Living in the bubble of America, I don't and can't keep up with the news regularly outside of the United States. Therefore, it's always another sad moment for me when I read about something as tragic as this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/world/asia/a-village-rape-shatters-a-family-and-indias-traditional-silence.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=todayspaper
For those of you who are too lazy to read it, this is a New York Times article about a 16-year old girl in the lowest caste system in India who was repeatedly gang-raped for three hours. The perpetuators of the attack actually had the audacity to tape the event, and spread it around. The victim's father committed suicide when he was shown the recording.
To add onto the injury, authorities often disregard these rapes as to the fault of the woman. The village leader told a news channel that "girls should be married at the age of 16, so that they have their husbands for their sexual needs, and they don’t need to go elsewhere. This way rapes will not occur.”
They have gone as far as to blame fast food for the rise in rape case. Apparently it causes hormonal imbalances and sexual urges in young women.
Undoubtedly, this really pisses me off. There somehow exists a really and cruel notion about life, that people deserve what they get. Women are raped because they didn't marry young enough. They are raped because of fast food. This argument is a slipper slope, and a dangerous one at that. Before long, rich people will argue that poor people are poor because they don't work hard. So maybe they just deserve it. And then no one will help each other out, because guess what, people deserve what they get.
It always makes me sad that there are people like this out in the world, who think this way. But before you think this is just India, the United States has a similar case like this one too. In Cleveland, Texas around two years ago, a 11-year old girl was also gang-raped and the event was videotaped. While the case was persecuted, many thought that an investigation was inconvenient since the girl was partially responsible. They wondered where her mother was, and suggested that she was dressing too provocatively for her age, in addition to wearing make-up.
These arguments are almost as perplexing as the fast food one. But the fast food one still wins, hands down.
The bottom line is, rape is rape. There is no "illegitimate rape" versus "legitimate rape." There is no partial rape. There is no "Oh she said yes, then she said no but I didn't hear her" rape. And there definitely is no "Hey! it's the women's fault, she's too sexy" rape. Rape is tragic, it is devastating and demoralizing to the soul, it is illegal and there is nothing else to it.
While I have heard some pretty ridiculous excuses for why a rape took place, this blog post left me speechless. I could not agree with you more- rape is rape. My main question is how are these excuses or causes of rape created? Do sick defense attorneys come up with these ridiculous things to try and win a case? Is someone paying off the judges? Whatever is going on is sickening. I know that judicial systems outside of the U.S. can be fairly corrupt but this goes way beyond simple corruption. You can not blame the rape victim for getting raped, end of story.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you wrote this blog post. I reposted an article about rape illiteracy in the United States. I think in light of the horrendous things several politicians have said about rape this year (illegitimate rape, rapes resulting in pregnancies are something god intended, etc), it is very clear that this country is in need of some serious rape education. I think it is a topic that is considered taboo and therefore often left out of education. But men and women need to be educated about what rape is and how to prevent it.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I think that is just the sad state of affairs in India. Slumdog Millionaire did a lot for raising awareness about the deplorable conditions and standards in India but this really takes the cake. I can't possibly fathom a reason why this would ever take place in India let alone the United States. Women are the most empowered in the United States over anywhere else in the world, but the fact that rape is still a prevalent problem is appalling. I'm not sure what needs to be done, but this can't continue.
ReplyDeleteIndia is known for situations like this. It doesn't often happen these days in the urban centers because they are developed and educated. But in rural villages it is a common practice. It really does boil down to overall education. You have villagers who are as educated as their ancestors, two hundred years prior, and you have them living in a modern world. It's like time travel - they're displaced. While I do think that there are women who definitely dress more provocative, or change their mind midway, etc, etc., I don't think that is enough of a reason to justify a rape. That's like saying someone who is more of an asshole is asking to be murdered. The reason rape is such a victim-blame issue is probably because it's a matter of he said vs. she said, and there isn't always an easy way to prove what's what. And it is a situation where someone can very easily make false accusations. How to solve these issues is well - extremely difficult - practically as difficult as stopping rural rape in India's uneducated regions (and even the educated ones). I think there will be progress in the future, but I expect it will be slow. There is little faith in the U.S. judicial system when any attorney can paint anyone however they choose.
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ReplyDelete'm confused why all of the explanations are being connected to women. If one wants to blame the age of marriage or the increase in hormones due to fast food, why look at how this effects women? The victim of rape by definition cannot be responsible, so if we want to take into account outside forces, why are we analyzing how they affect women instead of men?
ReplyDeleteThese tales make me sick to my stomach! It blew my mind when I read about the excuses people were using to justify rape. I completely agree with you, rape is rape and rape is illegal. There is nothing more to it. This is one of the main reasons I want to become a prosecutor. It infuriates me to hear of these horrific events and no one stand up for the victim and their family. Instead, excuses are made in an effort to justify the event and sweep it under the rug. In my opinion if you are so indifferent to such an appalling event you are no better than the rapist yourself.
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