Month: March 2013

A Short Post on Rape Prevention

When people scoff at the message that we need to teach people not to rape they make the assumption that the lesson goes: “Rape is bad. Don’t do it.” That is not what the lesson looks like. The lesson, once it is adopted, will be that every single person out there, regardless of any defining personal characteristics, is a human being of value, and with a right to make their own decisions about what bodily contact to have with others.

Otterday! And Open Thread

Please feel free to use this thread to natter about anything your heart desires. Anything great happening in your life? Anything you want to get off your chest? Books? News stories? What have you created lately? Commiserations, felicitations, temptations, contemplations, speculations?

Friday Hoyden: Zerlina Maxwell

I think that the entire conversation is wrong. I don’t want anybody to be telling women anything. I don’t want men to be telling me what to wear and how to act, not to drink. And I don’t, honestly, want you to tell me that I needed a gun in order to prevent my rape. In my case, don’tt tell me if I’d only had a gun, I wouldn’t have been raped. Don’t put it on me to prevent the rape.
Content note: discussion of rape, violence and threatening behaviour.

Thread: #forcedadoption #babysnatching

So the formal Government apology from PM Gillard is about to happen. I just wanted to note an important social justice moment.

P.S. the Welcome to Country and opening speech reminding everybody of the particular example of the Stolen Generations is an important note on which to start.