Rape Cases

All four of these rape cases, as with any, are disturbing in their own ways. Two of them in particular, the Richmond High School Homecoming Dance and the Greg Haidl rape cases, are especially troubling in that the females raped were intoxicated, the males that performed the act were older, the rapes occurred in unexpected places, and there were other figures in or around the scene that could have prevented it from happening.
First, the Richmond case is upsetting in that while the female victim was being raped by five older males on school grounds, the witnesses watching simply caught the act on camera without actively getting involved and stopping the violence from occurring. Most parents assume that at school dances their children will be watched over and protected from such events. It’s surprising and unsettling that something like this can happen at such a public school event. Not only are the males involved to blame, but so are the school and the bystanders witnessing the event taking place. The setting of the incident is also something to consider, since its reputation is known for being bad.
However, rapes can happen anywhere, which is proven with the Greg Haidl rape case in which a 16 year old female is raped by three males in a wealthy Orange County city. The rape occurred at the Haidl’s household, where the parents of Greg Haidl felt it was safer for the children to drink alcohol there than anywhere else. As the rape took place downstairs, the Haidl parents were up in a different part of the house. Their consent in allowing their son and his friends to drink most likely played a large part in contributing to the performance of the rape. They could have easily said no to their son drinking, or have been present to make sure that nobody was getting hurt. A typical high school teenage house party in which the parents are home is not a place where other teenage parents should be worried about their children being hurt at. Though the rape occurred in a wealthy community, it is not ever guaranteed that all children will be safe.
Violence occurs in everyday situations. There’s no real assurance in the safety of a place based on the community or the people watching over it. Anything can happen anywhere.