rape and sexual assault

CIA Station Chief Accused of Raping Algerian Women

by Cara January 29, 2009

So, you know those CIA guys who we send overseas to work with foreign intelligence agencies, not only to protect our own security interests but also as a symbolic gesture to the world that we have a vested interest in their safety as well? Well, apparently at least one of those CIA guys interpreted “displaying [...]

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T-Shirt Hell Closes Its Doors

by Cara January 27, 2009

Trigger Warning — highly disturbing images below the fold. Via Sociological Images, I just learned that T-Shirt Hell (no I’m not linking) — that website that sells t-shirts which are beyond racist, misogynistic, homophobic, ableist, and I’m sure in many other ways very hateful — is closing down.  And knowing that they will be no [...]

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Berlusconi: Women Are Raped Because They’re Just So Good Looking

by Cara January 26, 2009

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, known for putting his foot in his mouth in really offensive ways, has done it yet again. This time, it’s one hot mess of rape myths and rape apologism, and a revival of the “women are raped because they’re pretty (and therefore rape is a compliment)” meme, once more with [...]

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Woman Who “Did Not Want to Have Sex” Arrested for Biting Penis

by Cara January 2, 2009

A man’s penis was in his wife’s mouth for the purpose of oral sex.  Which doesn’t sound so unusual. Except that she bit it. Hard. He beat her over the head, and she kept biting. When she finally let go, she punched him. And now she has been arrested and charged with battery. Why would [...]

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Woman Gang Raped in Homophobic Hate Crime

by Cara December 23, 2008

Trigger Warning Having just yesterday discussed the ways in which many depictions of rape uphold the violent act as an appropriate punishment for women who behave outside of patriarchal expectations, I couldn’t not post this story (h/t). A woman in the San Francisco Bay area was jumped by four men, taunted for being a lesbian, [...]

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The Myths Encompassed by The Rapeman

by Cara December 22, 2008

Trigger Warning Via Feministing comes this video about The Rapeman, a comic that ran throughout the 80s and 90s. I don’t know what program the obviously Australian voice over is from, but the existence of Rapeman has been corroborated. According to the video, Rapeman is a schoolteacher by day, raping superhero by night. He rapes [...]

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LA Responds to Rape Kit Backlog

by Cara November 6, 2008

I’ve recently written about LA’s backlog of untested rape kits and how over 200 rape cases recently passed the statute of limitations — thanks to negligence which prevented it from being extended — without the kits being tested. The NY Times also recently reported that the problem is widespread across the U.S. All of that [...]

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In WA, Previous Victims Can Testify Against Serial Rapists

by Cara August 25, 2008

Excellent news out of Washington State for rape survivors and prosecutors.  In a case where an accused person has alleged prior victims, those prior victims can testify during trials in order to help establish a pattern of abuse, even when the statute of limitations has expired for that particular crime. Before, prosecutors could raise a [...]

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United Nations Delcares Sexual Violence to be Tactic of War

by Cara June 21, 2008

Yesterday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously declared sexual violence to be a tactic of war. (h/t SAFER) Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert, a former U.N. peacekeeping commander, told the meeting: “It has probably become more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in an armed conflict.” Speakers identified former Yugoslavia, Sudan’s Darfur region, the [...]

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Don’t Blame Men, Blame the Bikini

by Cara June 19, 2008

Okay, this article pissed me the fuck off. “Science proves that bikinis turn men into boobs.” I know that the media has a way of misreporting scientific studies to their own means, so I’m not bashing on the study — I am directing my rage at the article. Now, the original assessment is that images [...]

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