Or, how Reagan rigged the system.
Anthony D'Amato wrote this in 2006 based on his experience and the raw data.
[link to pdf]
NOW,
Before anyone gets all heated and starts yelling:
1) Read the entire article
2) Understand that I think that this is an interesting stance, but I (PaulC) am not qualified to say that he is right or wrong. (but I do think that its interesting)
Anyway, whether you agree or disagree with the article, its interesting.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
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While I'm not familiar with this person, I am very familiar with the mythology from which he has anchored this piece. The myth being reinforced is that rape is about a mans desire to release his sexual energy.
ReplyDeleteThe primary factor being overlooked is that rape is not about sex.
Rape is about power and control.
Rape is defined by the Jane Doe organization (http://www.janedoe.org/know.htm)as:
"Sexual assault and rape are crimes of violence and control, using sex acts as a weapon. Rape and sexual assault are not sexually motivated acts; rather, they stem from aggression, rage, sexism, and the determination to exercise power over someone else. Rape is also a legal term that is defined in Massachusetts by three elements: penetration of any orifice by any object; force or threat of force; against the will of the victim. Sexual assault is often more broadly defined as any sexual activity that is forced or coerced or unwanted."
When a segment of the population is degraded or dehumanized, seen as somehow "less than," then violent and degrading behaviors are more easily rationalized. It becomes "acceptable" to use people from this population to exert or display one's power. Many societies have a history of dehumanizing portions of the population while simultaneously committing heinous acts against said people. I'm sure that every reader can think of examples ranging from genocide to slavery, discrimination and rationalizations for warfare. The United States is considered to be a "Rape culture," we hold values and beliefs which support a rape prone environment (Boswell & Spade, "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why are some Fraternities more dangerous places for women?" Gender and Society. 10:133-147.)
The concern about pornography is that it degrades and objectifies women. This act of conveying women as somehow "less than" men is of concern as dehumanization of a people is correlated to the widespread abuse of said population (Sanday).
If you are interested in further reading on this subject read the work of Cultural Anthropologist,Peggy Sanday (http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~psanday/). Or, an easy to find article which focuses on the correlation between Fraternity membership and the acceptance of Rape mythology is: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_7-8_53/ai_n16083938/
Additionally, Groth & Birnbaum, in "Men who Rape" found that the majority of convicted rapists had access to consensual sex at the time they committed the rape. Men who rape refer to women as "targets," they "stake out" their "prey" and they tend to feel anger, not empathy, when she is in pain (Lisak, David). This language reinforces the dehumanization of women which is prevalent in a rape culture.
You can find information about date rape in the November issue of "Self" magazine. They had a good article about date rape, titled: The Crime against women that no one understands." ( http://www.self.com/health/2008/11/serial-rapist )
Finally, following are some statistics on Rape which I've taken from the BARCC web site ( http://www.barcc.org/information/facts/stats ).
Rape and sexual assault impact more people than you think - maybe even someone you know.
In the United States, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men reported experiencing an attempted or completed rape at some time in their lives.1
In Massachusetts alone, 4,418 adolescents and adults are sexually assaulted each year - that’s 12 people each day and one every two hours.2
Women and young people are targeted more often, but men and boys face significant barriers to reporting.
Nine in 10 rape survivors are female.3
Females ages 16-19 are four times more likely to be the victims of sexual assault or rape than the general population.4
Attackers target people they know.
75 percent of all survivors know their attackers; 80 percent of all rapes occur in the home.5
90 percent of rape survivors on college campuses know their attackers.6
93 percent of juvenile sexual assault survivors know their attackers.7
Rapists share common characteristics and patterns.
99 percent of female and 85 percent of male survivors were raped by a male.8
While most rapists are male, most males are not rapists.
Most “undetected” rapists (those who have not been convicted or served time in jail) are repeat rapists who commit an average of six rapes each.9
Instead of using weapons, threats, or extreme physical force or violence, most undetected rapists premeditate their attacks, identify and isolate victims, and deliberately use only as much force as necessary, such as psychological weapons and alcohol.10
Rape and sexual assault are significantly underreported.
Nearly 60% of rape/sexual assault victims did not report their victimization to the police in 2006, according to National Crime Victimization Survey data. 11
Survivors need - and deserve - support.
Rape is not miscommunication. It is a crime.
95 percent of sexual assaults that were reported were determined to be substantiated with sound evidence.12
Rape costs a survivor on average $87,000 per year in lost productivity due to medical and mental health needs, loss of employment and/or housing, and costs for therapy and medical treatment.13
Most survivors report that they used protective action against an attacker, either through physical force or by asking the perpetrator to stop.14
Sources:
1Department of Justice (US); 2000. Publication No.: NCJ 181867.
2Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, September 2006 and U.S. Bureau of the Census, MA & US Population Projections, 2006
3US Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 2003
4NCVS, 2000
5NIJ, 2002
6Ibid.
7Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sex Offenders and Offenders, US Department of Justice, 2000
8NIJ, Special Report, Findings from the Violence Against Women Survey, 2006
9Lisak, David, The Undetected Rapist, 2002
10NIJ, Special Report, Findings from the Violence Against Women Survey, 2006 and Lisak, David, The Undetected Rapist, 2002
11Rand, M. and Catalano, S. (2007). Crime Victimization, 2006. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice
12Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2003
13NIJ, 1998
14NIJ, 2000