Stories of Consent - Dealing With Sexual Abuse

Pro-Rape Shirt Found in Teen Boys' Clothing Section

The Conservative Agenda: The Week in Wing-Nuttery

So, how is the Republican rebranding going?

Rapist of 14 Year-Old Gets 30 Day Sentence

A Bill Precluding Rapists From Custodial Rights

Rep. Schultz (D-FL)

From Think Progress: 

On Thursday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) held a press conference to explain their recently-introduced legislation designed to help rape survivors maintain full custody rights over their children. The lawmakers were joined by Shauna Prewitt, a rape survivor and victims’ rights advocate who was forced to endure the type of custody battle with her rapist that the bill seeks to prevent. 

The Rape Survivor Child Custody Act would provide funding incentives to states that have laws allowing mothers of children conceived through rape to “seek court-ordered termination of the parental rights of her rapist.” These states would receive federal grant funding for programs authorized under the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). 

Currently, 31 states have no custodial rights protections for mothers of children conceived in rape. Of the 19 states that do have some protections, only six reach the standard advocated by the proposed bill...

It will be interesting to see how people against this bill justify their position.

UNC-Chapel Hill's Mistreatment of Rape Victims

From Think Progress: 

The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is now facing a third federal investigation into its sexual assault policies. This time, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating allegations that UNC inappropriately retaliated against Landen Gambill, a sophomore at the university, after she publicly came forward about her rape. 

Gambill was one of several students who filed a federal complaint against the university at the beginning of the year, alleging UNC has created a “hostile environment” for rape victims attempting to report sexual crimes. In February, the sophomore faced an honor code violation that claimed she “intimidated” her alleged rapist by publicly sharing the story of her sexual assault — even though she never named him, simply referring to him as an “ex-boyfriend.” Later that year, even after the male student in question had been found guilty of sexually harassing Gambill, he was reassigned to a dorm building “in close proximity” to hers. 

The new investigation will attempt to determine whether those two actions — subjecting Gambill to UNC’s honor court and moving Gambill’s assailant closer to her — constitute inappropriate retaliation. The honor code charge against Gambill, which could have resulted in her expulsion, has since been dropped.

There's an old saying that goes something to the tune of "It isn't the crime, it's the cover-up." I believe this applies here. I honestly can not even begin to fathom how the university, if the allegations are true, would go to such lengths against a victim of rape. I'm assuming some of these officials have daughters. Chances are that they would not stand for such actions against their own children, so why do it to someone else's? This really goes to show how soulless some people can be, in case what happened at Penn State was not indication enough.

The GOP's Social Conservative Problem

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Big Government Conservatism in Mississippi

From Huffington Post: 

Mississippi will require doctors to collect umbilical cord blood from babies born to some young mothers, under a new law intended to identify statutory rapists and reduce the state's rate of teenage pregnancy, the highest in the country.

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Supporters of the law say it offers an important new tool to prevent older men from having sex with younger girls. Critics argue, however, that it violates privacy and will do little to deter teen pregnancy. 

"We think it's a very invasive law to a woman who is already in a vulnerable situation," said Carol Penick, executive director of the Women's Fund of Mississippi, a nonprofit organization dedicated to women's rights. 

Mississippi leads the nation in teen live-birth rates with 55 out of 1,000 babies born to young women between the ages of 15 and 19, according to 2010 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The national average was 34.2 live births per 1,000 population and the lowest was 15.7, in New Hampshire, the CDC reported. 

Governor Phil Bryant said, "As governor, I am serious about confronting and reducing teen pregnancy in Mississippi. Unfortunately, part of this epidemic is driven by sexual offenders who prey on young girls. This measure provides law enforcement with another tool to help identify these men and bring them to justice."

Of course the best way to deal with high teen pregnancy rates is to have comprehensive sex-education instead of abstinence-only "education."

Gay Sex is Bad, But Men Raping Girls is Natural...?

