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TechnoratiA Culture of Violence Against Women: More Than Rape Kits
Americans have recently learned that during the 1990s, Wasilla, Alaska, then under the mayoralty of Sarah Palin, charged victims of sexual assault for the rape kits used for evidence collection.
Attacks from progressives have been swift and harsh. There is good reason to hunt down the facts about the rape kits. But the larger issue - of rape, sexual assault and how we deal with violence against women in this country - has been overlooked.
First the facts:
Last week new evidence arose revealing that under Palin's administration, Wasilla cut funds that paid for the rape kits and shifted the burden onto the victims themselves or their insurance companies (kits generally cost between $500-$1200). Under Wasilla Police Chief Irl Stambaugh, the town had included the cost of rape kits in the budget. But Palin fired Stambaugh and replaced him with Charlie Fannon, who then took the money out of the budget - a budget Palin approved. Fannon evidently did not have a problem with billing victims, though he admitted that he would rather see the perpetrator pay for the rape kits (without elaborating on how that realistically or successfully might occur).
The town law did not change until Alaska state legislators got wind of what was happening (in Wasilla and other small towns) and introduced a bill, signed into law in 2000, making it illegal for "any law enforcement agency to bill victims or victims insurance companies for the costs of examinations that take place to collect evidence of a sexual assault or determine if a sexual assault did occur."
Fannon immediately objected, stating in an article on May 23, 2000 that "...the law will require the city and communities to come up with more funds to cover the costs of the forensic exams...I just don't want to see any more burdens on the tax payer." Fannon did not explain why rape victims should pay for their evidence collection kits while victims of burglary, for example, would not.
Since the story broke, Sarah Palin has been taken to task by progressives and rape victim advocates who are furious about the policy and demanding an explanation as to why Palin not only allowed this practice under her leadership, she oversaw its institution. Thus far, Palin's response to the issue has been denial. Said a spokesperson for her campaign:
"[Sarah Palin] does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test...To suggest otherwise is a deliberate misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice"
Though no one, as far as I've read, has been able to successfully explain Wasilla's detrimental policy, conservatives have fought back, raising the fact that other states, towns and municipalities have charged rape victims for their kits as well. The National Review Online called out Illinois for "charging some rape victims." The practice of charging rape victims for evidence collection still occurs more often around the country than it should. US News & World Report recently reported on the problem:
In order to qualify for federal grants under the Violence Against Women Act, states have to assume the full out-of-pocket costs for forensic medical exams, as the rape kits are called. But according to a 2004 bulletin published by the NCVC [National Center for Victims of Crime], "[F]eedback from the field indicates that sexual assault victims are still being billed." [emphasis mine]
And while a policy charging sexual assault victims for any kind of evidence collection, treatment or care is heinous, there is a larger issue at play. It's easy to get caught up in the partisan anger - the volleying of stories back and forth that "prove" the deceitful intent of one campaign or another, the information that will surely reveal how evil one or another candidate truly is. But the media has been missing the most important part of the story.
To discuss the rape kit story without addressing what kinds of policies, as a nation, we must put forward in order to address violence against women - the causes of violence, the symptoms and how it can be curbed - does nothing to further the dialogue, find solutions and heal some of our most gaping wounds.
Bigger Questions About Rape and Sexual Violence in Alaska
According to Amnesty International, one out of every three women in the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. In the United States, a woman is raped every 6 minutes. In global conflicts and wars, rape is widespread - a tool of war.
Instead of hashing and re-hashing a budget line under Sarah Palin's mayoralty, we need to put forward questions to be asked about and of the candidates that will allow us to understand what they have done or will do, concretely, to reduce violence against women, at home and abroad.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Alaska's rape rate is 2.5 times the national average. Alaska also has the highest rate per capita of men murdering women. Ninety percent of Alaskans would vote to increase funding for victim service programs because, according to the coalition, "programs are in dire need of more funding in order to serve the sheer volume of victims." Seventy-five percent of Alaskans have been or know someone who has been the victim of sexual assault or domestic violence. Alaska's domestic violence shelters, sexual assault services and programs for survivors have seen a relatively small increase in funding. In 2008, the state budget included an additional $300,000 in funding for victims services programs. In 2009, according to Alaska's Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Governor Palin's budget includes an increase in funds to help shelters offset the higher costs of fuel, utilities and insurance.
