Posts tagged Rape
Suggested Sunday reading (3/7/10) by RosieRed23, at Spare Candy 6:00 am / 07 March 2010
- The Carnival Against Sexual Violence 89 on Abyss2hope has tons of great reading material. And on a related note, if you haven't yet seen this story about religious leaflets being passed out to women that basically say "the way you dress makes men rape you," do read it. While I know this kind of thing is easy to shake your head at and dismiss because it is that absurd, it's really a perfect example of rape culture. Unlike many other types of victim shaming, this one doesn't even hide it. And do read Shakesville's post about this, too.
- I love this, on The White Coat Underground: "Hey, guys, this one is for you," about how men need to be part of violence against women prevention.
- New York Times: "New York's Choking Loophole." This has to do with the Gov. Paterson scandal (the one involving him trying to obstruct a domestic violence case), the fact that the woman who was abused was choked, and that there is no law in the state specific to choking unless it results in "physical injury." But one has been introduced.
- Bitch profiles a woman (for Women's History Month) who you may not have heard of in "Adventures in Feministory: Wilma Mankiller" (pictured). She is the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
- On the Issues: "Loretta Ross Unmasks Black Anti-Abortion Message, Media Spin."
- Huffington Post: "Hitler abortion poster sparks outrage in Poland." Shocking, I know.
- Feministing: "Utah miscarriage criminalization bill withdrawn." Sounds like it's just going to be rewritten though.
- From unaids.org: "UNAIDS, Annie Lennox, launch action framework for women, girls and HIV."
- The Edinburgh Journal: "Violence against women is 'acceptable', say Glasgow pupils." This is so disheartening.
- Women's Law Project: "Sexting: Potential legislation on teen offenders could unfairly punish girls."
- Idaho Reporter: "Idaho could alter statutory rape laws." A state senator is introducing a bill that would "decriminalize sex between teenage girls aged 16 or 17 with partners up to three years older than them." Consensual sex assumed, I think this could be a good thing.
- Shakesville: "In Other Things That Are Women's Fault, Too."
- On Slate: "The Shame Cycle: The new backlash against casual sex." (Is it me, or does an article about casual sex and it's rightness/wrongness come out almost daily these days?)
- Gulf News: "The woman breaking the UAE gender barrier."
- CBS News: "Military to Review Sodomy Ban." You see, because Don't Ask Don't Tell might be repealed. Sigh. I didn't even know there was a military ban on sodomy. There's one on oral sex too -- even between a married couple.
- This is one of the worst stories I've read all week: The Virginia State attorney general has formally told public colleges and universities that they should not include "sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or like classification as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy." That is the same as saying "it's OK to discriminate" against people who fall into those categories. Absolutely shameful.
- And finally, this piece of art made out of tampons, stainless steel and cotton thread is gorgeous.
Let’s call this: When Men Cry Unrape, or “The Men Commandments”, or Why Zed has No Cred by Julian Real, at A Radical Profeminist 10:53 pm / 04 March 2010
“One of the Greatest Women I’ve Ever Seen.” by radfemles, at More Hell, Fewer Dahlias: The Musings of a Radical Feminist. 6:08 pm / 04 March 2010
That’s what Hillary Clinton called Nujood Ali, a twelve year old Yemeni girl who recently published “I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced.”
Married to a 30 year old man at age nine by her father, Nujood was beaten and raped by her “husband” for two months before visiting her family home to see her sister. Her father’s second wife advised her to seek a divorce, and Nujood made her way to the courthouse. After sitting there for half a day, a kindly judge recognized her. Her father and “husband” were taken into custody, and the original judge housed Nujood for the trial. After refusing a judge’s original suggestion of taking a break for up to five years, then returning to the “husband,” Nujood was granted a divorce. Her memoir is now being published in nearly twenty languages, and she is enrolled in elementary school full-time.
There’s another great woman in this story: Shada Nasser, Nujood’s lawyer. The first female lawyer in Yemen, Shada started her career by offering legal services to incarcerated women.
Both women have been honored with multiple awards, though they were barred from attending a ceremony in Vienna, Austria, by the Yemeni government. Follow up stories indicate that Nujood may not be treated well by her family, and suffers from the stigma of divorce and reaching out to Western media.
More about the situation for Yemeni women: there is no minimum marriage age, though husbands are encouraged to wait until the wife is “ready.” Over 65% of women are illiterate, and kidnapping and rape are constant threats. Once married, women must obtain spousal permission for actions that involve leaving their house.
Educate someone on women’s situations in other countries today, please! We have a long way to go in so many countries, including my own.

