RAINN on Rape Culture

[jimhines]

Will Shetterly wrote a blog post asking if I had addressed “RAINN’s refutation of ‘rape culture’” yet. I’m writing this less to respond to Shetterly and more because I think there’s some good conversation to be had around RAINN’s recommendations. But I should warn folks that by invoking his name and linking to his blog post, I’m basically

Comments

[rosefox]

The major concern I've seen expressed about relying on bystander intervention is that bystanders are more likely to intervene if the person being attacked is, say, a young white cis woman than an older black trans woman. In some demographics, the person being attacked would be right to fear bystanders rather than relying on them for help.

That's also a concern with these frankly naive comments from the RAINN letter:

We believe that the most effective - the primary - way to prevent sexual violence is to use the criminal justice system to take more rapists off the streets.

[C]onfusion discourages victims from coming forward to take the brave step of reporting this crime.... When these crimes aren’t reported... serial criminals are left unpunished and free to strike again.Again, that assumes the criminal justice system is there to help rape victims and survivors rather than victimize them further. Even for white cis women, that's often not the case. And the further one gets from that place of privilege, the more likely it is that one

[tylik]

The rape I mention above I did not report. For a number of reasons, most prominent that it did not register that I'd just been raped for 36 hours or so, obviating the whole rape kit thing. But I was also mistrustful of the justice system's dealings with such things, considering how badly they did by me around some family issues.

And it appears he went on to become a registered sex offender.

This is not a comment on the merits of reporting or not, just something I feel really weird about.

[rosefox]

Many many sympathies on every aspect of that.

[rachelmanija]

I just wanted to mention a factual issue regarding current rape kits. In NO WAY am I saying you made the wrong decision, for any reason whatsoever. This is purely for the benefit of anyone who might read this, since it's a little-known issue and one which has changed in recent years:

Evidence, including DNA evidence, can still be collected for up to a week following a rape. The sooner the better, of course. But 36 hours is definitely no longer too late as far as evidence-collection goes. I'm speaking here of a forensic gynecological exam. Evidence on unwashed clothing may be collected indefinitely, since there could be hairs. etc.

Whether one wishes to report, have a forensic exam, etc, is of course a purely personal decision.

I'm sorry that happened to you.

[sunlit_music]

Tylik, I'm so sorry to hear that. You have all my sympathies.

Definitely also agree that it's up to rape survivors to decide whether to report.

[northernwalker]

When I look at cases like Steubenville, I have to ask myself, "Would I be willing to report, knowing what kind of firestorm is likely to greet me?" Honestly, I don't know.

[rosefox]

I'm basically in the ideal position to report a rape if someone raped me, because I know with absolute certainty that my partners and family and doctor would believe and support me, my brother is an attorney who would find me a great lawyer, I can afford whatever medical and legal assistance I need, and I don't drink or wear skimpy clothes. And I'd still hesitate, because I don't trust the cops or the "justice" system at all. I'd hesitate even more if the perpetrator were someone notable in my professional/social group, because I can already see the tweets and blog posts accusing me of lying or asking why I did ABC instead of XYZ or linking it to me being queer/poly/trans.

So. Yeah. The culture is what discourages me. Not ignorance or "confusion".

[northernwalker]

Exactly. And I grew up being taught that the police were there to help, but at this point when it comes to rape cases, I'm pretty cynical.

[sylvia_rachel]

That's what I always think about, too. There's one particular co-worker I've had this ... debate with several times: she thinks if someone doesn't report or doesn't press charges, it's because they aren't actually that fussed about it, whereas I think if someone doesn't report chances are it's because they feared being re-victimized as a result. It's not clear to me how one can follow current events and not notice that a nontrivial proportion of pretty much any rape or sexual assault trial consists of attempts to get the victim to cop to leading the defendant on in some way :P

[starcat_jewel]

The mere existence of the term "leading him on" is part of rape culture. The assumption behind it is that a woman has no right at all to say "this far and no further" or to get spooked and change her mind. It's denial of agency for women in any kind of sexual situation.

[sylvia_rachel]

Absolutely true. I knew I should have put that term in scare quotes.

That's another part of that recurring debate with that co-worker: she seems to genuinely think that "in the heat of the moment" is a legit defence. (Also, that once you've consented you've consented. One of these conversations centred on a case of a woman raped by an estranged boyfriend/husband/partner [can't remember]; she contended that that couldn't possibly be as traumatic as being assaulted by a stranger. I had to go and make a pot of tea at that point because I was going to freak out very shortly if I didn't extricate myself.)

THAT is (a nontrivial proportion of) what rape culture looks like, IMO: women arguing in defence of rapists, and in opposition to victims very much like themselves,* whenever the circumstances don't match the stereotypical stranger rape scenario.

*Not meaning to dismiss the post-trauma experiences of male victims of sexual assaults, which I expect are equally shitty.

[northernwalker]

she seems to genuinely think that "in the heat of the moment" is a legit defence.

Wow. I think my head just exploded.

[sylvia_rachel]

You see why I finally had to just walk away.

I should probably mention that this co-worker is 60+ and has twentysomething sons. Whereas I am 40 and have an 11-year-old daughter. That probably shouldn't make a difference but I think it really does.

[northernwalker]

Not to mention the public reaction- in Steubenville, the victim got death threats. From other teens, both male and female.

[sylvia_rachel]

Yes. Nothing attracts violent, virulent victim-blaming like a rape trial in which the defendants are nice clean-cut white athletic dudes.

[comrade_cat]

I'd like to point out that, without having to take a position on whether the criminal justice system helps or harms rape victims and survivors, the assumption in the text may well be there as a decision to try not to offend the addressee, a White House task force. There are activist strategies that involve confrontation and activist strategies that involve education. I think they work best when used together by different people or groups. But the assumption in question may have been put there as a conscious decision.

It's also possible the assumptions are just in there because they're the assumptions of the letter writer(s).

This doesn't say anything about whether the criminal justice system actually does cause more harm or more help on average, but no one's mentioned writing to persuade the target audience yet that I've seen.