But the extraordinary levels of violence against women in the state of Alaska and the underlying causes still require a much greater level of state-level funding and oversight. According to the Alliance for Reproductive Justice, who lobbied to address Alaska's rates of domestic violence and sexual assault, when explicitly asked to address these issues in 2007, the Governor did not respond. The Alliance has this to say on their web site:
Governor Palin did not deliver and did not take a leadership role on any of these issues. In fact, this year, when there was a 7 billion dollar state surplus she did not step up to the plate for the women and children of Alaska...we were truly disappointed with her lack of action on this critical public health issue.
Most of Alaska's funding for sexual assault and violence against women programs comes from the federal government.
Pro-Active Policy Addressing Violence Against Women
What does responsible policy look like for dealing with violence against women?
In Illinois one out of every seven adult women are the victims of forcible rape. This number does not include women who have been the victims of attempted rape, young women and men - including children - under the age of 18 years old, or male victims of rape.
In Illinois an amendment to the Crime Victims Compensation Act was passed in 2001, co-sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama, to ensure that sexual assault victims (or victims of other violent crimes) can be reimbursed for expenses they may incur. In addition, Illinois has on the books the Sexual Assault Emergency Treatment Act, which mandates reimbursement for (among other services) STI testing, emergency contraception and rape kits if Illinoians don't have public aid or private health insurance.
Illinois legislators considered sexual assault, rape, domestic violence and other violent crimes where women make up the majority of the victims important enough an issue to address it pro-actively and with conviction. Illinois has enacted a range of legislation that seeks to address the multiple layers of responses needed to adequately address sexual assault including the Violent Crimes Victime Assistance Program, The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program, and the Illinois Victims Assistance Academy.
And while it is true that only three out of every 10 rapes go reported to law enforcement, Illinois saw a decline in the number of reported rapes and sexual assault from 1998 to 2006; from 6,146 in 1998 to 5,646 in 2006.
Candidates Take Stands on VAWA
The mother of all legislation dealing with violence against women is the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), spearheaded by Sen. Joe Biden and after years of lobbying, passed in 1994. VAWA was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, renewed in 2000 and expanded in 2005 (signed by President George W. Bush).
VAWA's intent is to improve the national response to domestic violence and sexual assault. VAWA combines a series of federal sanctions and initiatives as well as national, state, and local resources to improve the response to crimes against women. These funds are committed to four specific areas: prosecution, law enforcement, victim service, and courts.
Sen. Biden foresaw the need for such legislation to, among many other things, infuse crucial funds into state systems to fight violence against women. In fact, Alaska's Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault relies on monies from this act. The act requires federal fund grantees (states, Indian tribal governments or local governments) to cover the costs associated with forensic medical exams (including rape kits) in order to receive any VAWA funds. In order to receive these funds, therefore, Alaska state legislators in 2000, under Democratic Governor Tony Knowles, instituted the state law banning law enforcement departments from charging rape victims for their rape kits.
Curiously, while Alaska receives crucial funds from the VAWA act in order to administer its sexual assault programs, Sen. John McCain voted against VAWA twice.
Sexual Violence Against Military Women, Native Women
There's another layer of complexity to any story about the candidates and sexual violence. John McCain's military service to this country is well known; his experience as a POW is a narrative he uses to explain how he has and will prioritize our military should he become president.
It is worth asking, then, how a leader for whom a soldier's life is so important will deal with the rates of sexual assault against women in the military. One in three women are sexually assaulted in the military. Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The situation is so dire Congress called a hearing this summer specifically to examine sexual assault in the military.
What about Barack Obama? In the wake of the congressional hearings, will he take a lead in examining what the Pentagon could and should do to deal with this issue?
These are not the only stories of rape and violence against women in this country. One in three Native women will be raped in her lifetime. Many of those women live on reservations where it is often the case that, because of bureaucratic confusion over just whose domain they fall under - Bureau of Indian Affairs, state government or federal government - perpetrators are rarely prosecuted.
