Structures

In my quest to understand the social constructs embedded in our global culture of rape, the following two excerpts have been reverberating throughout 2016 for me. Shocked is an understatement. 

The Women's Crusade by Kristof and Wudunn  (New York Times magazine)

"The global statistics on the abuse of girls are numbing. It appears that more girls and women are now missing from the planet, precisely because they are female, than men were killed on the battlefield in all the wars of the 20th century. The number of victims of this routine “gendercide” far exceeds the number of people who were slaughtered in all the genocides of the 20th century." 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?_r=0

 Dismantling Rape Culture around the world: A Social Justice imperative by Pamela R. Fletcher, Associate Professor of Women Studies, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, Minnesota.

"Based on our research and analysis of the high incidence of sexual violence perpetrated around the world, we contend that the term rape culture encompasses widespread anti-female attitudes and values, and the resultant oppressive conditions women and children encounter in the global institution of patriarchy. Misogyny and sexism are the cornerstones of patriarchy that enable a rape culture to flourish" 

http://forumonpublicpolicy.com/Vol2010.no4/archive.vol2010.no4/fletcher.pdf

It has further been determined that this exploitation is not unique to developing countries rather in developed nations it is concealed or trivially dismissed as individual misfortune rather than a cultural phenomenon.

How have women survived …?