On this thing called "rape culture"

Tanglebones wrote:

On reporting sexual harassment

For them what don't know, WisCon is probably the world's premier feminist SF convention. I can't imagine what this guy is thinking: "Hey, there'll be a ton of chicks there."

f*ck him. ReaderCon, now WisCon? We need to start putting whistles and Mace in swag bags.

The Army here has had a couple of scandals recently, but there was a very good video released by one of our Generals condemning the whole thing and institutionalised misogyny in general:

Some changes to on and off base behaviors is seeing a significant decrease in reported sexual assaults at one Naval Base.

“It is our job to inculcate them into our culture, which is one that does not tolerate sexual assault,” said Capt. John T. Dye, the boot camp commander at Great Lakes.

And the NY Times Source.

This is very excellent and welcome news. US bases in the Philippines have long been infamous for stories of US soldiers raping local women. I'm hoping that this will make a difference.

LarryC wrote:

This is very excellent and welcome news. US bases in the Philippines have long been infamous for stories of US soldiers raping local women. I'm hoping that this will make a difference.

Oh, no, this is just to keep female service members safe from their fellow soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and coasties. You're on your own.

While not the focus, I suspect that if the Navy at large adopts this program, perhaps the Army, Marines, Airforce, and Coast Guard as well, local women will also be safer. With 1 exception, whenever I have dealt with people in the military who were sexually assaulted or otherwise violently assaulted, there was alcohol involved either on or off base. It seems like a good place to start.

Speaking of armed forces, here's a good read:

http://www.amazon.com/Bananas-Beache...

This chart shouldn't be controversial in this space, but I liked it and wanted to share.

IMAGE(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-An-M1oYv8IM/UUi-TlyCBKI/AAAAAAAAABs/mo-ILD2QVj8/s1600/rapeculture.png)

Sonicator wrote:

The Army here has had a couple of scandals recently, but there was a very good video released by one of our Generals condemning the whole thing and institutionalised misogyny in general:

I actually applauded at the end. I love that he was so unequivocal: be a decent human being, or get out. No mealy-mouthed, "let's not hurt the feelings of the assholes among us" nonsense, just, "get out".

This is how it should work everywhere.

Mimble wrote:

I actually applauded at the end. I love that he was so unequivocal: be a decent human being, or get out. No mealy-mouthed, "let's not hurt the feelings of the assholes among us" nonsense, just, "get out".

This is how it should work everywhere.

"Unequivocal" is one way of putting it. I was scared half to death of him in that video, and I didn't do anything wrong! Talk about someone cut out for his job.

Sonicator wrote:

The Army here has had a couple of scandals recently, but there was a very good video released by one of our Generals condemning the whole thing and institutionalised misogyny in general:
{Video}

He does a really good job of both explaining his position rationally and hitting the right emotional notes.

Do we have any idea whether they're actually enforcing those policies, though, and whether they're working?

A woman in the UK campaigned successfully to have a woman represented on a UK bank note after the last one was due to be replaced by Churchill. Since then she has been threatened with rape via Twitter. Apparently, at it's height, it was fifty threats an hour, many graphic in their language and one poster gave what he considered to be her address and invited people to pay her a visit.

Sonicator wrote:

Army video

"The standard you walk past is the standard you accept."

Great video, really hit all the right notes.

Higgledy wrote:

A woman in the UK campaigned successfully to have a woman represented on a UK bank note after the last one was due to be replaced by Churchill. Since then she has been threatened with rape via Twitter. Apparently, at it's height, it was fifty threats an hour, many graphic in their language and one poster gave what he considered to be her address and invited people to pay her a visit.

Some UK twitterati I follow (e.g. Caitlin Moran, Emma Kennedy, Gia Milinovich, Chris Addison, Helen Lewis) are trying to drum up interest in a #trolliday on 4th August, where they're going to not post on twitter for a day in an attempt to get twitter to improve their abuse rules.

I think it's pretty fair for Twitter to ban the accounts of arseholes making rape threats at people. The human detritus doing this can have a nice tantrum about "free speech" and then all flock towards Twanker or whatever. I guess that they currently have very relaxed rules because they don't want to have to get into policing Twitter in any way. I think they could have some strong guidelines here though. I do like some stuff by people on the more offensive end of the comedy spectrum (Carr & Boyle, for example), but I think it would be a very positive statement that there is no context in which this kind of abuse is acceptable. It seems like you could draw up some rules that would catch the abuse without getting too many false positives or incitement situations where trolls could try to get someone else banned.

There's an equally predictable reaction against what some have identified as a piece of lefty middle class slacktivism, but I personally really want this to gain some traction.

There's been yet another blow up in local politics, it's alleged a highly regarded union official didn't keep his waradonga zipped up and it's now in the public light. There's been the usual round of condemnations, defenses, victim blaming yada yada and this piece is the most interesting piece of commentary so far.