What steps would Senators Obama and McCain take to address the devastating "maze of injustice" that Native women on reservations face when dealing with protection from or prosecutions for rape and sexual assault?
These are the questions to which I want answers. These are the central issues of a campaign, of an election to which Americans must pay attention. If rape victims have been charged for rape kits in municipalities, towns, cities and states around this country, we deserve to know why. But let's not sell ourselves short. We deserve to know a lot more than that. The system is broken. Revealing a hole here and a scratch there unearths some superficial problems. If women are going to decide this election, we should do so based on the policies that impact women most, and which candidates will actually help women outside of politics. We can do this by asking the important questions:
Which set of candidates understands best how to remedy the culture of violence perpetuated against women in this nation and globally? Which set of candidates pro-actively creates policies that address the root causes of rape and sexual assault? Which set of candidates do we trust to raise the status of women in this country and work internationally to do the same? Which set of candidates' legislative and leadership records reveal genuine attempts at fixing the problems their various constituents face when it comes to rape, sexual assault and other forms of violence against women?
Asserting these questions in media coverage and exploring the answers requires a deeper investigation. But the process will bring us closer to what we really need to know about how our candidates prioritize violence against women and the kinds of policies they would or wouldn't institute.
Rape kits are but one part of the story.
57 Comments so far
Show AllHere's a plan: slap the rapist with a couple of years in the slammer and give the victim a life sentence, either she bares the child and is a mother for life or she has an abortion, then we can bring her up on murder charges and execute the slut, uhhh l mean victim. ( lsn't that the result of an amendment to the constitution banning abortion?). Pitbull* an animal with jaws like a steel trap, they say a mind like a steel trap is one that once it closes nothing gets in.
* also known for turning on it's handler.
Look, Sara Palin is pro-rape just like she's pro-war. She's the hot white chickie with the guns and the social position and these things aren't going to happen to her. On the other hand the men she draws on for power need to be rewarded and "lower class" women need to be reminded of their place.
I'm sure she's just fine with Track or the First Dude raping some non-christian, or non-white 'slut' (defined as anyone not in her clique) because that depresses them and their families and elevates her. Look how thrilled she is with the idea of attacking terrorists when there hasn't been a foriegn attack in Alaska since 1942 and that in the Aleuts.
Sara Palin isn't a pit-bull, she's a wolf intent on dominating those around her through control of their breeding. She's also completely whacko.
Fighting the forces of rather dim lighting wherever they may be found!!
Pangolin: and you know all of this how? Are you a fly on the wall? I am no fan of Governor Palin, but you are way out of bounds with these comments. Trashing a person just because they stand for different agenda than you only confirms the attitude toward people as "liberal trash". I would expect this kind of banter from Coulter, not a poster on commondreams.org.
DeColores,
Rockerbabe1
"I've often wondered if the problem isn't men period. It's a testament to women's kindness and tolerance and compassion that they have suffered these abuses so long without rising up and striking back against the war that has been prosecuted against them for so many years. And perhaps they should."
Oh yeah, women are kind and tolerant. Sara Palin anyone? Women NEVER do bad things to each other, do they?
Sure let's pit men vs. women, as if woman elites will be any better. That'll work.
Assertiveness/self defense training (as a regular part of the public education system) would stand women and girls in good stead throughout their environment, not just on the streets. As an aside, I know someone whose church is doing something like this. It begins with teaching young kids to say "No!" in a big voice when an adult does something they've been taught is inappropriate.
I can see that my comment about women taking responsibility for their own safety has been misunderstood. I meant it very seriously indeed. But I did not mean it should be the only option we endorse!
Another reader stated that women have to be especially careful because they are more vulnerable. All I'm suggesting is that we could help women and girls become less vulnerable. Certainly we should also do all those other things readers have pointed out: working to reduce the violence of our culture, etc. I'm simply suggesting that another step (if I could run the world! Ha!) would be building assertiveness and self defense training for girls into the public school system from kindergarten through high school.
It would be great if a woman could walk down the street knowing that she could defend herself if harassed or attacked. That would be much better than simply relying on men not to attack her.
So, what are you willing to do about it? And address rape happening in the home, school, institution. Please build on what you said. And, in small part, you do "run (part of) the world.
