Rape

Sadly, this year has started off with a lot of news headlines about rape. It's always difficult to discuss topics involving violence against women, but it's also important for us to talk about the reality and prevalence of sexual assaults so that we can do more about preventing them in the first place. And as brave victims tell their stories, they'll hopefully encourage more women to speak out and, as a result, more rapists will be put in prison. Plus, we all need to be clear on the fact that rape is rape — since even our politicians seem to be unclear on what it is. So we're breaking down the latest news relating to rape as a reminder that we need to seriously crack down on this terrible crime.

The Steubenville Rape Case

Last week the world was horrified by the YouTube video that Internet vigilante Anonymous leaked of drunk Steubenville high school athletes joking about a girl who was raped by two football players. The disturbing video put the Ohio rape case against the two 16-year-old boys (who are set for trial Feb. 13 on charges that they raped a 16-year-old girl in August) in the public eye, creating a domino effect of events. Notably, the boy in the video has dropped out of school, Anonymous has continued to leak information about the case, and in response, Steubenville city officials have launched a website about the facts of the crime, including helpful resources for victims. Hopefully this case will be the catalyst for rape accusations against athletes — and in general — to be taken more seriously.

California's "Spouse Impersonation" Legal Rape Loophole

An antiquated California statute (written in 1872) led to the retrial of a convicted rapist who snuck into a sleeping woman's bed after a party pretending to be her boyfriend. The defense? She wasn't married. The state's law stipulates that "rape by deception" can only happen when the victim "submits under the belief that the person committing the act is the victim's spouse." Yesterday, a Bay Area state senator introduced new legislation to prevent this from happening again. California Women's Caucus chairwoman Noreen Evans introduced SB 59 to change the word "spouse" to "sexually intimate partner."

Keep reading for more rape-related headlines.

Earlier this week, Indiana's GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock had a Todd Akin moment when asked if abortions should be allowed in cases of rape. He said, "I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen."

While Romney has stood by his endorsement of Mourdock, he did tell Anderson Cooper last night that his continued support hinges on Mourdock apologizing. He said, "If he apologizes and says he misspoke and he was wrong and he asks the people to forgive him, then obviously I'd be the first . . . in the years that I've been around, I've made a few [mistakes] and I've asked for people's understanding and forgiveness when I own up to it. It's when you don't own up to it when people will not believe you."

Obama was harsher in his response to Mourdock's controversial comments last night, telling Jay Leno, "I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas. . . . Rape is rape. It is a crime. And so, these various distinctions about rape don't make too much sense to me, don't make any sense to me." He then added, "This is exactly why you don't want a bunch of politicians, mostly male, making decisions about women's healthcare decisions." We agree!

Watch Obama talk about Mourdock's rape comments and women's healthcare rights in this Tonight Show clip below.

You couldn't blame anyone casually following the Amanda Knox case over the past four years for being confused. But today, the American college student convicted of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher after alleged "sex games" gone wrong tried to make it very clear that she is innocent. In fluent Italian, Amanda begged the court to let her go home, saying "I did not do the things they say I did. I did not kill, rape or steal. I was not there." Her appeal, which came after a trial filled with tainted evidence and bizarre behavior by Italian officials and Amanda herself, is coming to a close. A panel of two professional and six lay judges are expected to reach a decision soon on whether her 26-year sentence will stand, or she will be allowed to return home to Seattle. Watch Amanda's final plea with subtitles now, and tell us what you make of it all in the comments.

In Dominique Strauss-Kahn's first interview on French TV since escaping sexual assault charges in New York City, the French politician accused hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo of lying repeatedly. As the news report above explains, DSK conceded that his behavior was inappropriate, but he then attacked the maid's credibility, maintaining that he did not use force. The former IMF chief went on TV to make amends with the French public, hoping to revive his political career. While he ruled out a presidential run, it's clear DSK wants to return to public life.

Women protested outside of the TV station, outraged that DSK is being welcomed back by the establishment while he is still being sued in the US and France. French journalist Tristane Banon, a friend of DSK's daughter, has accused him of trying to rape her when she showed up to interview him and said she had to kick him off of her. In the interview, DSK addressed those accusations, calling them "imaginary and defamatory" and said he simply tried to kiss her. According to him, everything is just one big misunderstanding, whether he's trying to "seduce" an impoverished hotel worker in Manhattan or a professional journalist in France.

For the first time it has come to light that civil rights activist Rosa Parks was almost raped by a white neighbor who employed her as a housekeeper when she was 18 years old. She wrote down the troubling story in an essay that was just uncovered from her personal belongings. She wrote:

"He offered me a drink of whiskey, which I promptly and vehemently refused . . . He moved nearer to me and put his hand on my waist. I was very frightened by now. He liked me . . . he didn't want me to be lonely and would I be sweet to him. He had money to give me for accepting his attentions. I was ready to die but give my consent never. Never, never."

