From the monthly archives:

November 2009

All Things Must Pass

by Cara November 29, 2009

George Harrison February 25, 1943 – November 29, 2001 Rest in peace, George.

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Here Today

by Cara November 25, 2009

Trigger Warning for discussions of suicide One year ago, one of my closest friends committed suicide. She was truly one of the best friends I have ever had. I mean that not (just) in terms of closeness, but in terms of quality. I have known few people wiser, more caring, more generous, and more supportive [...]

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U.S. Sailor Acquitted of Rape, Despite Admission of Physical Force

by Cara November 24, 2009

Trigger Warning for rape apologism and graphic descriptions of sexual violence In Sydney, a U.S. sailor has been acquitted on charges of raping a sex worker who told him to stop — even though he admitted, in court, to using a “lock down maneuver” to pin her to the bed. A New South Wales District [...]

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Transgender Day of Remembrance 2009

by Cara November 20, 2009

Today is the Eleventh Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. Today is a day to remember the transgender people (or people perceived by their killers to be trans) who have died as a result of hatred and violence, and as a result of the hateful and violent cultures that support the perpetrators. Today is a day [...]

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Meet The Predators: But Which Ones?

by Cara November 17, 2009

Trigger Warning for discussions of sexual violence Last week, Thomas wrote a post at Yes Means Yes, called Meet The Predators, about recent studies which found that many rapists will admit to rape so long as the word “rape” is not actually used. It’s a great post, and important information to have — I’m particularly [...]

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Man Allegedly Murdered Albanian Woman Because She Was Trans

by Cara November 16, 2009

Trigger Warning for transmisogyny and discussions of violence against women In September, Kristina Muça was brutally murdered in Tirana, Albania. Her neck was slit, allegedly by a man she had only just met. The alleged motives for the crime were, according to prosecutors and to defendant Sefedin Hoxha’s now recanted confession, transphobic hatred towards the [...]

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Support Sex-Positive Sex Education

by Cara November 13, 2009

Scarleteen is, in my view, the absolute best sex education website out there. And while I can’t claim to be entirely impartial about that assessment — I know Heather, Scarleteen’s founder, and also received a free sex education training through the site this summer — I can say that it’s an assessment I’ve held since [...]

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Rape Kits: Yes, Still Going Untested

by Cara November 11, 2009

Via CBS News: A government report released Tuesday found that essential DNA evidence in rape cases is often never sent to crime labs for testing. But what our investigation also found is that even when police departments do send rape kits to crime labs, they can go untested for months — even years — while [...]

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Not The Man I Know

by Cara November 9, 2009

We all know the common response from family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances when a man is alleged to have committed intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence: That’s not the man that I know. It’s a curious statement, and one that I’ve personally run into some variation of in a very specific context twice in the [...]

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School Accepting Donations for Gang Rape Survivor

by Cara November 2, 2009

By now, you’ve almost certainly read about the gang rape that took place outside a high school dance in California. I’ve avoided reading the updated details due to the fact that this story hit me extremely hard, but [trigger warning] the initial reports said that there were multiple assailants, the rape continued for about two [...]

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