunt, niece, etc. In our society today, there is a very good chance that she will be raped and very little chance that she will be served any justice for that rape. And rape murders the soul. The Department of Justice needs to do much more to stop sexual assault and rape.
AS A VOLUNTEER LEADER OF A WOMENS INCEST SUPPORT GROUP FOR 17YRS I APPLAUD JENNIFER FOR DESIGNING A TEE SHIRT THAT LETS THE WORLD KNO THAT SEXUAL ABUSE IS RAMPANT! JEN, I WISH THAT YOU WOULD DESIGN ONE THAT SAYS “I AM AN INCEST SURVIVOR,” WHICH I AM. EVEN AT 76Y/O I STILL SUFFER FROM THE DAMAGE!
GOD BLESS YOU FOR YOUR COURAGE!
BLESSINGS! ~ LILY~ AKA LLatoza@aol.com
PLEASE POST MY ABOVE COMMENTS AND ALSO YOU MAY POST MY EMAIL. THANK YOU!
LILLIAN LATOZA LLatoza@aol.com