Most famously known for her refusal to give up her bus seat for a white passenger, "first lady of civil rights" Rosa never shared this attempted rape story publicly or in her memoirs. It's sad that even a strong, outspoken icon like Rosa — who spent her life campaigning against white men raping black women — wasn't immune to the hesistancy rape victims have of coming forward with their story. What do you think about this new revelation? Will Rosa's story encourage other women to speak out against sexual assault?

After her anonymity and reputation have already been compromised in the media with claims of prostitution and blackmail, the maid accusing ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her has come forward in the press. Thirty-two-year-old Guinean immigrant Nafissatou Diallo granted a cover interview with Newsweek and will appear on Good Morning America and Nightline this week.

In her three-hour interview with Newsweek, Diallo, who cannot read nor write in any language, said working at the Sofitel hotel was the best job she could ever hope to have. The article noted that at some times her tears seamed forced, but overall her recount of the assault was "vivid" and "compelling" and backed up by hospital records. Here are more highlights:

On how the attack happened: "Hello? Housekeeping." Diallo looked around the living room. She was standing facing the bedroom in the small entrance hall when the naked man with white hair appeared. "Oh, my God," said Diallo. "I'm so sorry." And she turned to leave. "You don't have to be sorry," he said. But he was like "a crazy man to me." He clutched at her breasts. He slammed the door of the suite.

On the aftermath: "I watched Channel 7 and they say this is [the] guy — I don't know — and he is going to be the next president of France. And I think they are going to kill me."

On the attacks to her reputation: "Because of him they call me a prostitute," she said. "I want him to go to jail. I want him to know there are some places you cannot use your power, you cannot use your money." She said she hoped God punishes him. "We are poor, but we are good," she said. "I don't think about money."

Do you think coming forward for an interview will help the maid's case?

For victims of rape, it's hard enough to share the horrible experience with your loved ones, much less a courtroom. And a legal (and media) system that puts the rape victim's life on trial instead of the alleged rapist most likely discourages even more women from reporting sex crimes.

By forcing women to share intimate details of their sexual history, the trial experience for a rape victim is so embarrassing and demeaning it's no wonder six out of 10 assaults are never reported to police. And of those that are, many don't even make it to trial. The president of RAINN (the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), Scott Berkowitz, says, "15 out of 16 attackers will never spend a day in prison."

The most recent example of this disheartening reality is the high-profile Dominique Strauss-Kahn case. Despite the former International Monetary Fund chief's troubled history with women, it's the alleged victim's past that will likely cause prosecutors to drop the case. Berkowitz says the case "certainly makes it a more challenging environment, both for victims and on the prosecution side."

Eliina Keitelman, who was raped when she was 14, sums up the problem perfectly: "Why is SHE on trial? Do bad choices in your past mean you can't get justice in your future?"

New York TV reporter Heidi Jones is making news after police charged her for lying about attempted rape. The 37-year-old weatherwoman alleged that a Hispanic man attacked her while she was jogging in Central Park this Fall and then threatened her again two months later near her apartment. She filed a police report following the made-up second incident. Police got suspicious, and Jones apparently told them that she was having trouble in her relationship and made up the crimes to get sympathy. She now faces a year in jail.

Lying about rape is horrible and should be treated as a crime — it can ruin the lives of innocent men and make it harder for true victims to get justice. But I'm not sure Jones should go to jail since she didn't accuse and tarnish the reputation of an actual person. Maybe a more fitting punishment would be to have her repay the police for resources wasted and announce on air that the attack never happen. That is if she keeps her job after this.

What do you think should happen to Jones?

Last week we were surprised there was a Swedish law against a man refusing to wear a condom after a woman asks him to, dubbed "sex by surprise." Reports swirled, saying WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was not wanted for rape in Sweden, but just a count, or two, of surprise sex that was nothing more than a fineable offense.

Today we learn that the sex-by-surprise story was spun by Assange's lawyer, Mark Stephens, who told an AOL reporter that was all he was accused of. "Whatever 'sex by surprise' is," Stephens said, "it's only a offense in Sweden — not in the UK or the US or even Ibiza."

But then how could he be held without bail, since no charges against his WikiLeaks shenanigans have been filed? Well, it turns out "sex by surprise" is nowhere to be found in Swedish law. It's really a bad translation of överraskningssex, Swedish slang for rape, which has positive connotations and is used to discuss the form of assault jokingly.

So what is Assange accused of? Find out below.