Community-Based Development
Community initiative refers to an organized network of people or organizations that team up to ensure that society’s welfare and health are improved and maintained at the required levels. The initiative aims to reduce social problems effects by enhancing the quality of life for all members. On the other hand, injustice refers to the lack of fairness while partaking in various events such as discrimination due to color, homophobia, and ageism, among others.
Presently, there are plenty of injustices that occur in various communities globally and go unnoticed. Therefore, they leave individuals broken, result in loss of life, and breaking of marriages, among other factors. All the injustices are worth mentioning; however, rape deserves a special mention as it has existed since time immemorial. Typically, sexual molestation of women comes to mind when speaking of rape. However, both men and children fall prey to raping more than women, just that it mostly goes undocumented.
According to statistics, approximately twenty-three percent of women and eight percent of men residing in America have been raped at a point in their lives. The statistics can be further broken down to show the matter’s seriousness since only fifteen percent of the rapists are strangers. Therefore, the remaining percentages are people known by the victims. Fifty-one percent of the total numbers of rapists are present of former intimate partners, and approximately thirty percent represent acquaintances, which mostly covers colleagues or schoolmates.
Men are not left behind as approximately fifty-five percent report being sexually assaulted by acquaintances and the rest by strangers. The severity of the problem is further brought to light by the fact that roughly 79 percent of women experience rape before the age of twenty-five years, while forty-two percent is raped before the age of eighteen. In men’s instance, approximately thirty percent are raped before the age of ten years, with most keeping quiet of the whole event.
Some various initiatives and programs have been introduced globally to create awareness for raping that has been ongoing. Public rallies, protests, and jail time are among the few initiatives that have been used to help with the situation. Despite raising awareness, the numbers of rape cases have steadily been increasing at an alarming rate; therefore, signifying that all the implemented methods have been futile. As times change, it is essential to adopt new approaches to ensure that the curve flattens and eventually declines permanently.
Recently, there has been a surge in the number of individuals utilizing social media to relay others’ information. These platforms are free and accessed by millions of individuals globally, making it pivotal in any campaign as gaining traction will be easy. Raising awareness of rape culture in society, FaceBook will be the best platform to utilize. The primary reason behind the choice lies in the fact that it allows for sharing stories without a limit of characters. Platforms like Twitter are good; however, the reports have a limitation with the characters that can be written per tweet, making the thread boring. Moreover, WhatsApp is limited since people who view the conversation ought to be in a group you have created with a limit of approximately 250 participants.
Using FaceBook to the advantage, it will be essential to create a page purposed for the immediate community and the whole country at large as a secondary audience that will move. Initially, the page will have challenges receiving traction, leading to running various advertisements purposed to know such a platform. Furthermore, creating posters and placing them around multiple places people visit will help create more awareness for people to join and share their stories.
Being a new initiative, it will be prudent to do things differently; thus, avoiding monotony on how the matter is being addressed. Therefore, photos of the perpetrators, their present location, and all other details will be shared. Typically, the act will be viewed as victimization as some perpetrators desire to change. However, it is prudent to ensure that all public members are informed of such people, making them careful once they come face to face with them.
The established group will be open for all to view and join, allowing both men and women to share their stories. Being an anonymous administrator will help conceal sensitive data making the perpetrators not know who is running the group. Moreover, the victims’ identities will be hidden, avoiding victimization from the public. However, such a platform will be subject to many individuals attempting to tarnish the names of those they hate; therefore, due diligence will be essential before any story is publicly shared.
Being a new initiative establishing two more volunteers to assist in managing the page will be important. One individual will be in charge of running advertisements creating awareness of the page to the community and the country. Despite the primary focus being the community members, some perpetrators try to run away; thus, proving prudent for all citizens to be informed that there is a rapist on the run.
The other individual will be in-charge of cross-checking stories being given by the victims. Therefore, creating a consent form where the victim signs that the story being shared is true and they are willing to face legal action if any information is falsified. Furthermore, the victims will go through vigorous online interviews where they ought to share medical records of the tests done in the hospital to prove that the raping occurred.
Additionally, it will be essential to verify that the information shared belongs to the hospital. This will be achieved by confirming the doctors in the department, their signatures, and the forms used by the hospital for giving the patients. Once all these details are confirmed, the information will be shared with the rapist’s image being publicly displayed for everyone to see. The comment section will be enabled, allowing others to share their stories if they have ever encountered the individual.
Moreover, In the event of changing cities, notifications will be passed for everyone to know that such an individual might be headed their way. Through the initiative, individuals will become hesitant in partaking in such inhumane actions to avoid their reputation being permanently damaged. Furthermore, it will hinder their chances of being employed since employers are capable of accessing such data. Despite public shaming being wrong, desperate times call for strict measures to ensure that people begin looking after each other’s well being.
There are various human behavioral theories that apply to human lives and daily operations. However, for individuals residing in the community, specific approaches can be utilized to relate to individuals in the city. Three theories stand out in ensuring effective communication. First is Bowen’s family systems theory, where it focuses on the emotional connection of family members with complex interactions. Therefore, close relationships ought to be utilized to ensure that family members protect each other when facing challenges.
Moreover, an ecological theory focuses on interdependence and interaction with society members, ensuring they co-exist peacefully in their environment. Therefore, based on the idea, community members will ensure they protect each other from various adversities as they need each other for survival. The ecological theory allows community members to remember that the future requires all members to be fully functional; thus, call for them to protect the weak from being raped.
Finally, it is the person-centered theory created by Carl Rodgers, which focuses on humans’ desires to fulfill their potential. These desires can only be attained when society strictly has law-abiding citizens. Such possibilities can be achieved once individuals lack hindrances caused by scenarios such as rape. The person-centered theory is guided by various principles such as respect, dignity, and compassion; thus, people alter their behaviors, ensuring others are considered in the process.
Technology has come to make life easier and simpler for individuals globally. Creating a platform to ensure that victims are being protected, requires having strict measures in play; thus, ensuring that the rights of the victims and potential victims are protected from perpetrators. Leadership skills and professionalism is necessary to ensure that there is soberness in all actions. The first course of action would be allowing the perpetrators to come clean regarding their activities and publicly requesting forgiveness. Stretching an olive branch will let the public accept forgiveness and start over while stopping their bad tendencies.
Furthermore, establishing a session where perpetrators are given an online session to plead their case in the public court’s presence where people will have a say on whether people ought to be cautioned. Additionally, having such a platform opens opportunities for vindictive partners to shame their better halves publicly. Therefore, it will be essential to utilize technology to run a background check to ensure that all allegations presented hold substantial water and deserve to be given to the public.
Dealing with community issues, there are various ethical factors to be considered. Ethics looks at the reasons behind multiple actions or why the measures did not happen. Moreover, finding the basis behind various issues being approved or approval being denied; thus, ensuring that all parties are content. Dealing with rape victims and perpetrators, it is prudent to ensure that the community’s unity is upheld. Therefore, baring the factors in mind, it will be important to do a background check on the provided information provided with medical records to support all the data given, ensuring no party is falsely accused.
The rationale behind utilizing social media to counter the rape culture is that other platforms avoid free and fair journalism as stories end up being twisted, therefore distorting the truth. Introducing a means of communication where information can be shared in their raw form, and both victims and perpetrators get an opportunity to give their side of the story will be revolutionary. Furthermore, having sessions where the general public can participate will create trust. In present times, it is fundamental to ensure that everyone feels appreciated and that the platform seeks to find justice despite all the factors. Seeking justice will ensure that community members are open in sharing their stories; thus, promote change in society and perpetrators slowly shying away from their evil acts.