An article on Elite Daily mentions a Washington Post headline that blamed women for rape. It suggested that if women had husbands rather than boyfriends, they and their children would be safer. I’m not going all into how that’s not true or fair, but it did get me thinking.

Unfortunately, men are responsible for most rapes and sexual violence around the world. What that means is that men also could be responsible for stopping those crimes. The early and constant sexualization of females is certainly a problem, and low self-esteem and poor parenting do give rise to girls and women that put themselves in compromising situations. However, since men commit most of the violent sexual acts against women, it is well within their power to stop it.

Men can choose to value women as human beings rather than sexual objects and possessions. Men can choose to respect when someone says no. Men can choose to view sex with someone underage, drunk or otherwise altered as wrong. Men can teach their friends and sons these values. Men can stand up for abused women and put abusive men in their place. men could radically change the face of rape and abuse culture as we know it.

In case you haven’t caught on, this is no way a man-bashing piece. I believe that there are good men and that there can be more of them. They just have to stand up and make an example of themselves. There are problems among both genders that lead to abuse and rape, but women shouldn’t beheld solely responsible for preventing attacks against themselves. men can do so much, if only they would.

Unfortunately, marriage isn’t the solution. I have to wonder where the Post got their data from, since it’s common knowledge than many women are abused by their husbands and children by their fathers. Marriage can be wonderful, but boyfriends can be just as much so. It’s all about the man, not the status of the relationship. Real men don’t abuse women or children, or anyone for that matter unless it’s a necessity.

The good men of the world need to stand up and stand out, to make an example for all other men and especially for the younger boys coming up in a society that sees women as nothing but objects to be used as one sees fit. They need to do everything they can to shift society to respect women and all people. Every voice and every action sets the stage for the future, so it’s up to us to do the right thing.

Briana Blair

Briana Blair is an author and artisan. She has published more then 30 books and thousands of articles across multiple sites. After practicing Paganism and witchcraft for 25 years, she's now on a journey as an atheist and skeptic. She's eclectic, unpredictable, and always evolving. Facebook - Twitter