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Tag: rape

27 May, 201713 April, 2017

Do we really need to see graphic violence to ‘understand’?

A fenceline casting dramatic shadows on the grass.
Posted in pop culture by s.e. smith

Creators sometimes justify graphic, troubling scenes with the claim that we need to see to ‘understand.’ Well, do we?

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2 January, 201714 November, 2016

You are not responsible for the deeds of your rapist if you don’t report

Police cars in a desaturated image.
Posted in social justice by s.e. smith

People who don’t report are often pressured on the grounds that they’re responsible for protecting others. That’s incorrect, and damaging.

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6 September, 201621 June, 2016

On Brock Turner’s defenders and secrecy

Marchers at a Slutwalk protest.
Posted in social justice by s.e. smith

Brock Turner’s defenders were shocked and surprised when their supportive testimony went public. They shouldn’t have been.

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22 February, 20162 December, 2015

Just believe rape victims. Period.

A woman on a train platform, back to the camera.
Posted in gender, social justice by s.e. smith

Professionally, I live in a world where reporting on any crime has to be hedged with weasel words and ambiguities in order to avoid the risk of libel — unless someone has been convicted in a court of law, I cannot technically that person a rapist, an arsonist, a thief, a murderer. Instead, we’re required […]

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12 October, 201530 July, 2015

Where is incest in conversations about rape?

A pair of feet in flowered sandals.
Posted in social justice by s.e. smith

Rape is coming out of the shadows to occupy more and more public discussion, changing the way we think about and conceptualise sexual assault. The fight to destigmatise rape and refocus the problem on the people who commit it, rather than victims, is important, as is the opening up of some discussions that have historically […]

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10 September, 201517 June, 2015

Sexual harassment and the graduate student

Professors adjusting lab equipment
Posted in social justice by s.e. smith

The last few years have marked a critical discussion about sexual assault on college campuses, which is a huge problem in the United States. Campus rape has emerged as a significant problem in no small part because of the way it’s handled by colleges and universities, which seem to prefer to cover it up rather […]

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3 September, 201515 June, 2015

Disability and rape on the hospital ward

The foot of a hospital bed
Posted in disability by s.e. smith

Content note: This piece discusses rape and sexual assault in medical contexts, though not in graphic detail.  Reading statistics on rape and disability is sometimes akin to being plunged into a pit of fire for me. The statistics are so grim, even in their poorly collected and maintained state, as to boggle the mind. Broadly […]

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25 August, 20154 June, 2015

Why people don’t report: Testimony

A historic courtroom with some people at the bench
Posted in social justice by s.e. smith

There’s a strong cultural pressure surrounding rape victims/survivors and reporting: You’re a bad person if you don’t report, if the rapist does it again it’s your fault, why wouldn’t you want the rapist to be punished, you need to talk about it to work through it, &c. This pressure doesn’t consider the needs of the […]

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16 July, 201523 April, 2015

Utilizing unexpected tools to combat farmworker rape

A punnet of strawberries
Posted in race, social justice by s.e. smith

If you haven’t seen Frontline’s Rape in the Fields, I highly recommend it — the documentary is a detailed and unforgiving look at labour abuses across the US. As the title implies, the primary subject is sexual assault of farmworkers, specifically women, and it does contain some graphic and disturbing content including discussions of rape and […]

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2 April, 201510 January, 2015

How About We Try Just Listening to Trauma Victims?

A donkey, ears attentive.
Posted in commentary, social justice by s.e. smith

Last year was a terrible time for rape victims. Multiple high-profile cases of rape and sexual assault hit the news, including some that involved decades of assaults that had gone largely ignored, and those involving beloved public figures that no one wanted to hold accountable for their actions. ‘Not the man I know‘ is a […]

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