From the category archives:

rape and sexual assault

Lawsuit Claims School Used Rape Victim as “Bait”

by Cara August 2, 2010

Trigger Warning for rape apologism/denialism and discussions of sexual violence and rape culture. School is supposed to be a safe place for students to learn and interact with their peers. But as far too marginalized persons know, schools frequently present an environment that is the exact opposite, from being sites of sexualized gender-based violence, to [...]

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President Obama to Sign Law Targeting Sexual Violence Against Native American Women

by Cara July 29, 2010

I’m incredibly pleased to be able to pass along some great news for a change — the Tribal Law and Order Act, which I  had previously urged all of you to support, and which the infinitely awesome Pretty Bird Woman House vocally approves, has passed both houses of Congress and it set to be signed [...]

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Age Old Victim-Blaming Myths Win Court Case for Girls Gone Wild

by Cara July 24, 2010

Trigger Warning for descriptions of sexual assault and explicit victim-blaming and sexual assault apologism. Earlier this week, a jury ruled against a woman who sued the Girls Gone Wild franchise on the grounds that they damaged her reputation when they included footage of her being forcibly disrobed in one of their DVDs (h/t). The woman, [...]

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New Report Details Police Abuses Against Cambodian Sex Workers

by Cara July 20, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of sexual violence and police violence, specifically including violence against sex workers and transphobic violence. Earlier this year, I wrote about an Amnesty International report about sexual violence against women in Cambodia, and the judicial response (or more accurately, lack of judicial response) to sexual violence. A section of that report [...]

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South African Sea Cadet Found Dead Hours After Rape Allegations Were Filed

by Cara July 19, 2010

Trigger Warning for descriptions of sexual violence, poor responses to rape allegations, and discussion of a possible murder, possible suicide. Last month, Akhona Geveza (above), a young South African woman who was participating as a cadet in the Transnet National Ports Authority’s Maritime Studies Programme, was found dead, floating overboard. Only a few hours before [...]

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Police Officer Arrested for On-Duty Sexual Assault and False Imprisonment of Ex-Girlfriend

by Cara July 16, 2010

Trigger Warning for graphic descriptions of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and police violence. In Illinois, a sheriff’s deputy for Lake County has been arrested on charges of attempted sexual assault while armed and false imprisonment while armed, in neighboring Kenosha County. Both crimes are felonies. Jack Johnson (left) allegedly harassed, sexually assaulted, and physically restrained [...]

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For Some Kenyan Women, Toilet Use Means Sexual Violence

by Cara July 12, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussion/descriptions of sexual violence. Last week, Amnesty International released a report about how women in some areas of Nairobi, Kenya are afraid to leave their homes at night to use the bathroom, due to the persistent threat of sexual violence. The report, Insecurity and indignity: Women’s experiences in the slums of Nairobi, [...]

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Illinois Passes Law Requiring That All Rape Kits Be Tested

by Cara July 8, 2010

As reports of untested rape kits across the U.S. just keep on rolling in, Illinois has passed a law mandating that every rape kit be tested. Facing criticism that physical evidence from sexual assault cases in Illinois often went unanalyzed, Gov. Patrick J. Quinn this week signed a law requiring the police to test all [...]

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Oregon Police Officer Confesses to Sexual Violence Against Sex Workers

by Cara July 2, 2010

Trigger Warning for descriptions of sexual violence, specifically sexual violence against sex workers. Continuing in an unfortunately long line of stories about police officers using their state power as a means to commit sexual violence against women, comes this one out of Oregon. An officer named Joshua Jensen (left) was alleged to have forced two [...]

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Scotland Anti-Rape Ad Tackles “She Was Asking For It” Myth

by Cara June 29, 2010

Trigger Warning for rape apologism. A few months back, I wrote an article for the Guardian’s Comment is Free about a U.K. study, which showed a significant number of respondents thought that some rape victims were at least partially to blame for their attacks. The various reasons that respondents blamed women were the unsurprising — [...]

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