The Institutional Permissiveness in the
Sanctions for Rape
We
presume that rape, sexual assault, or sexual violence are
straightforwardly and self-evidently bad, wrong, and harmful.
Yet,
the way we commonly doubt, dispute, and deny rape, and diminish, deride, and
denigrate those who have been raped, make the reality of rape anything but
clear-cut. Worse is how those harmed and violated are both doubly blamed and
doubly punished – by attackers and by responders - for the wrongs done against
them. Worse still is how institutions for whom safety
and protection are priorities, routinely and procedurally permit rape, promote
(in the most literal sense) rapists, and publicly persecute the victims and
survivors of sexual violence.
Why
are there so many discrepancies between how we feel about sexual violence and
the perverse way we respond to sexual violence?
Follow
the links for a sampling of the contradictions and hypocrisies baked into our
institutional responses to sexual violence.
The U.S. Military
Perhaps
the single best place to start is the recent documentary, The Invisible War.
Learn
more about how rape has been normalized as an occupational hazard of military
service:
Judge dismisses
epidemic of rape in military case
Review
recent facts and findings that continue to make the documentary newsworthy
three years after its release.
2014 Facts on
United States Military Sexual Violence
http://www.protectourdefenders.com/factsheet/
Fact Sheet:
Sexual Assault in the U.S. Military
www.equalitynow.org/sites/default/files/FactSheet_Military_Sexual_Assault_EN.pdf
The Criminal Justice System
As
an example of how the criminal justice system has normalized rape – relegating sexual
violence as “theft of services”:
Phila. Bar slams
judge in rape case Teresa Carr Deni had its support
for a third term. Then she reduced a charge to theft of a prostitute's services
http://articles.philly.com/2007-10-31/news/25232857_1_sexual-assault-charges-city-judge-gunpoint
Judge
criticized for considering gang rape on prostitute theft of services
Raping a sex
worker at gunpoint is just theft of services, says Chicago Sun-Times columnist
When a sex worker is raped, its rape not theft of
services
http://www.salon.com/2015/09/14/when_a_sex_worker_is_raped_its_rape_not_theft_of_services/
The Catholic Church
The story
behind the 'Spotlight' movie
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/spotlight-movie
Roman
Catholic Church Sex Abuse Cases
http://www.nytimes.com/topic/organization/roman-catholic-church-sex-abuse-cases
What’s the
State of the Church’s Child Abuse Crisis?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/whats-the-state-of-the-churchs-child-abuse-crisis/