Sexual Assault

Swedish Police Fail Rape Victims

May 20, 2013 By Elin and Hennie Weiss Leave a Comment

The last few days, a number of headlines in Swedish newspapers have discussed the large amount of rape cases that go unsolved. One of the reasons for this does not appear to be lack of evidence, but rather the appalling treatment of collected evidence.

Articles provide examples such as that of a 25-year rape victim who went to the police where semen and other evidence were gathered. The man accused of rape denied his involvement. A match in DNA analysis could have closed that case but the police mishandled the case so badly that it resulted in the loss of DNA evidence and dropped charges.

The woman, together with her attorney, filed a claim for compensation arguing that with the DNA the man could have been found guilty. The woman was, however, not given any compensation, form of restitution, or claim of justice. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sexual Assault Tagged With: DNA evidence, police, rape, Sexual Assault, Sweden, violence

“Keep Calm and Rape a Lot”

March 7, 2013 By Elin and Hennie Weiss 1 Comment

Content Notice: This piece discusses rape culture, sexual assault and violence.

Rape culture is something that we have discussed at length here at Feminists For Choice. Rape culture normalizes and trivializes rape and sexual abuse. Still, there are some people who believe that rape culture does not exist and is a concept made up by angry man hating feminists. We believe that rape culture does exist in many forms and is perpetuated by a culture in which rape is not taken seriously.

So to the critics, read the following and state if rape culture is all in our heads:

Amazon has over the last few days removed t-shirts from the company Solid Gold Bomb, launched in Australia, with slogans that read: “Keep calm and hit her”, “Keep calm and rape a lot” and “Keep calm and rape them” that were on sale on the company’s website. Other t-shirts by Solid Gold Bomb also read: “Keep calm and knife her”, “”Keep calm and choke her” and “Keep calm and grope on”.

Amazon received hundreds of angry complaints about the t-shirts and the message that these t-shirts encourage. Many people are also very upset that Amazon has been making money out of encouraging and trivializing rape, sexual assault and violence against women. Suggestions have been made that Amazon should donate a substantial amount of money to women’s shelters and organizations that work to end violence against women.

There is hardly any better example than this to show how accepted rape culture is. Here we have a giant worldwide company selling t-shirts that perpetuate the notion that violence and sexual violence against women is acceptable. In short, we find it sickening.

Filed Under: International Issues Tagged With: Amazon UK, Domestic Violence, rape, rape culture, Sexual Assault, Solid Gold Bomb

Sexual Assault Not ”Sexual Enough”

February 25, 2013 By Elin and Hennie Weiss 3 Comments

Content Notice: This piece discusses sexual violence, assault and rape.

A sexual assault case in Sweden describing how a man received a lowered sentence because the sexual assault he put his girlfriend through was not “sexual enough” or did not have enough of a sexual undertone has Swedish feminists extremely upset this past week.

The man in question had been threatening and beating his girlfriend for an extended period of time. In a jealous rage, which apparently was very common behavior for the man, he ripped his girlfriend’s underwear of and forced two fingers into her to check for “evidence” that she was cheating on him. The man was initially sentenced to two years and eight months for (among other things) rape. The definition of rape does cover sexual assault in all forms and is not solely based on penetrative acts. However, the Supreme Court changed the decision and claimed that the man simply had used force and dismissed the sexual assault claim.

According to the Court, the assault was not based on sexual violence but solely violence. The man did, according to our present laws, sexually assault the women but since he was “only” checking for evidence of cheating the Court meant that his assault lacked sexual characteristics. Thereby, the sentence was lowered to 14 months in prison.

Feminists groups have, as stated above, raged against the change of sentencing and have criticized how rape and sexual assault cases are being handled. This case is also similar to a previous rape case that we have discussed here at Feminists For Choice in which the attempted rape of a trans woman was dismissed as attempted rape because the victim did not have a vagina and therefore rape would have been “impossible”.

Filed Under: Sexual Assault Tagged With: courts, lowered sentence, rape, Sexual Assault, Sweden

Sexual Assault Laws That Discriminate Against Women

January 11, 2013 By Elin and Hennie Weiss 3 Comments

Every now and then we read or hear about outrageous laws dedicated to protect patriarchy, defend rape culture, restrict women’s sexuality, or that are just plain discriminatory. We have three examples of such outrageous laws and proposals. One has been overturned (Italy’s rape law); one is being considered (Indonesia’s motorcycle law); and one continues to be both discriminatory and horribly sexist (Iran’s rape law).

The province of Aceh in Indonesia is proposing that women riding behind a man on a motorcycle should no longer be allowed to straddle the bike, since this might “provoke the driver.” A woman riding on her own may straddle the bike, but only if she is wearing proper attire. Not only is the law absurd in its own and reminiscent of the days when women had to ride “sidesaddle” on horses, but it also seems that “side saddling” a motorcycle could be a great safety hazard. The proposal also infers that in order for men to not to get “excited” and act on that excitement, women need to control their sexuality, while men are assumed to not be able to–or need to–control theirs. [Read more...]

Filed Under: International Issues, Sexual Assault Tagged With: Berlusconi, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, motorcycle law, rape law, Sexual Assault

Raping While Supposedly Asleep – Guilty or Not Guilty?

January 2, 2013 By Elin and Hennie Weiss 3 Comments

Last spring we wrote a piece for the British feminist website The F-Word which discussed a sleeping disorder called sexsomnia. Sexsomnia is described as a condition in which people behave sexually in their sleep, such as masturbating or even engaging in intercourse.