Violence against women is clearly a significant problem, but it has roots in something much deeper. The title of this article should be simply: A Culture of Violence. For that is what this culture is. It is not just women at which violence is directed at, but men, children, animals, plants...the Earth that are the victims. Rape is just a more heinous version of the violence that is everywhere.
The long term effect is that generation after generation this culture teaches that violence is acceptable and appropriate means to get what you want. Violence is the long term requirement of an ever expanding economy based on the extraction of non renewable resources , because without resources the system will collapse. The violence against the Earth is just normalized in a way that makes all violence explainable, justified in the twisted logic that allows humanity to kill the Earth to live another day.
Rape the Earth, rape a woman. What is the difference? Except one victim can speak and the other cannot (or is it that both speak, yet few are listening).
But I am only repeating what others have said, and less eloquently. For a proper perspective of the pervasiveness of violence in this culture, read Derrick Jensen's The Culture of Make Believe. Its an excellent book, but by no means 'light' reading.
I've often wondered if the problem isn't men period. It's a testament to women's kindness and tolerance and compassion that they have suffered these abuses so long without rising up and striking back against the war that has been prosecuted against them for so many years. And perhaps they should.
kitty_tc, Nicely put. Your comment got some man upset, and he didn't give you quote credit. This is a good question. But your last sentence:the "they" gives me pause. Of course the problem is men, in that society says a very quiet "no" when men rape. Usually.
I will change that around to "when women are raped". Notice how women have been the focus of changing the problem caused by men.
"kitty_tc, Nicely put. Your comment got some man upset, and he didn't give you quote credit. This is a good question. But your last sentence:the "they" gives me pause. Of course the problem is men, in that society says a very quiet "no" when men rape. Usually.
I will change that around to "when women are raped". Notice how women have been the focus of changing the problem caused by men."
What good does it do to make me upset? I'm not a rapist. I think I stated my position on this issue very clearly. In fact, I have at times jeopardized my job and my well-being in standing on the side of women.
Misandry won't make misogyny die. They each give the other a reason to exist, and none of it is good for me or you or anyone but the power elites. Identity politics get us nowhere.
I have a problem with blaming men. Its never so simple as that, for men and women perpetuate the system. And the root of violence against women is cultural not gender based.
There are plenty of examples of cultures where gender equality existed, but they have (mostly) been pushed out of existence by this culture in its attempts to extract the resources needed to keep it going (that just so happened to 'belong' to someone else).
Don't fall into the trap of believing that things have always been this way. This culture is an exception, not the rule.
I'm interested what you mean by rising up and striking back against the war prosecuted against them, presumably to visit violence or force of will on those to blame? Who would you target? All men? All women and men that victim blame? All men and women that rape? To what end?
"Fannon did not explain why rape victims should pay for their evidence collection kits while victims of burglary, for example, would not. "
Maybe because when someone robs your house, they dont have to swab your coochie?
and..what about bum burglary?
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
"Alaska's rape rate is 2.5 times the national average. Alaska also has the highest rate per capita of men murdering women."
WOW. That struck me. I had no idea. How disturbing. And Pallin has done nothing to address it.
"Do men ever talk with other men about rape? When a man makes a rape joke, do you say something in protest?"
Yes and yes. I've even discussed this person with management and have almost come to blows with this individual several times over it. We came real close to going there not too long ago, and I finally scared him so much that he watches what he says around me from now on. Actually, I think he was doing it in part because he knew it was bothering me. Harassment is a huge problem with this company. Of course, I highly doubt that this clown would even attempt a rape, and if he did I'm sure any co-ed would hand his ass to him.
"I've thought for years that women should learn to take responsibility for their own safety, "
I partly agree, but I also think that we all need to be good citizens and brothers and sisters and protect each other when we can. Not all women and men can defend themselves, so it's not only up to us to teach and empower these people when we can, but also look out for one another. We can all be knights regardless of our gender.
But women have to be especially careful. I am a male and am the kind of person who can walk around at all hours without anyone hassling me. On the other hand, I have a lot of female friends who have told me stories of incidents, sometimes even in our own neighborhood, which is a relatively safe area. They've told me about being followed and howled at by strange men among other things. One woman acquaintance was even attacked while waiting for a bus at night. She gouged the guy and got away from him only to be ignored by cops when she tried to flag them down.
