Comments | _survivors_: Some beliefs in the Middle East are very twisted...

artzgirl1987 in _survivors_

Some beliefs in the Middle East are very twisted...

May 15, 2008 01:17

Did you know you could be murdered because you are raped. You are concidered unclean after a rape and can be killed for it. It's called a cleansing murder, or a cleansing killing. In one specific story a brother killed his sister who was raped beacause she was causing her family so much shame. He got six days in jail. He felt absuluting no remorse ( Read more... )

victim-blaming, rape

Comments 7

dreamalwz May 16 2008, 22:15:40 UTC

I don't know the exact spot, but I was told in the Bible there is something about if a women is raped it's her fault and other issues that go along with it. Hopefully things will change!

artzgirl1987 May 17 2008, 05:46:17 UTC

Really? I grew up with the Bible, and I don't remember anything about that. I'll have to look that up now.

I hope things change soon too.

dreamalwz May 17 2008, 14:31:46 UTC

Now that I am thinking on it, it may have been specifically in the Book of Mormon since she was Mormon growing up.

graylove May 17 2008, 04:14:14 UTC

I have a friend who has traveled through a lot of the Middle East, and I was talking about how I'd love to travel but would never want to do it alone. He told me that it would be safe in most countries, but in some places, if I got raped, I would be put in jail. If HE got raped, the rapist would be executed! Granted, this is not necessarily the most reliable source to get legal information from, but my god, it's so incredibly shocking to think that these kinds of things are still happening in the world. People often act like the bad stuff (Holocaust, lynchings, slavery) is behind us, but it's still very much a reality for some people. It's just...so hard to comprehend.

artzgirl1987 May 17 2008, 05:40:45 UTC

It is. It's so sad too.

sistahraven May 17 2008, 04:18:00 UTC

Yes... it's disgusting. There are a few cultures which allow this, sadly. Sometimes they're referred to as "honor killings" as well, since they view a rape survivor as bringing shame to the family.

Last year, there was a trial for a woman who defended herself, killing the attempted rapist, and she was to be executed. As far as I know, her sentence was never commuted - so even though she defended the "family honor", they still killed her.

SO ridiculous. Because, you know, it's not the rapists who should feel shame.

artzgirl1987 May 17 2008, 05:39:22 UTC

Instead the victims are guilty, the attackers are dismissed, and the person who kills the victim is a savior of sorts. It's discusting... it's very backwards.