Being part of a community is a very important aspect to humanity and society. Through communities, a feeling of fellowship with others is created. Amongst the members, common attitudes, interests, values and goals are usually shared. This connectedness found within a community of people is what drives social and political change. When people who are passionate about certain issues allow themselves to work together to make the change they want to see happen, the collective power increases. Through community organization, rallies, protests, and demonstrations can take place in order to tackle issues and inspire change.
Communities that develop around rape culture and sexual assault issues are built on the shared values and goals of the collective. They can be a result of locality, national distaste, and personal affiliations. Whatever the reason, they create strength in numbers and instill a sense of confidence when bonded together. There are several communities that have engaged themselves in protesting various aspect of rape culture in society. There are many support groups that have victims come together to work through personal challenges as well as smaller, local groups that focus on gathering people for protests and marches in response to various sexual assault cases. Some campus communities, such as one in Isla Vista, California, rally students and community members together to take a stand. In Isla Vista, students and community members alike gathered for what student organizers called a “Rally Against Rape Culture” where the goal was spark further discussion of what rape culture truly means. Student created communities such as this exist across the nation’s university campuses.
Community organizing can be a challenge of its own. There are many people who don’t share the same beliefs, values, or goals that I possess. Although this diversity can be a constructive thing, it will be harder to weed through those who do and don’t fall in the same category as I do. Another issue that I foresee being a challenge is having those who do want to see change actually come forward to try to take the necessary actions to see it happen. There are many reasons which would prevent people from getting involved ranging from laziness to being scared. The fact of the matter is you can’t make people join your community; they have to want to, and you have to make them want to. Providing people enough reason and motivation in order to do so will be a difficult task not knowing what it takes to convince people to join a cause. It is also important to remain cognitive of the fact that some people within the community are victims and that everyone in the community has had a different experience within the realm of sexual assault and/or rape culture within in the United States. Being patient, understanding, and cautious are all things that any organizer will need to take into consideration.
Many of the people who are actively part of a community most likely fall somewhere on the Citizen Model. Community organizing helps spread awareness of certain issues, even here on Ohio State’s campus. I know for a fact that many people are signing petitions to introduce various pieces of legislature, such as Marcy’s Law, to the house-floor (personally responsible citizens). The people who are going around, informing the public, and asking for signatures are actively participating and taking on bigger leadership roles (participatory citizens). Lastly, there are people out there seeking a larger, more justice oriented solution to the issue. This type of devotion is more difficult to come by because it requires an assessment of social, political and economic structures, as well as knowledge about social movements and how to effect systemic change. The people who are justice-oriented citizens dive deep into the issues and analyze how and why it is and still is an issue. People like Jackson Katz who seek to dig to the root of why sexual abuse, rape and violence remain problems are considered justice-oriented citizens.
Katz’s TedTalk, “Violence against women – it’s a men’s issue” explores how so-called “women’s issues” are intrinsically men’s issues. Katz puts aside the women side of this issue to explore why men in particular are abusive, what causes them to become abusive, and how society grows abusive men. He acknowledges the whole spectrum of victims and assailants, and urges society to stop thinking of this issue as simply a women’s issue. Society, according to Kutz, needs to obtain a broader outlook on this issue. No longer should only women become actively involved in trying to change the way society views and functions as a result of rape and sexual violence, but everyone, as a community, should see the issue as a problem with society and work together to begin the change and encourage the transformation.
Link to Katz’s TedTalk: https://www.ted.com/talks/jackson_katz_violence_against_women_it_s_a_men_s_issue/transcript?language=en#t-464854