Women have had to fight hard to get where they are in America. During our nation's infancy, women were treated and expected to act like domestic automatons, a robot that could breast feed and cook a turkey dinner without making too much of a fuss.
Of course, women have made great strides since then. Any job a man can do, a woman can too.
But are those old time gender prejudices really gone?
Recent arguments in congress focusing on birth control and the actual definition of rape are evidence that woman may still not have an equal voice. We believe the equality of women should not even be an issue because it is simply a fact.
Women are equal. Deal with it.
Todd Akin, a former representative from Missouri, said during his 2012 campaign that women who are victims of "legitimate rape" do not get pregnant.
Thankfully, Akin was not re-elected, but his statement is a symptom of a larger problem among our legislators. When they don't understand the simple biological process of procreation, forced or not, how can we ever move past the stigma that affects rape victims?
According to statistics gathered by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, or RAINN, 54 percent of all sexual assaults go unreported and 97 percent of rapists never spend a day in jail. That's right, 97 percent of rapists have never had to face the consequences for their vile actions.
Why?
At the heart of the matter, it's because women are not actually viewed or treated as equals, even in a country that says everyone is equal.
We don't even have to go overseas to places like India, a country rampant with gender discrimination and shaming of rape victims, to see how poorly women are being treated. Look at CNN's fawning over the Steubenville rapists. They committed a heinous crime, yet the loss of their futures was mourned, and the victim was unjustly portrayed as a deserving what she got.
On Tuesday, March 19, a sexual assault was reported to the Auburn Police Department. However, AUPD said on Monday, March 25 the statement had been falsified, and the case is closed.
We don't know exactly what happened, who was involved or any other concrete details surrounding the falsified report, and we can only speculate a motive. But the incident has definitely raised a few questions, and it has made us take a deeper look at the international conversation on sexual assault, rape and women's rights.
The University has taken a proactive step against sexual assault and rape by instituting a Safe Harbor program. We doubt the international community, or even the United States, sees Auburn as a paradigm for equality and civil rights, but the rest of the world could certainly benefit from looking at why a Safe Harbor program is necessary in the first place.
Humanity - whether the male or female variety - has more value than we could ever imagine. So are women so marginalized and mistreated?
We want women in Auburn, Steubenville, India and everywhere else in the world to know they deserve a free and equal life just as much as men do. The stigma surrounding rape victims is just as atrocious as the act itself.
So we stand in support of women and the victims of rape and sexual assault. You are not alone, and we are ready to continue the fight in the hopes that someday soon, we will see true equality for women.
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