The Stanford rape case & incarceration reform

Jun 09, 2016 17:23

So the letter read by the survivor of the Stanford assault case is all over my various social media feeds. Which it deserves to be; it’s important. (Although man, I cried when reading it and wince every time I see a link now; I hope the various survivors I know are tougher than me.) It sparked a couple of thoughts ( Read more... )

sad, politics, feminism

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Comments 9

trepkos June 9 2016, 17:46:02 UTC
I've recently been quite shocked at the lack of incarceration for quite grave non-sexual assaults in Jersey. They convict someone of "grave and criminal assault" and give them community service and a fine ...

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lokifan June 12 2016, 02:08:26 UTC
Well, if it helps, that kind of sentence has a better chance of avoiding repeat offences.

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woldy June 9 2016, 19:23:53 UTC
Yes, it's fucked up that penal leniency is brought up only as a way of protecting privileged people who have committed crimes against less privileged people (see also better prison conditions and early release for wealthy and/or politically well-connected defendants e.g. Jeffrey Archer). However, I wish the people who call for long prison terms for rapists understood that prisons are institutions that reinforce a violent and hierarchical form of masculinity that often involves sexual assault. If the goal is to stop rape then we probably should not be sending rapists to institutions that confirm their view that rape is a normal and acceptable way to demonstrate or establish their power and position in the hierarchy. Prisons reinforce rape culture, so they cannot cure rape culture.

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lokifan June 12 2016, 02:10:46 UTC
Nice to have you back in time to weigh in on a (horrible, depressing) area of your expertise! And YEP. Like this is gross because it's so obviously a product of his class/race/gender - but the solution is not actually to treat him like a working-class black dude who sexually assaulted someone, that doesn't make things better for anyone.

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khalulu June 10 2016, 14:56:06 UTC
Yeah, agreed.

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lokifan June 12 2016, 02:16:32 UTC
It's just depressing on all sides. I've seen more than one person talk hopefully about him getting raped in prison. And I don't want to draw false equivalence at all because saying awful things is not actually on the same scale as committing violent sexual assault but COME ON. Feminism is not a revenge fantasy, and belief in left-wing causes should include focus on punishment that can reduce recidivism rather than what makes us all feel good and vindicated.

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khalulu June 13 2016, 05:30:17 UTC
Yeah - you want the crimes taken seriously and the abusers prevented from doing it again - but prison just seems to make people worse. What do we need to do to make it unthinkable for people to do those sorts of things to each other?

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prunesquallormd June 14 2016, 17:43:23 UTC
Sad to say, but that prison as punishment and nothing else mindset is still very prevalent. The rehabilitation aspect gets completely overlooked.

On the other hand, 6 months for rape (and probably out in three) is shocking :(

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lokifan June 22 2016, 16:11:38 UTC
Quite :(

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