I always wonder about men who attack women. Have they no mothers or sisters?
Stranger rape is a problem, but it seems that most rapes are committed in homes, by persons known to the victim. You might know someone who has raped a woman.
I am going to be very honest here. Other then what might be reported on the media, I have NEVER personally heard another man tell a "rape Joke". Not once.
It might be I have never, nor ever would hang out with that sort of crowd as I would certainly not suggest the issue of rape is something that is overblown.
PK
Me neither. I have never heard a single "rape" joke ever. I was in a fraternity in University and there were some really coarse people there and even they didn't joke about rape. There was discussion sometimes about what constituted rape in terms of when someone says no, but even that was never in jest. I see the rates for women being raped and assaulted and harassed and I believe it, but I have never seen that sort of behavior in anyone I know or have known. Somehow there is a disconnect here.
To all of the posters who commented on rape jokes, this is the McCain reference:
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/torie_clarke.php
As for making jokes, I am nearly sixty-two and remember as a young woman the "advice" that was common then: "If you are gonna be raped you might as well lay back, spread wide and enjoy it." It was also an era when is was usual for friends of an accused to go into court and "swear" that they had had consensual sex with the victim, and so on, thus making her deserving, apparently, of being raped, or worse, incapable of being victimized/raped. This was less than fifty years ago. Too much has not changed.
I am going to be very honest here. Other then what might be reported on the media, I have NEVER personally heard another man tell a "rape Joke". Not once.
It might be I have never, nor ever would hang out with that sort of crowd as I would certainly not suggest the issue of rape is something that is overblown.
PK
90% of Alaskans would vote to fund victims service programs and yet nothing got done.They had a 7 billion surplus and the gov. and legislators gave out money like candy and now they are crying because there is no money in the budget.Repug leg. and gov.and people who took the money and ran.7 billion!!! Tony
On this issue: winner by knockout in round one Obama-Biden!
"Palin, as mayor, fired police chief Irl Stambaugh and replaced him with Charlie Fannon, who with Palin's knowledge, slashed the budget for the exams and began charging the city's victims of sexual assault. The city budget documents demonstrate Palin read and signed off on the new budget."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacob-alperinsheriff/sarah-palin-instituted-ra_b_125833.html
There must be a bazillion items in a budget for even a small town like Wasilla. To claim that Palin is responsible for charging victims for their rape kits is incorrect. Charlie Fannon is responsible, Palin let it slide. I'm not excusing her, just trying to get the facts straight here.
Either:
she knowingly appointed someone who minimized rape
or
she failed to understand Fannon's character.
Cruel or stupid - take your pick.
Joe
Ah, the mantra of the misunderstood Republican autocrat:
"I was the man in charge of everything that went on at the company and I deserved every dollar I recieved." "I had no idea that Skilling guy was breaking the law."
"When I was the mayor I had tons of responsibilities, more than a lowly senator, and I oversaw everything". "I didn't know what that police chief was doing."
LOL !!
crypto-- "I've thought for years that women should learn to take responsibility for their own safety, "
This is similar to saying we need guns to protect ourselves ! Its the responsibility of the State to protect its citizens ... especially women and children as they are far more vulnerable to violence committed by men.
How about addressing the issue of cultural violence against everyone? This country is at a point where the only way to survive is other than having some "special" connection is to be a vigilante. It is no coincidence that gun sales are given higher priority over health safety kits of all kinds. This country might very well perish sooner than we can imagine.
Compare the number of comments on this article to others above it. How many of the comments below this article are off-topic? What does it say about our society's view of rape? Why?
Focusing on one point here ...
"In Illinois an amendment to the Crime Victims Compensation Act was passed in 2001, co-sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama, to ensure that sexual assault victims (or victims of other violent crimes) can be reimbursed for expenses they may incur."
If you follow the link to the legislation, you find something quite different than Newman's summary, which makes it sound like Obama and some other legislators came up with this wonderful compensation act. In fact, the act already existed and the changes are quite technical. The single reference to "sexual" already existed prior to the change.