HIV/AIDS Leading Cause of Death for Women by Emily, at Feminist Looking Glass 9:02 am / 03 March 2010
According to UN program on HIV/Aids (UNAids), the immunodeficiency disease is now the leading cause of death among women of a reproductive age.
Violence against women is the leading cause of the spread of this disease in women, with an estimated 70% of women “forced to engage in unprotected sex.” Translation: rape and sexual assault are largely responsible for the continued spread of HIV. As UNAids Executive Director Michael Sidibe reports, women who experience violence are much less able to negotiate safe-sex practices.
Although women are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, there is still little attention given to addressing the specific needs of women and girls. The UN is now working on a five-year plan to do just that.
Reproductive needs and childbirth are also a growing concern. As Sidibe says:
“…400,000 babies are born every year in Africa – 400,000 babies with HIV/AIDS…it means that 400,000 women, mothers, have not been checked, have not been having access to services, have not been able to at least avoid transmission from mother to child. But also they will be at risk to not live with us for years to come.”
The new UNAids initiative will target women, helping disseminate information, education, preventive care, and “negotiating techniques.” But until communities of men become less likely to commit acts of violence against women in such high numbers, the bleak picture for women is unlikely to change.

Question: If Catharine A. MacKinnon speaks truth to power, what do dick-whipped white het men in power call the reality she addresses? by Julian Real, at A Radical Profeminist 11:45 am / 01 March 2010
Child Molestation: How to Help Prevent It, Hopefully, and Knowing Who To Watch Out For: Clue–Men who are around your children by Julian Real, at A Radical Profeminist 11:21 pm / 28 February 2010
Andrea Dworkin Speaks Out on Prostitution and Male Supremacy: If you’ve never heard her, witness political brilliance by Julian Real, at A Radical Profeminist 12:58 pm / 27 February 2010
Why Women Matter by Emily Heroy, at Gender Across Borders 6:00 am / 26 February 2010

NPR tackles super important topic: Sexual assault on college campuses by RosieRed23, at Spare Candy 8:40 pm / 24 February 2010
The first part of the series is "Campus Rape Victims: A Struggle For Justice." You can read and/or listen to it here. The rest of the series:
Part 2: All Things Considered, Feb. 25
Part 3: All Things Considered, Feb. 26
Part 4: Morning Edition, March 2
One thing in the first story that bothers me is a quote from Kevin Helmkamp, associate dean of students at the University of Wisconsin. He's talking about sexual assault cases on campus, and he said "They clearly are very, very difficult cases to investigate. Usually, there is not a lot of corroborating evidence for one side or the other. It does tend to come down to one person saying this happened and the other person saying, no it didn't happen that way." OK, makes sense, and I think that's pretty much exactly how it goes 9 times out of 10.
But then he says: The result, "I can assure you, is that someone is going to be unhappy" with the outcome of a decision.
People who would be unhappy:
1. Someone who was assaulted and the assailant was found not guilty or wasn't punished.
2. Someone who was falsely accused who was found guilty.
3. I'm going to assume that if someone was assaulted and the assailant was found guilty, the assaulted would be "happy" with that. Leaving, in this scenario, the guilty assailant to be unhappy. Hey, I think I know a way to avoid that: DON'T SEXUALLY ASSAULT PEOPLE. Then you won't be "unhappy" when you get caught! How about that.
Anyway, because this information is so important, I'm reprinting it from the article. Please pass it along to anyone who might need it, now or in the future:
Rights Of Sexual Assault VictimsPhoto credit: rapedattufts.info
What's now called the Clery Act, enacted in November 1990, requires that higher education institutions publicly disclose all crime that happens on campus. The idea was that students and their parents should be informed — and that public scrutiny would force colleges to get serious about preventing crime.
A 1992 amendment to the Clery Act added a victims' bill of rights, which requires schools to provide certain basic rights to survivors of sexual assaults on campus, including:
If a university fails to appropriately handle a reported case of sexual assault, alleged victims can report this to the U.S. Department of Education. Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 — a civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination — sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape are also considered discrimination on the basis of sex.
- Giving the alleged victim and the alleged assailant equal opportunity to have others present in disciplinary proceedings.
- Notifying alleged victims of their right to pursue justice through local police, and of the availability of counseling services.
- Notifying alleged victims that they have the option of changing classes and dormitory assignments in order to avoid their alleged assailants.
If a college or university is aware of but ignores sexual harassment or assault, it may be held liable under the law.
Visit the Web site of Center for Public Integrity to learn more about the law and resources for victims.
— From NPR research and reporting by the Center for Public Integrity


