In the U.K. an estimated 3.4 million females and 631,000 males have experienced some type of sexual assault or rape in their life (More than 1 in 5 women). Rape offences are increasing dramatically in the U.K. every year. In England and Wales since 2012/13 when there were around 16.3 thousand incidents, then 29.3 thousand in 2014/15, before increasing to 35.8 thousand in 2015/16, and 41 thousand in 2016/17. In 2017/18 there were almost 54 thousand rape offences, and the numbers continue to rise every year.

I was raped when I was 17 years old and just like 98.6% of Women in England & Wales who have been raped, my rapist was never prosecuted. The justice system has only ever prosecuted 1.6% of people who have committed these crimes, and the victims are left to deal with the inflicted trauma, PTSD, depression and anxiety on their own, in a lot of cases resulting in substance abuse or even suicide.

In the U.K. we have access to millions of mock rape videos online and on pornographic websites. There are websites (such as; Pornrapetube, Rapeinporn, Rapetube ect) dedicated to posting mock rape videos, showing women being kidnapped, tied up & raped, as she screams for help & for them to stop. We have access to videos of women being beaten & pinned to the ground while men take turns force raping her. The exceeding level of easy access we have to these kind of videos is massively supporting the glorification of rape culture. Young boys/girls are growing up watching these videos and then are expected to know right from wrong when it comes to committing these very crimes. Rape is being normalised as a fetish, and our trauma & abuse is being mocked online for millions to enjoy. 

These websites and videos showcasing rape as though it’s a normal crime to commit, need to be taken down and made illegal to post. The rape statistics in the U.K. need to change & start decreasing, for our generation and for the next generation of boys & girls. We need change.