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/legisnet92/hbgroups/hb/920HB1814LV.html
Also, the bill originated in the Illinois House, not the Senate. It's nice that Obama was one of the Senate sponsors, but he did no work other than attach his name to the bill.
This is just the typical BS coming from Obama's campaign and surrogates. They take one tiny thing that he did and blow it up to make him look like Mother Teresa. And yet Palin's every word, every breath, is scrutinized. It's very annoying !
While you may have a point about Obama, the reason every word from Palin's mouth is scrutinized is because she is a lying, psychopathic, fundamentalist theocrat who has no business being a contender for the VP of the USA!
And Obama's a self-obsessed egocentric theocrat.
I would also like to add that Gov Blagojevich has done far more for rape and domestic violence victims than Obama has ! This essay is comparing apples and oranges, a governor (Palin) to a State and then Federal Senator (Obama). Aside from adding his name to an existing piece of legislation, I find no other contributions by Obama.
Ok, that's fair now that you mention Blagojevich. Thanks. I guess I misjudged you there.
I like Blagojevich. I used to like Obama too !
I heard a lot about that governor. He used to get a lot of flack for actually trying to balance the budget in the state. I feel sorry that your state is a donor state. Mine isn't yet the deficit is still enough to allow the Republicans to make excuses for keeping the budgets cut. People complain about blue states being too liberal and yet they're feeding off the tax dollars donated by them to the federal government who in return are supposed to give them to the red states and yet of all that the red states get, it all goes to the special interests while we suffer severe budget cuts despite the money being provided by the federal government.
Jason Jordan
Sandpoint, Idaho
Ahh, atheist. Welcome back. I see you're still angry that Hillary didn't win the nomination. Anyway, if you had even read the article, Obama was equally questioned as to what he plans to do about it. Relax. I guess you're looking for the next leader who'll guarantee you more high fructose corn syrup and aspartame, both of which are artificial sweetners made from and with petroleum. Hmmm, since you need more oil, you know something? Palin might just deliver for you once she kicks Mccain out and takes over given Mccain's uncertain health. All that oil drilling drilling drilling and more wars for oil to get you all those nice junk food "cheap". Hey, maybe Palin may make Cheney look "nice". Gotta love those over-militaristic femmies like Palin and despise the softer sides of men and women, eh ?
Atheist isn't a Republican. If you're looking for Republicans, come over to my state and bother them for a change !
Jason Jordan
Sandpoint, Idaho
I don't do HFCS or aspartame. >:-)
OK, you saw my Blago comment. I've actually voted Dem in every single election until this year. Shhhhhh, I've decided to let someone who is incarcerated do my voting for me. I'm going to print the ballot and let him choose. He's totally left-leaning but I doubt he'll vote for Obama. I'm not even going to open up what he sends back to me until I'm in the booth !
This makes me think of the book "A Handmaid's Tale". In it, one of the main characters is a woman (modeled off Phyllis Schlafly, actually) who spent her whole life advocating that women should be in the home, raising children and submitting to their husbands. She, of course, didn't do this but she was sacrificing for the greater good. When the forces she is fighting for eventually triumph, she is relegated back to the home, denied the right to speak in public, hold a job or even read. A very chilling passage from the novel in describing her comes to mind when I think of women like Sarah Palin: "How furious she must have been to be taken at her word."
The Right; conservatives, support the status quo, support “tradition”. They support patriarchy. Control of women is the fundamental purpose of a patriarchal order. So, it makes sense that Republicans like Palin (acting against her own interests as a woman) would defund the rape kits. For a male-dominant society, rape is a means of the social control of women. So even though rape is a crime (here in the US), the Right will do whatever they can to ensure that legal protections for women are ineffective. Palin belongs to that twisted tradition of power wielding women that support male dominant ideology. Many men, still don't get it that equality of the sexes, where women are safe from harm, are free to actualize themselves, is better for BOTH men and women.
Do men ever talk with other men about rape? When a man makes a rape joke, do you say something in protest? Curious. Yes, in some times,circumstances rape is used as social control over women, but it seems to me, sometimes rape by a man is "just because he can". There is not so much social pressure if he is found out. The statute of limitations is something that needs to be addressed in re rape. Yes, an equal society is best for all in it.
