Asking for it?

I was astonished a few weeks ago to read a news article about a rape case in Winnipeg where the judge did not assign jail time to the offender because the female victim "sent signals that "sex was in the air" through her suggestive attire and flirtatious conduct on the night of the attack."

For Justice Robert Dewar to call the offender a "clumsy Don Juan" makes a farce of the claims of the victim. It also victimizes the offender by playing off his actions as an innocent seduction gone accidentally wrong. A rape is never an accident. A rape happens when a sexual act occurs without both parties consenting to the action. In this case, a man's penis forcibly entered a woman's vagina. I'm not a rocket scientist, but that kind of thing doesn't just happen by chance.

Additionally, how can you justify a rape due to what a woman was wearing or the style of her makeup? That's like saying "Well, this guy looked like he was going to rob the bank so I shot him." Then you'd just be a "clumsy Superman".

What about the mixed signals that the woman was supposedly giving off? At first rejecting the offender's advances, and then giving in to his kisses? Using her consent to kissing is in no way consent to having sex. While kissing may be a precursor to having sex, it does not guarantee that the act will happen!

Speaking as a woman, I cannot imagine the rage and hurt I would feel towards the rapist and the judicial system if I was this woman. Just imagine if you had been wronged in one of the worst ways possible. And then when you spoke publicly about this wrong, hoping that it would be righted, a public offical (a supposedly educated individual) in a great power of authority, turns to you and said "Sorry, you deserved it."

No one deserves to be taken advantage of or be forced into acts that they are not agreeable to. The fact that a judge in our courts would have this kind of reasoning displays a measure of callous heartlessness that is frightening.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/rape-victim-inviting-so-no-jail--rape-victim-inviting-so-no-jail-116801578.html

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Speaking of being forced into acts, I have been following the story in Cleveland, Texas about the 11 year-old girl who was gang-raped by possible over twenty men ranging in age from 17-28.

This story makes my blood run cold.

Basically, an 11 year-old girl was picked up by a 19 year-old man and his two friends, taken to a trailer, threatened with violence if she didn't remove her clothes, and then sexually assaulted by numerous men. These men also took videos on their cell phones and began circulated them.

At this point, 17 men have been charged. SEVENTEEN!! I certainly can't speak from experience, but can you even imagine the pain you would be in if seventeen adult men had penetrated you!?

What is wrong with people?!? I have to ask this. At what point in someone's brain would you ever possibly think that it would be okay for you, as an adult male, to have sex with a child? And while you were in the act, would it never occur to you that this was something completely disgusting? Not to mention when you looked up to see your friends taking pictures and videos on their cell phone, would it ever cross your mind that this was a bad idea, even if only from a legal point of view (not to mention morally)? Or if you were the one holding the cell phone, while you were taping this obscene act, did you ever wonder how you would feel if you saw someone doing this to your little sister? Or when your friend invited you over to have sex with a young girl, would you stop and think - man, that sounds abhorrent and illegal?

Does the town of Cleveland possess such an astounding number of sex predators that this mind-boggling figure of between 17 and 27 men would find the idea of having sex with a child so enticing that they would be willing to risk their careers (two of the men charged are members of Cleveland's state-ranked basketball team) for this seemingly pleasurable thrill? How would you even look at yourself in the mirror knowing that you stole a child's innocence in such a disgusting and abusive manner?

I had to pick my jaw up from the floor after I read the defence lawyer's statement that "This is not a case of a child who was enslaved or taken advantage of." I understand that this man's unfortunate job is to find some way to possibly defend these horrific monsters, but how can your argument in any way entail that this child was not taken advantage of?!

There have been testimonies that the girl was wearing make-up and looked older than her age. Referring to my above post, I am astounded that this would/could be used as a way to lessen the punishment for this act. I repeat, there have been SEVENTEEN men charged! This was not an instance of one man picking up a girl he thought was older and taking advantage of her. This was an instance of several men picking up a girl and inviting all of their friends to screw her.

Some Cleveland residents have wondered where this child's parents were. This is a valid question, but there is no way that a parent can be blamed for the kind of abuse this child suffered at the hands of so many abusers. The blame lies solely on the incredibly disturbed men who chose to take a young girl, force her to take off her clothes, have sex with her, and document it.

I hope that the punishment for these men is incredibly severe. This poor girl will face a life-time of trauma.

If there is a God, I hope His retribution on these men is swift and harsh.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7459716.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7466774.html

International Women's Day

Happy International Women's Day!!

This is actually the 100-year anniversary of International Women's Day. It was started by the UN in 1911 when women in the Western world were petitioning for their basic political and employment rights. Since then it has become not only a world-wide celebration of half the population of the earth, but also a moment to raise awareness about harassment, lack of education, mal-treatment, and inequality facing women around the world.

I never considered myself a die-hard feminist before, but I have to admit that I don't take lightly any jokes (*hilarious* as they may be...) about the inequality of women (i.e. women belong in the kitchen). As a human, my place in this world should not be dictated by my gender!

Unfortunately, in many parts of the earth, women are treated incredibly differently due to the very fact that they are women! We are still not granted the same pay as men in many countries. We are not given access to education in many countries. We are treated as property, abused as sex workers, unable to attain positions in government, looked down upon, etc.

Why do so many people fail to realize that by neglecting a significant portion of the world's population, we are at once stopping the evolution of a healthy society, but also propagating so many of the world's problems, including hunger, disease, and lack of education.

If women were not treated as objects and given the right to say "No" to unsafe sex in Africa, the spread of HIV would slow down. If women in developing were given the same access to tools and technology as their male counterparts, they could augment the yields on their farms, producing more food for their families and villages.

Think of the most amazing woman you know...times that by several billion...that's the number of amazing women we *could* have on this planet if our world was not so obsessed with having male children that they will throw a female baby in the dumpster rather than give her a life; if our world considered females to have the same rights to an education that we give males; if our world wasn't so caught up with having women be child-care providers and homemakers.

Women are wonderful humans who do wonderful things and none of us would be here if it wasn't for a woman. So make sure to fully appreciate and *show* your appreciation for all the intelligent, talented, beautiful, and under-appreciated women in your life today and every day!