Maria Padian’s novel Wrecked explores the difficulties of dealing with the challenging situation of a sexual assault. The two main characters in the spotlight are Jenny and Jordan. A sexual assault and rape are very sensitive topics. This book puts it into two different viewpoints that help the reader understand what happened that night and how rape accusations are taken. Hayley believed that Jordan raped her. This leaves Richard and Haley in a tough position as to who to believe in this matter. No matter how rape is told or how much it is stretched, we as humans cannot change the fact that it is still rape no matter what way it is told. Sexual assaults are highlighted as a worldwide problem as of recently. The scary and sad part about it all is that most victims don’t come out to tell what happened. Why does it have to be this way?
Rape and sexual assaults should be brought up truthfully without the fear of being shamed and our society should learn to handle them immediately. I will cover two areas in this essay: The nature of “truth” with the overall challenges of dealing with an incident of sexual assault, and allyship. Sexual assault cases are a huge problem on college campuses today and it continues to be an obstacle. Police officials at times handle these cases poorly. We can see an example of this when Jenny states, “In other words, if I go to the cops, he’s off campus. At least for awhile”. If a rape were to occur and the accuser was found guilty, then this individual should be expelled, period. If the rapist was allowed back on campus or got away with it then these individuals of higher authority, aren’t doing their job. Considering that Jordan departs before they can do anything, shows that it’s out of the authority’s control and it wasn’t handled very well.
Now this is a bad situation for Jenny because she knows that he will be living his life knowing what he did. Now that may be of a rare occurrence because we as a society don’t tolerate rape. According to the criminal justice system, “Only 230 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police. That means about 3 out of 4 go unreported”. This statistic is crazy to think about, which clearly shows there is a problem with communication amongst the victims. Penalties in the olden days resulted in castration, but now we put such offenders behind bars who commit these hanous acts. Another issue that may occur in the middle of all this, is whether or not the victim was telling the truth. About 5% of rapes are falsely reported. This is still a statistic that shouldn’t be overlooked. There was no proof or evidence that Jordan raped her, other than Jenny’s word.
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This novel teaches us that whenever rape or sexual assault it brought up, it is our job as ally’s to be there for that individual. Yes, it is hard to believe that someone was raped without evidence, but there is no time argue or prove anything. Let that be the authorities job. Anywhere we go, rape culture will follow. On page 50, Carrie says, “I’m not a survivor, if that’s what you’re wondering…Although, in a sense, we all are. Survivors of the rape culture.” This quote is demonstrating the fact that we all as whole have the chance of being taken advantage of. Day in and day out, we all need to be cautious of one another and be there for each other. This relates to the “Five Faces of Oppression” which are violence, exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, and cultural imperialism. Iris Marion Young demonstrates that all of these forms of oppression are all relatable because people are often taken advantage of based on their age, gender, race, etc… As a collective group of Americans, we need to be there for each other in these types of circumstances.
Rape is a tough issue to discuss. If someone is raped or sexually assaulted, it is our job to support and help get them through this tough time. Haley is a perfect example of this support system. She was there for her friend and actually listened to her. Even though Jenny didn’t wanna report it, she provided options for her. Often an individual that goes through a sexual assault can’t think clearly, which is why they need a friend to be there for them, even if they don’t ask for one. There is also no way to pinpoint a rapist in a crowd. It purely could be anyone that we pass on the streets or sit next to in a classroom. Jenny highlights this issue when she says, “Think a rapist is some tats-covered dude with a knife? Try a friendly guy with a great smile.
This justifies that anyone could be rapist. A light switch has to go off in their mind to do this type of appalling act. When someone is sexually assaulted, the victim usually is scared to come out and talk about it because they feel as if someone is going to shame them. Another example of this can be seen when Jenny says, “I can’t discuss any of the details with you” (49). If only our society wasn’t modeled with people shaming each other for the things they have gone through. This proves that the majority of our society is extremely judgemental and should give anyone the chance to talk. Yes, rape is a very intense to go through, but if it hurt this individual so bad it needs to be brought up. Easier said then done, but it’ll only make things better without bottling the fear up. Police, counselors, teachers, Doctors, etc… are all people that are trained to deal with situations such as this.
Campuses such as SDSU should implement support groups for victims of sexual assault and rape. Not only would this help colleges worldwide find ways in which these incidents are slipping between their fingers, but also ways to listen to students who are experiencing these issues. A second way to help SDSU solve these issues is to speed up the process of the convicted. As seen in the book, Jordon got away with it because he purposely left the university. There should be a system set in place where one can’t leave, until proven innocent. I firmly believe with these implementations, colleges would be safer and have a better understanding as to what is going on off campus and on. In conclusion, sexual assaults and rape are a huge problems. These cases shouldn’t be taken lightley no matter who you are. College campuses all over the world need to buckle down on this serious topic. Everyone needs to be accountable for each other so these horrible situations don’t happen. Rape is of rare occurrence, but that doesn’t mean it should dismissed altogether.
