TresSugar

Facts About Rape

DearSugar — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:00:00 -0800

When I think of my greatest fears, getting raped is on top of that list. So that's why whenever I go out, I always take precautions to make sure my girlfriends and I are as safe as possible. We never leave each other alone, let our drinks out of our sight, or let each other go home with guys we don't know and we always make sure we all have a safe way to get home.

Since rape and sexual assault are such a huge problem, I thought it would be good to know the facts. Take this quiz and see what you know.

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UK Report Calls Date-Rape Drug a Myth

TresSugar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Well this is depressing. A UK Daily Mail article titled Date-Rape Drug? No Dear, You Just Had Too Much to Drink claims that date-rape drugs are mostly an urban myth. The paper quotes academic research, recently published in the British Journal of Criminology, to argue that women are "willing to 'hide behind' the idea that a stranger poured poison in their drink - rather than face up to the fact that they had simply been binge drinking."

The original report claims that women often confuse binge-drinking induced blackouts and dizziness with drink-spiking, and researchers worry that this could cause women to be less careful about more common factors that put them at risk for rape - like heavy drinking. Unfortunately, this attitude suggests that because women are responsible for their binge drinking, they're also responsible for any assault they might endure. (What about the rapist?)

In addition, the authors say that "despite popular beliefs, police have found no evidence rape victims are commonly drugged with substances such as rohypnol." It seems like quite a leap to say that women getting drugged and then raped is an urban myth just because it might not be as common as a drunk woman getting raped.

It's troubling that some experts and the media cannot find a way to remind people about the dangers associated with binge drinking without discrediting women who have been victims of sexual abuse.

What to Do If You Are a Victim of Rape

DearSugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:00:00 -0700

Any type of forced sexual assault that you don't consent to is considered rape. It's a crime if the attacker is a stranger, if you know your attacker (85 percent of women do), if you're related to them, or even if they are your spouse. It's a crime even if you were drinking, doing drugs, given drugs, or too out of it to say no or fight back.

If you are the victim of a rape, here's what you should do:

Get to a close, safe place.
Immediately go to a hospital or ER. Don't shower or change your clothes. The doctor will examine you and collect evidence including pieces of hair, clothing fibers, saliva, and semen to be placed in a rape kit that may be later used by police or in a court of law.
If you are using hormonal birth control or an IUC then pregnancy is not likely, but if you're not, the doctor may recommend you take emergency birth control (Plan B).
Chances are that the rapist did not use a condom, so the doctor will most likely test you for STIs.
Since being sexually assaulted can have huge emotional and psychological ramifications, a therapist may be recommended. It's a good idea to talk to someone about your experience to help you cope with the strong feelings of sadness, disbelief, fear, guilt, and anxiety you may have.

Unfortunately in this day and age, it's necessary for young women to know and talk about rape, so do your fellow females a favor and pass this important information onto the women in your life that you care about.

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One in Three Teen Girls in UK Reports Abuse by Boyfriends

TresSugar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:25:56 -0700

Results from an in-depth study paint a depressing picture of widespread sexual abuse across the UK. One-third of teen-girl participants reported suffering unwanted sexual acts while in relationships, and a quarter of them said they had been physically assaulted by their boyfriends.

Nine out of 10 of the 13- to 17-year-old girls surveyed said they had been in an intimate relationship. The research revealed that a girl in a relationship had a higher risk of abuse from a partner if she had previously been physically abused by an adult family member or if she had an older boyfriend. In fact, three-fourths of the young girls with a significantly older boyfriend said they were victims of abuse.

The girls reported that they put up with the abuse, which ranged from slapping, punching, and biting to forced kissing, sexual touching, or rape, because they felt scared, guilty, or fearful that they would lose their boyfriend.

Let's hope this knowledge will help parents, teachers, and others who work with young people find ways to protect them from abuse and stop the cycle of domestic violence.

American Justice System Doesn't Take Rape Seriously

TresSugar — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:00:00 -0700

In his New York Times column today, Nicholas Kristof ponders the question: Is rape serious?

Kristof obviously thinks it is. And he wants to call attention to the fact that after rape victims undergo an invasive DNA collecting exercise, the evidence (known as a "rape kit") often goes untested for years. He writes:

So while we have breakthrough DNA technologies to find culprits and exculpate innocent suspects, we aren’t using them properly - and those who work in this field believe the reason is an underlying doubt about the seriousness of some rape cases. In short, this isn’t justice; it’s indifference.

The rape kit backlog has caught the attention of human rights groups. One found that in LA county there are 12,669 rape kits sitting in storage!

Kristof hypothesizes about the reasons behind the inaction. Tests are expensive - at $1,500 each - but he also thinks that police feel no urgency to investigate because alleged rapes often involve alcohol or an acquaintance. Essentially, the justice system is not treating rape like a serious crime.

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UK Poll: Some Think Women Deserve Violence Sometimes

CitizenSugar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:00:24 -0700

Domestic abuse has infiltrated the headlines lately. As we follow the very public saga of Chris Brown and Rihanna, society's attitudes about violence against women have emerged. Sometimes these diverging positions can be shocking.

