rape culture

Graeme Reeves has been charged

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It’s been a long time coming, but Strike Force Tarella has now accumulated enough evidence to arrest and charge ex-obstetrician and gynaecologist Graeme Reeves, dubbed the “Butcher of Bega”, on a number of violent offences against women. There were many more complaints, and the police continue to compile evidence.

Raped by elves

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We’ve identified before that passive voice agent-deletion is a particular problem in reports of sexual violence. The victim is centred, just as she is in most narratives of sexual violence (and its prevention), and the perpetrator is disappeared altogether or… Read More ›

UK Criminal Compensation Authority Blaming Rape Victims

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Under guidelines meant to minimise compensation payouts for people who “contribute to their own ordeal during a criminal incident”, such as people taking part in the crime, or offering provocation for an attack, certain bureaucrats decided that women being out in the world socialising in a perfectly legal fashion were liable for provoking their own rapes, and cut their compensation payouts accordingly. Public outcry has meant that the decision has been reversed, but how could they have been so wrong headed in the first place?

It could be something to do with the way that the media reports rape, of course. Melissa reports [trigger warnings], and then responds to a typical Daily Mail women-blaming op-ed (the pictorial juxtaposition has to be seen to be believed):

The piece itself is just unrelentingly infuriating, as its male author offers up gems like: