September 2010

North Carolina and Withdrawal of Consent: UPDATES

by Cara September 28, 2010

Trigger Warning for graphic descriptions of rape and discussions of rape apologism. Last week, I wrote about a disturbing news story out of North Carolina, in which a rape case was dismissed by the district attorney on the basis of a 1979 court ruling that stated a person cannot withdraw consent to sex once it [...]

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Activists Leaving Life-Saving Water for Immigrants Face Opposition

by Cara September 27, 2010

Trigger Warning for anti-immigrant hatred and discussion of border crossing deaths. Found via Jill’s brief post on the issue, this story in the NY Times about people who leave water for undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S. border in the desert isn’t exactly news, but it is needed reporting on an ongoing issue. The water is [...]

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San Antonio Woman Assaulted; Police and Media Respond With Transphobic Excuses

by Cara September 24, 2010

Trigger Warning for anti-trans violence, ungendering, victim-blaming, and police and media transphobia/transmisogyny. Yesterday a man badly beat a woman who was riding in his car and then dumped her in front of an apartment complex before driving away, seemingly for no reason other than that she was trans. Though this is awful enough on its [...]

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North Carolina: Consent to Sex Cannot Be Withdrawn

by Cara September 23, 2010

Trigger Warning for rape apologism, specifically within a legal context, and descriptions of rape. Today I came across a story about rape charges being dropped against a high school student and star football player in Charlotte, NC. Stories about rape charges being dropped always interest me, not because the reasons for dropping charges are always [...]

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Rape is Not a “Timely Reminder”

by Cara September 21, 2010

Trigger Warning for rape apologism, brief descriptions of sexual violence. This morning I was reading about a rape that was recently committed in Perth, Australia, by an assailant who accosted a nanny answering the front door at her employer’s home. The details of the attack itself are, of course, horrible and distressing. That the assailant [...]

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On Birth Rape, Definitions, and Language Policing

by Cara September 16, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of rape apologism, specifically related to birth rape and other medical rape, and graphic descriptions of rape, including birth rape. This post has been slowly brewing over the past week, as I was sincerely hoping to not feel ultimately compelled to write it. I note this simply because in the meantime, [...]

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Three Gang Rapists Convicted After One Shows Video of Assault to Victim

by Cara September 14, 2010

Trigger Warning for graphic descriptions of sexual assault and discussions of victim re-traumatization. In a somewhat unusual case out of the UK, three men have just been convicted on various sexual assault charges after gang raping an unconscious woman — an unconscious woman who only became aware of the attack after one of the attackers, [...]

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U.S. Border Patrol Agents Charged with Rape, Assault, and Torture

by Cara September 13, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions/descriptions of border violence, sexual violence, and state violence, specifically with relation to U.S. immigration enforcement. Last week, the LA Times reported on a case of alleged assault and torture by a U.S. Border Patrol official against a drug suspect, tying it to other alleged and successfully prosecuted instances of violence, including [...]

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