Introduction
The rape in Steubenville High School happened in 2012 on the 11th of August in Ohio. A 16-year-old girl in high school who was under the influence of alcohol was repetitively raped in public by her colleagues. The incident was documented and broadcasted on various social media platforms. The offense and legal trials initiated a substantial amount of controversy nationally on the issue of rape as well as rape culture (Chai et al. 2013). The rape incidence in Glenn Ridge High School, located in New Jersey in 1989, involved a girl aged 17 years who is mentally handicapped. The assailants were football players who were idolized by the local authorities and the school administration. The incidence generated a considerable amount of attention locally and nationwide. The incidence was recorded in a TV movie and a book (Thacker, 2017).
Victims
The victims in both the Steubenville and Glen Ridge rape incidences involved teenage girls who were yet to attain the legal age. Apart from being minors, the girls had other preexisting conditions that did not allow them to give or deny consent to the sexual doings done on them. In the Glen Ridge High school rape case, the girl was mentally disabled with an I.Q of about 64% while in the Steubenville rape case, the victim was debilitated by alcohol (Thacker, 2017; Chai et al. 2013). The Glen Ridge high victim aged 17 years was pressured to a basement in a residential home near the park. The girl was enticed by the promise of a date with someone she was interested in. The girl was considered a victim of a sexual offense since, in her mental state, she could not possibly comprehend what was happening nor give her consent. The victim was sexually assaulted by the football players but did not report it or consider it a crime; she was even willing to rehash the events to please the boys (Thacker, 2017). In the Steubenville incidence, the girl was debilitated by alcohol to the extent of being barely conscious. The girl was not in a position to give consent, and she did not even have the recollection of what happened during those 6 hours. She only realized that she’d been sexually assaulted when she came to naked in the basement, with her phone, underwear, and earrings missing. Later she saw the videos, messages, and pictures of the incidence being broadcasted on social media platforms (Chai et al. 2013).
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Perpetrators
In both rape cases, the assailants were teenagers who were also in high school. In Glen Ridge, the boys were baseball players while in Steubenville, they were football players. The perpetrators in both cases were convicted of sexual assault charges. The Glen Ridge perpetrators assaulted the girl orally, vaginally, and even went ahead to use a broomstick to commit the heinous offense. Their charges were considered multiple accounts since, after the first incidence, they tried luring the mentally challenged girl back to the basement a second time with the intent of recording the act (Thacker, 2017). The Steubenville perpetrators were recorded on videos and pictures, which clearly showed the girl was barely conscious as they carried her to another location where the assault took place. They used their fingers to penetrate her vagina, which in the state of Ohio is considered by law as rape (Chai et al. 2013).
Victim blaming responsibility
In the Glen Ridge case, the victim received public blame for the incident. The incidence was brought the attention of the school after the rumors started circulating in school. The school administration called the local authorities who started their investigation in determining if consent was given, or the girl was even in a position to give consent (Thacker, 2017). In the Steubenville rape case, the victim received a substantial amount of blaming for the responsibility of the rape from the school administration and society. The victim was reproached for negatively portraying the town and football team (Chai et al. 2013).
Community response
In the Steubenville case, the media criticized the victim and even anonymously leaked the victim's first name, which is unethical. The school and the coach went to great trouble to cover up the mishaps of the boys (Chai et al. 2013). In both cases, the community was more focused and sympathized with the lost careers of the boys and how their lives would change instead of sympathizing with the victims in the Steubenville incidence (Chai et al. 2013; Thacker,2017).
The investigation, prosecution, and sentencing
After a trial that lasted five months and three weeks, the Glen Ridge perpetrators were found guilty and sentenced. After completing their sentences, they tried clearing their names, but the court upheld the charges in 2004 (Thacker, 2017). The Steubenville perpetrators were found guilty of sexual assault and distribution of child pornography. Other adults in the case who tried covering the crime of the football team players were also charged with obstruction of justice (Chai et al. 2013).
Conclusion
The social and educational facilities need to put more emphasis on the issue of sexual education, especially the issue of consent. The issue of rape is something that should be comprehensively covered to avoid future occurrences of such incidences. The society should also develop a more responsive and positive approach to rape victims, rather than demonizing them for actions that they had no control over.
References
Thacker, L. K. (2017). Rape Culture, Victim Blaming, and the Role of Media in the Criminal Justice System. Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship , 1 (1), 8.
Chai, J., Gordon, R., & Johnson, P. A. (2013). Steubenville, Ohio: A Community’s Reckoning of Responsibility. WOMEN’S HEALTH .