From Bilerco:

[Stephen] Fry noted that the documentary [called "Out There"] brought him to places as diverse as Russia, Brazil, India, the United States, and Uganda. And then he dropped a bombshell:

I actually got a Ugandan minister to say on camera -- he's the Minister for Ethics and Integrity; it's the only such ministry in the world -- and I said to him, 'Look, even if these... utterly false supports on which you base your homophobia were true, which they aren't, there's so much more to worry about in your country than the odd gay person going to bed with the other gay person. For example, you have almost an epidemic of child rape in this country, which is just frightening.' And he said, 'Ah, but it is the right kind of child rape.' 

Ferguson and the audience were understandably stunned. Fry continued:

I said 'That was on camera. Do you know that that was on camera?' He said yes. I said, 'Can you just explain what you mean? He said, 'Well, it is men raping girls, which is natural.'

Note: The relevant part of the video starts at 27:49.

If you are going to have a Minister of Ethics, it should probably be someone who does not think there is a "right kind of rape." Maybe that is just my opinion though...

CNN Fails Miserably On Rape Coverage

This has got to be some sick joke. These two young men were found guilty of a violent, unconscionable act against an innocent girl, and CNN is talking about how this conviction has destroyed the lives of the convicted rapists?

If you watched this clip, you will notice there was zero mention of how the 16 year-old victim has been affected. No mention of the physical trauma that may or may not heal. No mention of the emotional trauma that will last for a long time to come. None. Were this Fox, I would not be surprised, but this is a very poor indictment on CNN, the self-styled "most respected name in news." I for one hope that this conviction helps to bring at least some closure to the victim of this violent act, though only time itself will be able to heal the wounds that can be healed.

There is yet another element that CNN got completely wrong. This conviction did not destroy the lives of the young men found guilty, their own decisions and actions destroyed did that. They made the choice to take advantage of this young girl and they will pay the price for it. They will be branded as sex offenders for the rest of their lives because of what they did. If they do not like that, then tough. Perhaps if they had thought how reprehensible it is to expose a vulnerable person in such a callous manner, they would have vastly better futures ahead of them. It is a true shame they made the choice to tread down such a dark path.

There is no gray area here. Forcing yourself on someone is not morally ambiguous. It is wrong, it has always been wrong, and it will always be wrong. One does not have to be particularly intelligent to understand that, they just have to be decent human beings. What happened to these rapists is their own fault and they have no one else to blame but themselves for their lot. Justice was served and I for one will not be shedding a tear for either of these guys. If any good can come from this, it is that this crime and the verdict may serve as a cautionary tale for other people who hear this story.

So much for CNN being the most respected name in news. This was a sorry excuse for journalism.

Another Republican Makes Stupid Rape Comment

From Think Progress:

Celeste Greig, president of California Republican Assembly, the state’s oldest and largest GOP volunteer organization told The Bay Area News Group this week that pregnancies resulting from rape are rare “because it’s an act of violence, because the body is traumatized.”

Bizarrely, Greig made the comments while criticizing similar remarks from Todd Akin, who falsely claimed that “legitimate rape” rarely causes pregnancy since the female body “has ways of shutting that whole thing down.”

Akin lost his bid for the Senate, along with other candidates who made insensitive comments about rape in the last election cycle. However, that hasn’t stopped other members of the GOP from chiming in with similar statements this year.

Tweet of the Day: February 19, 2013

Republican Eric Cantor Blocking Anti-Rape Legislation

From the Examiner:

VAWA [Violence Against Women Act], which has been reauthorized consistently for 18 years with little fanfare, was, for the first time, left to expire in Sept. 2011. The sticking point has been new protections for three particularly vulnerable groups: undocumented immigrants, members of the LGBT community and Native Americans.

The additions are supported by Democrats and opposed by House Republicans, who are calling them politically driven. The Senate passed a bipartisan bill in April with the additional protections, and House Republicans passed their own bill in May that omitted those three provisions. Since then, the issue has gone nowhere.