In the post we were critical of sexsomnia as a defense claim for people who had been charged with rape or sexual abuse. Even though perpetrators have confessed that the sexual assault took place, they also claim to be innocent since they were not aware of their acts. And in some cases, the courts have responded by not invoking a sentence. In order to back up this claim of innocence, some rapists have stated that former partners have told them that they behaved sexually while asleep.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Sexual Assault Tagged With: rape, rape culture, sexsomnia, Sexual Assault, sleep walking, The F-Word

Apparently, the Female Body Can Permit or Prevent Rape

December 19, 2012 By Elin and Hennie Weiss 7 Comments

Many of us were horrified when Todd Akin claimed that in cases of “legitimate rape,” the female body is able to prevent pregnancy. Well, he’s not the only one blaming the victim: recently, California judge Derek Johnsonsaid, in regards to a 2008 rape case, that if someone doesn’t want sexual intercourse, the body “will not permit that to happen,” that the woman “didn’t put up a fight” and that “I’m not a gynecologist but I can tell you something: if someone doesn’t want to have sexual intercourse the body shuts down. The body will not permit that to happen unless a lot of damage is inflicted and we heard nothing about that in this case.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Sexual Assault Tagged With: judge Derek Johnson, rape, Sexual Assault, todd akin, Victim-blaming

Not Just Any Kind of Sexuality: The Pornography of Everyday Life

November 26, 2012 By Hennie 2 Comments

I have a thing for advertisements, especially when they portray sexism, gender stereotypes, or the pornification of sexuality. Elin and I frequently write about advertisements that we find disturbing, annoying, or just plain sexist. And there are many kinds to choose from, as different forms of advertising are everywhere. Some of my favorite analyses and discussions of popular culture and advertising are Jean Kilbourne’s series Killing Us Softly and Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity. I also wrote about the documentary Orgasm Inc, concerning female sexual dysfunction.

Halo Reach, Sexual Violence and Rape Culture

November 21, 2012 By Hennie 3 Comments

This post contains explicit language and profanities.

I like to play video games and Halo has been my favorite for many years. Halo 4 came out earlier this month and it made me reflect on Halo Reach, what I liked about the game, and what I did not like. One thing I found very off-putting was the constant bantering and aggressive verbal behavior displayed during matchmaking. That was one reason why I rarely used a microphone while playing.

Here at Feminists for Choice we often discuss the concept of rape culture, which is the notion that sexual violence is in many ways condoned. We often hear or experience the normalization of rape, which often leads to blaming the survivor rather than the perpetrator. This normalization of rape and the use of threats of sexual violence are very common in Halo Reach as players communicate with one another. Interestingly enough, I have never witnessed any females partake in such a discussion, or in the one-sided arguments where putdowns and remarks are constantly made. When it comes to discussions and remarks about rape the message is one of power, domination and subjugation. The verbal threat or use of the word rape is therefore used to display the threat of subjugation and the power and domination certain players hold over others. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Pop Culture, Sexual Assault Tagged With: Halo Reach, rape, rape culture, Sexual Assault, threats, video games, violence

Punish her – more on rape jokes

August 2, 2012 By Elin and Hennie Weiss 2 Comments

* Trigger Warning: This post discusses group rape and sexual assault and may be disturbing to readers. The link connects to a comic strip that depicts a group rape scene that is explicit and might be disturbing and triggering.

The recent discussions concerning Daniel Tosh’s rape joke have caused quite the stir all over the country. It has clearly shown that opinions concerning rape and the appropriateness of rape jokes differ. Some people believe that rape jokes are funny and that it is possible to successfully joke about rape while others completely disagree and find rape jokes degrading, discriminating and part of the problem of rape culture.

Many feminist sites and groups have raged against Daniel Tosh’s rape joke – including Feminists for Choice. A common response that we have heard, on our own site and on others, is that feminists do not understand jokes and are boring; not that joking about rape is disrespectful to the survivors of rape and sexual assault. Worryingly, Tosh’s joke is not an isolated incident and it reflects a larger societal belief that rape is trivial, a get over it kind of attitude. Perhaps rape is considered “not a big deal” because it is a problem that mostly affects women. In other words, it is not something to get all “hysterical” about.

After stumbling upon an unbelievably vicious and degrading comic strip we are again concerned with the topic of rape jokes. This rape joke is part of the comic strip Wumo. It was posted online July 2^nd, 2012, and can be viewed here. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sexual Assault Tagged With: comedy, comic strips, Daniel Tosh, group rape, media, rape jokes, Sexual Assault, Wumo

Breast Ironing – preventing sexual assault and rape or damaging women?

July 19, 2012 By Elin and Hennie Weiss 2 Comments

We had never heard about the custom of breast ironing before watching the documentary television series Taboo, which provided an in-depth view into the practice. Breast ironing is mostly practiced in Cameroon, and is described as either the pounding or massaging of young girl’s breasts often with a heated object (such as a wooden pestle) in order to stop or slow the growth of breasts.

This practice is usually carried out by the mother and is said to help prevent sexual abuse and rape, as well as keep young girls in school for as long as possible. It is believed that breast development signal sexual maturity and readiness for sex, and therefore breast ironing may prevent men to sexually assault young Cameroon girls. Breast ironing is however extremely painful and often lead to a multitude of side effects, such as tissue damage, breast cancer and cysts, and may interfere with breast feeding at a later age. [Read more...]

Filed Under: International Issues, Sexual Assault Tagged With: breast ironing, Cameroon, rape, Sexual Assault, violence against women