Introduction

Introduction What can teenagers learn from the effects of rape? The victim and the rapist? What had caused the offender to take serious actions? These questions are very serious and in some cases are unanswered questions. Why? Is the first and common question we ask the offender for the actions they have taken? New Zealanders’ react the same way every other nation react to a serious situation if they were to face a person who was assaulted. We should all learn that there is more beneath the mask; meaning no matter what or how a victim shows their emotions there is always more to what they are truly showing. 1st paragraph Date rape is the most common and now a serious issue that one in three women would get raped by their boyfriend even a girlfriend. Research has shown that women are the main victims that are affected by this particular issue, it also happens to homosexual males but not as often as it does to females. These serious offenses would take place in common places we least expect it to happen. Intoxication is a serious disadvantage that a victim would undertake because it is highly likely that you would get raped when you are intoxicated. Referring to the text ‘ smashed’ the character Rita goes to a teenage party that contains alcohol, drugs and teens that Rita does not know and is not familiar with. She is then introduced to a few people she does not know and who are intoxicated. Her abuser was intoxicated to the point where he was in no control of his own actions, so this led him into doing something that had serious consequences and also the effect of this had not only impacted him and Rita but also her family and friends that they both know. We need to see through why a serious incident had happened and look past the fact that what made Don do what he did has a huge impact that relates to what he had done. Date rape is a serious and common factor in society. 2nd paragraph The impact and effects of rape that a person encounters is a lot more serious than what people would mainly think of what the victim goes through and how they cope with what has happened. In Turangi a six year old female was raped inside of her caravan by a sixteen year old male, he locked the doors so that the young girl’s parents could not help her. As the sixteen year old male rapes the young girl, her parents could not do anything, feeling helpless as they watched their beloved baby girl get raped. We should all acknowledge and pity what the parents had to feel and how much strength, love and support they gave to the young girl as she was fully traumatised by the situation. Rape is not a joke. Victims like the young girl and Rita had no power and control of what had happened to them and the scar they will both have for the rest of the young girl’s life will impact her social life and her self-esteem. She was damaged physically and mentally which will affect her confidence in herself and also the trust she has towards others but mainly males. In the text ‘ smashed’ Rita excludes everyone out of her life because she felt embarrassed and ashamed of what had happened to her, this relates to real life issues because Rita goes through a stage where she does not want to talk to anyone about what had happened to her. 3rd paragraph The disaster in Auckland also should teach everyone that rape is a very serious issue and that it could happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. In the text ‘ smashed’ Don, the young male that raped his best friend’s sister was faced with the fact that he was intoxicated when he assaulted Rita, he will have to face the police and because Don is 18 he may be faced with imprisonment as one of his punishment for the actions he took. He will also face Rita’s family and his best friend who was understandable and humble is now at a stage where he wants to take matters in to his own hands for what had happened to his sister. We allow ourselves to do anything we possibly can to help when a person close to us gets hurt physically and emotionally. We would want to get them back harder than the damage they have caused. However we have a choice to let nature and karma take its course or take matters into our own hands then the situation becomes bigger and the problem turns into a cycle of unresolvement and a disaster. Conclusion In conclusion rape is a serious issue between the lives of the victim and the rapist. We should all acknowledge the effects and factors it has on everyone’s lives including the victim and their family, the rapist and the community.