In Rape Tragedies, the Shame Is Ours Rehtaeh Parsons, Audrie Pott: these are victims of sexual violence who didn't survive. A board filled with messages for Audrie Pott, who committed suicide after a sexual assault, is displayed during a news conference Monday, April 15, 2013 in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) It’s been just over a month since two high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio, were found guilty of raping an unconscious teenage girl. About the Author Jessica Valenti Jessica Valenti is the author of Why Have Kids? Also by the Author Contributor Jessica Valenti says farewell to The Nation. The strategic shift from calling women murderers to labeling them victims of abortion will never work, because we understand that in either case our health and rights are beside the point. Seventeen-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons was raped by four boys at a party outside Halifax, Nova Scotia. Women and girls are the ones expected to carry the shame of the sexual crimes perpetrated against them. Audrie Pott was 15.
À propos de la belle Rehtaeh Parsons – Droit criminel citoyen – Véronique Robert 13 avril 2013 8h06 · Véronique Robert Le Premier ministre Harper aurait dit qu’il est temps de cesser d’appeler «intimidation» ce qu’a vécu Rehtaeh Parsons avant de s’enlever la vie. Dans la mesure où je n’ai pas lu les messages qu’elle recevait en privé, je ne peux pas commenter quant à d’éventuels gestes d’intimidation dont elle aurait pu être victime. Sauf que je ne vois pas en quoi le fait de cesser de parler d’intimidation nous aidera à mieux intervenir, collectivement, devant de telles tragédies. Le Premier ministre de la Nouvelle-Écosse, Darrell Dexter, a ajouté qu’il fallait modifier le Code criminel sans donner plus d’explication sur cette opinion déroutante. Déroutante parce qu’elle nous fait dévier du problème. Modifier le code criminel? Ça me fait penser au parent toxique qui rend malade son enfant pour mieux se faire aimer en le soignant par la suite. Et après… Je vais m’arrêter ici parce que j’ai envie de pleurer. Suffit d’agir quand il est encore temps.
Watching slut-shaming | Amy Adele Hasinoff In the past few months, there’s been a lot of media attention to girls who’ve died by suicide after being raped in public settings (eg. at parties) by multiple assailants, shamed and humiliated by peers, and failed by the adults in schools and justice departments who should have supported them. Audrie Pott was 15 when she took her own life and Rehtaeh Parsons was 17 years old. Parsons’ father wrote in a public statement: My daughter wasn’t bullied to death, she was disappointed to death. Disappointed in people she thought she could trust, her school, and the police. Some of the media coverage makes these tragedies seem like technology problems, and in all these cases digital photographs and distribution indeed heightened the slut-shaming both girls experienced. These are not the first, nor will they be the last girls to commit suicide after being raped and then slut-shamed for it. Like this: Like Loading...
On Calling Things By Name: Rape, Exploitation and Victim-Blaming Aren’t Bullying - Shameless Magazine - your daily dose of fresh feminism for girls and trans youth In the Blog Trigger warning for discussion of sexual violence. Another young Canadian woman is dead as a result of sexual abuse, exploitation, and subsequent victim-blaming, and, yet again, public discussion and media coverage is reducing this story from one of gender-based violence and oppression to one of bullying. Rehtaeh Parsons, 17, died in Nova Scotia on Sunday night after having hanged herself 3 days priors. Her family is attributing her actions to the fact that in November 2011, when she was 15, she was allegedly* raped by 4 of teenage boys at a house party. A photo was taken of the alleged attack and distributed it amongst her schoolmates. The media is reporting this as another tragic example of bullying. Bullying. In actuality, ground zero for these awful events is an alleged rape. This isn’t to suggest that bullying isn’t a serious issue deserving of attention—it is. Tags: anti-violence, rape culture
RIP Rehtaeh Parsons: Victim of Victim-Blaming Source: Facebook by Jarrah Hodge Trigger Warning for rape, cyberbullying, suicide. On Sunday Rehtaeh Parsons’ parents made the decision to take their daughter off life support. According to the Halifax Chronicle-Herald: Rehtaeh Parsons had a goofy sense of humour and loved playing with her little sisters. But that didn’t seem to matter to the four boys who her mother, Leah Parsons, says raped Rehtaeh at a party when she was drunk to the point of being clearly unable to consent. The Person Rehtaeh once was all changed one dreaded night in November 2011. Police told the CBC they investigated the assault but didn’t have enough investigation to lay charges, but Leah Parsons says the police waited too long to interview the boys and refused to act on the distributed pictures because they “couldn’t prove who had pressed the photo button on the phone”. Reading this story I was simultaneously heartbroken and overcome with rage. There is nothing someone does that excuses someone raping them.
Toula Foscolos: Rehtaeh Parsons: Yet Another Rape Victim to Blame? When I recently wrote a column about the two young men in Steubenville who were found guilty of raping an unconscious 16-year-old girl, I received a number of thank-you emails from readers - both male and female. I also received a 1000-word diatribe from a reader, about how the girl in question was inebriated, drank way too much to handle herself, and shouldn't have been there at all. To make a long reply short, the reader basically felt the need to explain that she deserved what was coming. He felt so justified, and so unapologetic about his explanation, that, not only did he sign the letter, he also left his professional credentials as a... life coach, should I feel the need to contact him again. I stared at that letter for a solid ten minutes. That, despite what we tell ourselves, what we hear, what legislation has been enacted over the years, we still live in a world that prefers to justify rape - or at the very least, excuses it away, case by case. Blog continues below slideshow...
Three Ways Straight Dudes Can Help End Street Harassment Almost every woman knows why strangers hooting and hollering at people on the street is a problem. More than 80 percent of women experience gender-based street harassment: unwanted sexual comments, demands for a smile, leering, whistling, following, and groping. Many men do, too, especially in the queer community. This week is International Anti-Street Harassment Week—a perfect opportunity to engage people who may not otherwise be aware that this is a widespread problem, especially straight men. Here are three ideas—and resources—for ways straight dudes can be street harassment allies. 1. Most guys who aren't perceived as gay or feminine have no idea how often gender-based street harassment occurs. Guys and straight folks, it's your job to ask people you care about what they've experienced. When I first became an activist on this issue, I made a point of telling my male partner each time I was harassed and how it made me feel. 2. 3.
Youth Can Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls Re-posted with permission from the Battered Women’s Support Services Ending Violence blog. 1. Use Social Media-Social media has an empowering effect send articles, with the click of a button, you can spread the word. Youth do not need the mainstream media to voice their views! 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Remember gender violence is not an individual issue- We all have a role in ending violence against girls and women and it is important that we all take responsibility in ending the violence. During Prevention of Violence Against Women Week we will engage our online community in violence prevention by remembering we all have a role to play in preventing violence against girls and women as individuals, in our relationships, in our community and in society. For more information about “It’s in Your Hands”, please visit: Preventing Violence Against Women – It’s In Your hands Gender Violence in the Workplace Battered Women's Support Services