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"A dream you dream alone is only a dream; a dream you dream together is reality." -- Yoko Ono
"In my heart, I think a woman has two choices: either she's a feminist or a masochist." --Gloria Steinem
Aug
20
Another Suspect Arrested in Dunbar Village Rape
Filed Under misogyny, race and racism, rape and sexual assault, violence against women and girls | Posted by Cara |
By now, many of you have probably heard about the horrific rape of a a woman in the Dunbar Village housing project in West Palm Beach, Florida, last month. Both the woman and her 12-year-old son were attacked and beaten. The woman was repeatedly raped and sodomized by up to 10 men. At gun point, she was forced to perform oral sex on her son. Then both were doused in household cleaners. The attack lasted for 3 hours.
I literally need to catch my breath and choke back tears as I write that. Of all the horrible rape stories that I have read and reported on, this is by far the worst that I’ve encountered occurring in my own country. Whenever I allow myself to read or think the words “forced to perform oral sex on her son,” I have to remind myself to breathe. And it’s because this is so difficult to talk about that we need to.
I write this post today to say that a fourth suspect has been taken into custody. He is 18. The other three suspects are 14, 15 and 16. They face life in prison.
There seems to be a media blackout on the crime. Some suggest that it’s due to the fact that the case involves a black victim and black perpetrators. And yes, it does seem very likely to me that when a white woman is not involved, or there is no tricky race issue to focus on (instead of focusing on the atrocity of the actual crime), the media just turns off. I have to say that I read the major media outlets on a daily basis, looking for blog topics. The only way I have found information on the Dunbar case is through other feminist blogs, and through specifically seeking the information out in google searches. Where, exactly, are the press releases from NOW, or the Feminist Majority Foundation– both organizations that I deeply respect? I don’t know. I haven’t seen them. I’ve looked for them and found nothing.
I would like to say that I respect the police force in West Palm Beach for taking this case seriously. After all, how many horrible rape cases do we hear of where no arrests are made, or charges are suspiciously dropped? I hope that they have the right people in custody. I hope that they catch the rest of them. And I hope that these victims can find justice.
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Comments
5 Comments so far
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"Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less." -- Susan B. Anthony
That’s such a horrific and disturbing case, but, yeah, it’s also disturbing how strangely quiet everyone outside of the blogosphere, and even to some extent within the blogosphere are about this one. What an awful, awful case. Do you know if there’s any contact information for sending donations or aid to the victims? Words of support?
Roy: Wachovia has a thing set up, you just call your local branch and say you’d like to donate to the family and they’ll handle it for you.
Thanks! I figured if I was wondering other people might be, too.
Thanks for the info, Skittles!
May 11th, 2008
I want to send some money to the mother and her son… I am from Pennsylvania, so if anyone can tell me how I should go about doing just that?
Lastly, what they did to mother, and son, especially forcing the mother to perform fellatio on her son, is humiliating, and it will be a lasting impression on these two for there entire lives.
As well, to keep these horrible deeds a lasting impression on the criminals, they should be incarcerated for the rest of there lives, never to be set free until there deaths in prison. DJmore:
DPhily at Yahoo