You are assuming that men do not rape other men, and that women do not rape other men and women....very sexist of you.
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
"You are assuming that men do not rape other men, and that women do not rape other men and women....very sexist of you."
Well, women rapists are rare, but you have a point about male on male sexual violence. We all know what goes on in prisons.
One thing I find, is that while male on male sexual violence isn't as common, I do find more and more that men tend to sexually harass and ridicule each other. I mean, I hear young guys call each other "bitch" a lot. As in "you're my bitch." And people think it's funny. I also hear young guys denigrate one another more and more by telling each other what sex acts they'd make the other perform.
I don't know about other men, but being referred to as someone's sexual slave is something that really rubs me the wrong way.
Bottom line, human beings need very much to stop treating each other like shit. As far as I am concerned, when it comes to who has it all in this world and who has little to nothing, it is infighting. While we're shooting, raping, and hurting one another, physically and mentally, the people at the very top just count their money.
SANDA & BREE MASS: Thank you for raising the larger social and societal issues that surround violence against women. What no one has mentioned is Sarah Palin's abject disregard for this problem, and I believe it goes to her fundamentalist Christian roots. The whole idea of the woman "submitting" the father or male HEAD of the family subtly says women are incapable of their own decisions, and that they ARE second class citizens. I believe these twisted notions come from the ludicrous notion of a literal take on the Garden of Eden. It's always amused me that Eve offered the apple but was blamed (and still is, this explaining whey so many religious women ACT against women) for Adam's CHOICE in receiving it; and I entirely take this anecdote as a metaphor. Many take it literally, and blame women for sin and the fall of mankind; then go about controlling women, their sexuality in particular. In the Arab world if a woman is raped, that brings shame to the family and she is punished, often killed! This is called "honor crime." In America, a similar sentiment shows up covertly, as in blame the victim, make HER pay. (Biblical subtext: she is RESPONSIBLE for the fall and all this corruption in the world.)
I remember when rape victims were judged by the clothing they were wearing. The media may be owned by many Christian Republican rich types who use it to spew imagery of half-clad young girls servicing men... but when REAL girls emulate this behavior, they are denied contraception, forced to have children they are unready to raise, and blamed. America is punitive and takes much wrath out on women, and the double standard of a pro-sex media against a "Just say no" cultural milieu leads to schizophrenic public policy.
Siouxrose, I give credit to anyone who spells my name right. You raise some interesting points. I am not a Christian, but had a grandmother who was religious (not Christian) and steeped in the old testament. I have trouble following liturgical arguments, so I'll leave that.
Alas, I think women are still being judged by clothing worn in re rape, but I do want to point out that women of all ages, including over 80 and who knows how young (I cringe at how young I have heard) are raped, so we know the clothing thing (as you point out) is silly.
Honor killing is not universally "arab", I do not think. Patriarchy is worldwide, wherever men can "get away with it". No one is addressing "rape at home", by family members or neighbors.
Finally, there's "blame the victim" which you point out. Blame the victim is used for all kinds of things in our society. Make your own list. Twisting "individualism" as a US thing, including "if you're sick, get your own health care". And sadly, I don't know how true it still is, but too many women used to be in denial and out of fear, are not kind to rape survivors. If a woman can say, "well, look how she was dressed..." and she dresses modestly, she's "safe"....not true. Thanks for keeping the dialog moving on topic.
Yes indeed, SR, the notion that women should submit to their husbands is a very important cultural subcurrent running through the cavaier attitude many have about violence against women. If a woman is supposed to obey her husband and doesn't, doesn't that mean she deserves what she gets? And in the wider context of women being required to submit to men in general, any woman who disobeys a man (i.e. refuses to have sex with him even though he's a stranger in a dark alley) also deserves what she gets. Thank you for pointing this out!
Ugh. No more needs to be said.
Yes, expecting rape victims to pay for collection of evidence is outrageous, but further: I've thought for years that women should learn to take responsibility for their own safety, and not rely on men to protect them. If I could run the world, all public schools would include assertiveness and self defense training for girls, beginning in kindergarten and continuing right through high school.