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So some House Republicans proposed a measure to fix the problem, by allowing tribal courts to try non-Indians in such cases, while still letting the defendants move the case to a federal court if they felt their rights weren’t being protected.

But [House Majority Leader Eric] Cantor—who’s seen as influential with the conservative wing of the House GOP caucus—is blocking the proposal because he doesn’t want to give added jurisdictions to Indian tribes. And he may end up killing the VAWA re-authorization over the dispute.

In other words, for Cantor, limiting the authority of tribal courts is more important than making sure rapists are prosecuted and women are protected from domestic violence.

Top 5 Political Fumbles of 2012

This Is Why People Think Conservatives Are Crazy

From Examiner:

The state of Missouri has been in the national spotlight recently because of comments made by Republican Congressman Todd Akin who claimed that raped women rarely get pregnant. After his statements hit the Internet, immediate outrage burned across the country. Akin later apologized, but his statements have rekindled a nationwide debate. One that republicans desperately do not want to have, lest they alienate a wide majority of female voters.

Sharon Barnes, a high ranking state Republican, came to the defense of her conservative colleague who she believes only "phrased it (his statement) badly." 

Barnes was quoted by The New York Times saying, "abortion is never an option." Barnes went on to biblically claim that, "If God has chosen to bless this person [the rape victim] with a life, you don’t kill it." 

Barnes did not elaborate on her views for post-pregnancy care, or costs.

GOP Candidate: "The Rape Thing..." (Twice)

Seriously? Again with these people and rape gaffes? When will they learn?

Lowlights & Highlights: October 27, 2012

A pregnancy from rape is "a gift from God." Seriously, a guy running for a U.S. Senate seat (Richard Mourdock-GOP) said that in a debate. Normally, few people outside of this state (Indiana) would pay attention to this debate. With this statement, however, the entire nation turned towards Indiana in complete and utter shock.

I have no idea how anyone could think that saying this would be a good idea. It is obvious with this statement that Mourdock has little to no empathy for the physical and emotional trauma experienced by a rape victim. Why is it that whenever a Republican says something about rape, they show a complete lack of empathy, knowledge, and compassion? First Rep Todd Akin (R-MO) and his "legitimate rape" comment, now this? They are really just better off keeping their mouths shut on this issue since they clearly have no actual knowledge on the subject.

Before another Republican says anything about rape, they need to talk to a rape victim before uttering a word.

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The foreign policy debate was pretty much a role-reversal from the first debate. Whereas in the first debate it was President Obama who seemed submissive and Mitt Romney was on the attack, Romney was the one who seemed to have his tail tucked between his legs. Not only that, but it seemed like Romney agreed with much of what the Obama Administration had done in the foreign policy arena, or at least that is the Mitt Romney that showed up at this debate. Of course on the campaign trail he keeps decrying Obama's foreign policy. Then again, Romney is a serial-panderer.

A statement of Romney's that I found particularly inane was when he said that Iran was four years closer to having a nuclear bomb than when Obama took office...which was about four years ago. In essence, Romney merely acknowledged that four years had passed in the last four years. I don't think anyone needed him to do that.

President Obama pointed out (correctly) that Romney has the foreign policy of the 1980's, social policy from the 1950's, and economic policy from the 1920's.

And of course, there was the "horses and bayonets" statement.

Both in terms of substance and performance, President Obama was on point.

GOP Rape Panels

GOP Statements on Rape

From the Huffington Post:

In the wake of Republican Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's remarks over the summer that in cases of "legitimate rape," a woman's body is able to "shut that down," perhaps the last thing the GOP needed was another candidate making controversial comments about rape and pregnancy. Unfortunately, Republican Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock didn't get the message. His assertion on Tuesday that pregnancies that result from rape are what "God intended to happen" has thrust the issue right back into the national conversation.

But just as there was plenty of evidence that Akin wasn't the only member of his party with strange beliefs about women's bodies, Mourdock also has some company when it comes to his controversial positions.

There are tons more in the article which you can find HERE.

Catholic Priests Blame Kids For Their Own Rape