A new survey conducted by the UK government reveals that one in seven people believe it is acceptable in some circumstances for a man to hit his wife or girlfriend if she is dressed in "sexy or revealing clothes in public."

According to a quarter of those surveyed, sexy dress also should mean that a woman is held partially responsible if she is raped or sexually assaulted. And, about one in seven also said it's fine to slap a wife or girlfriend if she is "nagging."

The majority believe it's never OK to hit a woman. But the fact that many can find a justification for violence proves that there is still a lot of work to be done to keep all women safe.

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Rape Used to Recruit More Than 80 Female Suicide Bombers

LibertySugar — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:00:56 -0800

Her nickname is Um al-Mumenin - it means "mother of all believers" - and she was arrested for recruiting more than 80 women to be suicide bombers and masterminding 28 bombings throughout Iraq.

While violence has eased throughout the struggling country, the number of women carrying out suicide bombings has sharply risen according to US military numbers: 36 women in 2008 compared to eight in 2007. Unlike men who are promised everlasting paradise for martyrdom, there is little in it for women. The unsuspecting middle-age madam capitalized on this inequity by orchestrating rapes, only to convince women afterward that suicide bombing was the only way to escape their shame.

Women are ideal candidates because the long, flowing black robes they traditionally wear glide through security. The fact that most checkpoints are guarded by men, who allow them to pass without being searched, only makes things easier.

For now, the only relief in sight is that the US military is recruiting women for Iraqi security who can search women and, hopefully, counter the threat.

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An Important Statement or Inappropriate Message?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:00:14 -0700

Jennifer Baumgardner, a Brooklyn writer has designed a simple T-shirt with a complicated message. The T-shirt shows a picture of a safe, with a tiny card inside which reads, "I was raped."

She hopes that the simple message will make an unassuming object, like the T-shirt, and open the sensitive topic for everyday conversation. She says,

"So many people who’ve been raped tend to doubt the experience. I do think it’s often empowering for women and men to own that experience and divest themselves of some of the shame and secrecy of it - and realize that they’re not the ones that should be ashamed.”

Baumgardner also designed a T-shirt reading, "I had an abortion." When she test-wore the shirt past a group of young men she found, “I’d be afraid that it would invite the same derision and hostility that I associate with the rape." The insight that she still had those feelings and the fact that the T-shirt helped with them, she said, made the experience worthwhile.

After all the comments this morning about the judge's decision to outlaw the word "rape" from his courtroom, I'm curious: Is this an appropriate way to start discussion? Or is the forum of a T-shirt too casual for the topic?

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Afghan Women Fleeing Abuse Often Wind up in Jail

CitizenSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 06:00:24 -0700

When the Taliban fell six years ago, it was thought that a new government would offer women in Afghanistan a greater freedom since their rights are now guaranteed in the new Afghani constitution. The women of Afghanistan can now go to school and find employment, yet except for a small number of wealthy, urbanites, a woman who escapes a setting of domestic horror can end up in jail.

The reality for most women parts of Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan is less than free: a woman who runs away from home is usually assumed to have taken a lover and can be prosecuted for adultery. Simply leaving her house without her family's permission may be deemed a jailable offense. To see what's happening, read more.

Kamala Janakiram, a UN human rights officer in eastern Afghanistan claims that 70 to 80 percent of cases where a woman escapes a setting of domestic violence, she is charged for running away from home. Compounding this atrocity is the fact that the UN Office on Drugs and Crime have stated that many rape victims are forced to marry their rapists or even imprisoned for adultery because they could not prove they were raped.

These aren't isolated instances either - there are countless stories of women who are horribly abused and disfigured at the hands of their husbands only to be either left to die or thrown in prison - and the blame lays squarely on the justice system. A chief prosecutor of the eastern Nangarhar province, Abdul Qayaum said: “If my wife goes to the bazaar without my permission, I will kill her. This is Afghanistan, not America.”

The man makes a point. Just last week we were debating who was on the wrong side of the Equal Pay bill - and though that inequality might not be great, the true depth of the cultural divide and how women live this very day on this planet that's really not so big - is shattering. At what point does the dominance of culture end and universal human dignity begin?

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Briefing Book! Olympic Medalist Calls Chinese "Scum"

LibertySugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:30:00 -0700

Diplomacy: Can one stupid comment hurt the countries' relations? Israel's lone medalist calls the Chinese "scum." - Shanghaiist
VPs: How do you debate a woman and win? Pretend she's a man, and you're not Joe Biden. – Slate
Healthcare: Who will it help? John McCain wants to tax your employer-provided healthcare benefits. - Swampland
Palin: Fact or fiction? Breaking down the rape-kit story. - Townhall
Lobbyists: Birds of prey or part of a complex Washington reality? McCain's aides often end up as lobbyists. - Politico
Michelle Obama: Will you tune in for Michelle, the food, or both? Michelle Obama to appear on Paula Deen's Food Network show to make fried shrimp. - YumSugar

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