The Rape Epidemic

After the gang rape of a 23-year old student in a bus in New Delhi, India, and the case of 17-year-old Anene Booysen who was gang-raped and murdered (her throat slit and body mutilated by a broken bottle) many women began looking for innovative ways to protect themselves from these sex predators. A few months after the above incidents, two high school football players were convicted in an Ohio rape case. This culminated the fears of many women across the globe. "Are we safe?" They asked. "What do these men want, and how can we protect ourselves from them?"

Recently, I read a lengthy article on Facebook.com that gave detailed descriptions on the types of women a typical rapist would like to attack, where they could get raped (if they were not careful enough) and what to do if they ever got attacked. Most of the solutions, were geared at turning young women into amateur ninjas. Other innovative solutions have also been developed to solve this epidemic. According to time.com "Three engineering students in India have developed lingerie that they claim has “anti-rape” features that will help women protect themselves against possible attacks. The underwear — dubbed Society Harnessing Equipment — features GPS technology (to alert the police) as well as pressure-activated electrodes “capable of sending shock waves of 3,800 kV.” Innovative!
Inasmuch as these solutions are innovative enough to help police catch men in the act of rape, I believe many women would rather not want a rapist to get close to their underwear. There are myriad articles on solutions and rape prevention techniques. And therefore, rather than exhaustively talking about solutions like many have already done, I will like to talk about the root cause of this epidemic. As we all know, the only way to solve any problem is by tackling it at the root. 

Digging Deep

Many women will be quick to point fingers and hurl insults at men if ever confronted on this topic. And it's understable because, they are usually the victims. According to www.rape.co.za, "Rape is an occurrence which, according to official statistics occurred approximately 16,000 times annually during the 1980s. By 2006 the official figure for rape was over 55 000 , unofficially, based on the premise put forward by the National Institute of Crime Rehabilitation that only one in twenty rapes are reported, the figure is over 494,000 a year. This means that on average approximately one thousand three hundred women can be expected to be raped a day in South Africa." Woman are being raped on a daily basis and the question is why? What has caused the rapid upheaval of rape occurring across the globe? Why are men getting hornier than they used to be years back? And most of all, why are they now taking it on the women? It seems the lids are popping off, as men can no longer fight the pressure from within to get laid. But again, the question is why? 

Being a guy, there is one thing I know and it's this: our actions are as a result of our thoughts. And the thoughts that evade our minds are fueled by the things we gratify our eyes with. Am I talking about pornography here? Maybe. Are men raping women because, they are tired of gratifying their flesh whiles sitting all alone in dark rooms behind glowing computer screens? Are men raping women because they can no longer control their desire to have the real thing for "free"? Is this behavior normal, or are they influenced by a force greater than themselves: one that is out to kill, steal and to destroy? 
You see, by looking at life from a myopic perspective, that is, believing only what our senses perceive, we would never be able to solve any problem let alone an epidemic that keeps increasing rapidly.
If rapists are indeed being controlled and led by forces beyond themselves, to indulge in acts that can never make sense to any of us including themselves; then one of the first ways to stop this rape epidemic, is by detaching men from the forces that lead them not only to rape but also to lust after women. As we all already know, castration, imprisonment, and even death cannot stop other men from partaking in this madness. This has been our approach over the years, and rather than watching the stats escalate because our understanding of the spiritual world is fledgling, we need to humble ourselves to gain knowledge that will go a long way not only to solve the rape epidemic but other social vices and epidemics as well.