Week Five: The Criminal Justice System

Reading that only 38% of rapes are reported to the police is an alarming statistic.  I see why a majority of females do not wish to report sexual violence.  Having to have the whole traumatizing and embarrassing ordeal brought up over and over again isn't something most people want to have to deal with.  The thought of facing your attacker in court must also be unbearable.  During most rape proceedings, the women's own sexual history might be made public which would be embarassing and make the women feel as if the rape was her fault and as if she was the one on trial. Because of this, I think that the way rapes and other cases of sexual violence are handled should be reexamined.  Women should be able to report rapes to the police, knowing that everything will be done quickly and confidentially as to not tramautize the woman anymore.  It is ridiculous that some say that women should modify their behavior to reduce the risk of becoming a victim.  Women should have the right to dress however they want without being accused of "asking for trouble:".

While prisons keep dangerous criminals off the street, they have a downside in that they can make prisoners more hardened criminals.  There definitely isn't an easy way to fix this dilemia as possesing a criminal record can make it nearly impossible for reformed criminals to hold jobs and become full-functioning memebers of society again.  I'm not for getting rid of the prison system as I don't want to be living among criminals, I just think that it could be reformed in a way that it doesn't encourage prisoners to keep committing crimes and it allows former prisoners to have better opportunities once they reenter society.