<< Reader essays about rape

Print This Post

By Joseph Bello, 16, South Pasadena HS

After reading and reviewing the multiple letters by rape victims and their stories, I was shocked to see just how many alleged sexual assaults are taking place among teens. This clearly is an epidemic that cannot be overlooked.

There are a lot of things about rape that are frightening. One is that victims can range in age from preadolescent to elderly. Another is that most rape victims are raped by people they know or are in contact with on a regular basis, according to the National Mental Health Association.

However, disturbing me most is the fact that males my age would ever think about committing such a crime. When I read these letters by teenage girls my own age and even younger, I am disheartened at the long-term effects rape has on them emotionally and physically. Many teen girls and women explain how they are traumatized and forever affected by rape and the toll it takes on their lives. One of the girls in these essays vowed not to ever let a guy touch her again.

This is not just a problem among L.A. Youth readers. When you turn on the news, you learn that female cadets have alleged they were raped at the Air Force Academy, Kobe Bryant is charged with sexual assault, and a female football kicker alleges being raped by a former teammate on the University of Colorado football team.

These public cases raise some serious questions. Did these military officers and athletes do it? Will these role models, leaders and heroes get away with it? If they do, what kind of message does that send to teenagers? Will teenage boys think that it’s OK to rape someone, and assume they’ll get away with it?

It makes me wonder where America’s values have gone. We all need to ask ourselves, why is rape and sexual assault such a widespread problem?


By Ann Beisch, 18, Marymount HS

It was horrible to read how most kept the secret to themselves for years, afraid of what their violator would do if he found out that they had told. Several of the cases involved family members—uncles, cousins and fathers. Reading of such incest was the most disturbing of all. As a young woman, I view rape as the worst and most degrading crime and to think that so many women have experienced it greatly depresses me and my perspective on humanity and our society.

Many of the girls who were sexually abused, after locking the experience in their heads, resorted to alcohol, substance abuse and suicide attempts. Some of the girls told their mothers or aunts, and the family members turned their backs to their own daughters. Since their pleas for help were labeled as lies or shouts for attention, one could clearly see why the girls would turn to suicide and drugs to escape. No wonder some of these girls confided in a trusted friend. As one writer stated, "If she couldn’t turn to her own family because they didn’t believe her, who else was there?"

It was painful to see how lonely and misunderstood these girls were. It made me want to jump into the lines of the essays and give these poor young women a warm hug and remind them of brighter futures and similar women who have survived and succeeded after such an experience.