Society has trivialized words like "rape" to the extent that rape itself is not taken seriously. (Charlotte Cooper, Creative Commons)

Sometimes, my friends will joke around, one will grab or hug another in a friendly way, and the person being grabbed or hugged will suddenly scream, "Oh my god! Stop raping me!" Even though, and especially since they aren't referring to an actual rape, it seems completely inappropriate to scream the words in public. I once said so, and they replied, "I was just joking. Chill."

We need to be more sensitive when referring to such a serious topic. Someone around us when we joke about rape may have been directly affected by a rape or sexual assault, either as a victim or a friend of a victim. They clearly wouldn't appreciate a joke about rape, and with good reason, and neither should we.

So much violence, especially sexual violence, is shown on television that our society seems to have become desensitized to it. Shows like "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit," which have a huge fan base, are devoted exclusively to sexual crimes and contribute to the phenomenon of desensitization. During several episodes of the show, characters make jokes about sexual assault in an effort to make the situations seem less serious, but in the process trivialize words like "rape" and "molestation." Television isn't the only source of this trivialization; I have been to my fair share of open mic nights, and many of the jokes made by aspiring comedians refer to sexual assault.

We should never make jokes about someone's physical and emotional pain. Victims of sexual violence are scarred for life, and often their emotions are in such turmoil that they have to go through intense counseling. If they hear someone joking about a type of attack that they themselves went though, that experience could affect their ability to heal. They might react by hesitating to talk about their attack. They might react by devaluing their own response to their attack, thinking that they are being too sensitive about it: "Why are victims of sexual assault like me in such pain if everyone is joking about it?"

Next time you're joking around with your friends, think about the ramifications your jokes may have. Will they hurt someone emotionally by the memories the words evoke? Will the fact that such a serious topic is a subject of a joke change society's attitude toward the topic to one of jocularity as well? Serious issues like rape should be treated with care, not comedy.

Reach Contributor Ashima Agrawal here.