Interesting. How about self control classes for men? That may be a more direct way of dealing with the problem. ... Or is it a given that men will always attack women, and it is up to them to address the issue?
crypto716, have you been responsible for the safety of any girl, woman? Your statement strikes me as odd. In some countries, women have to go outside accompanied by men. Since that is not the case in the US, what are you saying? And, you can push for "assertiveness and self-defense training for girls"(boys,too) in your local schools right now, you don't have to "run the world". In a way, you are.
How much responsibility do men take that men in their community rape women? What do you do in re other men to change attitudes? Have you ever been on a jury? Or with prosecution or nonprosecution of a rapist in your community? It's not "womens problem", it's society's problem.
Are you serious? Do you think for one second that the vast majority of women don't take responsibility for their own safety? I don't rely on men to protect me. I agree that self-defense is good, but to suggest that women who haven't taken a self-defense course are somehow neglecting responsibility for their own safety is sexist and ludicrous. How about while girls are in their kindergarten self-defense class, the boys are in a class that explains why real men don't beat, rape and brutalize women, that women aren't put on this planet solely for their satisfaction and that women should be respected? How about instead of "assertiveness" training for women, we put all boys in classes for their entire education that teach them about non-violence and respect for women (and men, too - to be fair, men generally beat and kill each other at a higher rate than they do women)? How about we stop marketing video games, books and movies that glamourize sexual violence to teenage boys and to men? How about we stop teaching men that women are inferior and that women are put on this planet to obey their fathers/husbands/sons? Oh right, that would be crazy leftist social engineering - it's much easier to just blame it on us poor weak women who couldn't find time for a self-defense class...
BreeMass, all of the above. I would add that all children be given self-defense training starting early. What with budget cuts, some school don't have physical ed. classes.
Disabled women are very vulnerable and women in institutions (and girls) are quite, very vulnerable (staff members have done violence toward women/girls in institutions), so self-defense training has limits.
I'm a woman and I don't think many women depend upon "men" to protect us. Saying that implies we have responsibility for the rapes. How sexist to blame the victims. What about the men who are raped? It happens. I'm a small women. I HAVE to go out at night sometimes -- not for fun but for work and classes. I am not depending on a man to protect me. I keep my eyes open and am aware of my surroundings and carry pepper spray. That does not mean someone will still not attack me and succeed in carrying out a rape. It's a chance all women take. We DO expect the systems our tax dollars pay for, however, to HELP us when things like this happen. We are taxpayers, too, and we have just as much right as men to feel protected.
And that society will take it seriously, that rape is a crime. And treat us decently.
Not all men think alike. Just as all women do not think alike.
I have walked late at night and seen single woman making their way home, be it from work, a pub wherever. I tend to feel safe . Its just taken for granted in my head that I will be fine and get home ok.
But when I pass some of these women I can sense a palpable fear. They watch me closely and with suspicion. They grasp their purses tighter. Not all but certainly some...I don't understand, There is nothing to fear from me but I am not them.
I really do not know where guys get off being "feared". It is not my cup of tea. It actually pains me to see others who do not know me walk past "in fear".
Someone once mentioned selling fear and horror as entertainment. Those SAW movies and the 19th iteration of Friday the 13th. I cant stand those movies. In fact I don't think I have ever been able to sit through a single one. I see no "value" in them whatsoever yet they continue to draw big at the box office.
What is it that makes people different? Culture..genetics? Familial upbringing? A combination of the above?
Thank you so much for this article and your point of view. Rape is a very "quiet" pervasive event in our society and has been for a long long time, but it is not much talked about. Our culture has sexual violence (as well as "battery") against women in movies, books, tv.... and more than I ever can remember.
Of course I have an interest in the topic. You have only touched on the topic:like an iceberg, much is below the surface. Why do so many men "get away with it"? All economic levels, and in the military (US),in nursing homes, hospitals, prisons and families, and why is it still so unspoken? Altho, every once in a while, someone will be chastised verbally for making a joke about rape, in the media.
It's mindboggling that a victim of sexual assault would be charged for their rape-kits. Not only were they assaulted and traumatized, now they have to pay a whole bunch of cash in order to have justice.