Hello Rape Culture, Hello Ignorance

I'm not happy with the whole #trolliday concept. It feels too much like a win for the trolls. I think #shoutthef*ckback is working wonders tbh. Personally I've grassed up a couple of d-bags to their employers.

Agreed. Disengaging from the trolls gives them the floor.

I think this post I made in the Feminism thread is pertinent here too. Great article.

MrDeVil909 wrote:

This was some serious food for thought. On the importance of engaging with trolls.

Misogynist Trolls Have An Agenda, And It’s Not Lulz

4xis.black wrote:

Do we have any idea whether they're actually enforcing those policies, though, and whether they're working?

They've prosecuted a couple of individuals so far for some earlier episodes, but as far as I know the "Jedi Council" ring is still under police investigation.

Misogyny runs so deep in this society, it is even used against abused children (The Guardian)

"The girl is predatory in all her actions and she is sexually experienced." So said the prosecution lawyer, Robert Colover QC of the Crown Prosecution Service. He was not even the defence lawyer, but the lawyer representing us, the state. Because the 13-year-old victim had been abused before, that seemingly proved her the guilty one. Even worse, Judge Nigel Peters laid it on thick, too, semi-forgiving the man: "The girl was predatory and she was egging you on."
Hypatian wrote:

Misogyny runs so deep in this society, it is even used against abused children (The Guardian)

"The girl is predatory in all her actions and she is sexually experienced." So said the prosecution lawyer, Robert Colover QC of the Crown Prosecution Service. He was not even the defence lawyer, but the lawyer representing us, the state. Because the 13-year-old victim had been abused before, that seemingly proved her the guilty one. Even worse, Judge Nigel Peters laid it on thick, too, semi-forgiving the man: "The girl was predatory and she was egging you on."

Is statutory rape not a thing over there?

Police: Microsoft manager raped janitor at Redmond campus

The woman contacted her immediate supervisor, who ignored her report and failed to contact police, the Redmond detective told the court. Another supervisor learned of the allegations a day later and contacted police.

This Barrister in question has been suspended from the bench, and an investigation has been launched against him. David Cameron is also weighing in.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013...

Say it twice for emphasis.

If anyone doubts that rape culture is a thing that is alive and well in the US, this response to Steubenville closes the case.

http://www.dailymail.com/News/staten...

Money quote:

The rape case "definitely played a role in causing us to think, 'Who do we need to focus upon?' " Ihlenfeld told The Associated Press. "We thought, 'Let's start calling athletic directors and coaches to see if they're interested.' That investment of time hopefully will pay dividends down the road, not only because you hope the kids are going to stay out of trouble. Social media creates so many distractions off the field for coaches. Maybe we can help them avoid that situation as well."

What is the problem? Boys are in trouble and coaches get distracted. These are the problems they choose to focus on. What is their solution? Teach the boys not to record evidence of their crimes.

I'd like to send the Australian General along w/ Chris Rock's Tossed Salad Man to explain that the problem is rape. The solution to this problem is not to rape. The problem is not athletes in trouble. The problem is not coaches dealing with distractions outside of football. The problem is rape. The solution is to be crystal clear that rapists are the problem and their victims are more important than some silly game.

Egypt's Sexual Assault Epidemic

Thirty-year-old musician Yasmine el-Baramawy, who was attacked in Tahrir Square last November, describes the pattern: Men surround the woman, rip off her clothes and then perform manual rape, while an outer circle fends off anyone who might try to help her with sticks, blades and belts.

"They were taking photos of me and laughing," Baramawy says. "They pinned me naked to the hood of a car and drove me around."

The speed, efficiency and ferocity of the attacks imply that they are orchestrated, and many believe they are used by political factions as a tool to deter women from protesting while simultaneously discrediting demonstrators. But the fact that the assaults occurred under Mubarak, the military, Morsi and the current interim president, Adly Mansour, suggest the problem may have far deeper roots.

Virginia city’s rape policy was ‘Assume the victim is lying’ until last week [Raw Story]

The city of Norfolk, Virginia only last week changed its official police policy away from assuming that victims of sexual assault are lying about what happened to them. According to Think Progress, Norfolk police classified all sexual assault claims as “unfounded” by default.
clover wrote:

Egypt's Sexual Assault Epidemic

Thirty-year-old musician Yasmine el-Baramawy, who was attacked in Tahrir Square last November, describes the pattern: Men surround the woman, rip off her clothes and then perform manual rape, while an outer circle fends off anyone who might try to help her with sticks, blades and belts.

"They were taking photos of me and laughing," Baramawy says. "They pinned me naked to the hood of a car and drove me around."

The speed, efficiency and ferocity of the attacks imply that they are orchestrated, and many believe they are used by political factions as a tool to deter women from protesting while simultaneously discrediting demonstrators. But the fact that the assaults occurred under Mubarak, the military, Morsi and the current interim president, Adly Mansour, suggest the problem may have far deeper roots.

So disgusting. There are days where I feel like Egypt deserved Mubbarak. What a horrid culture.