FAIL

who can find the common denominator in these three stories, (other than the awesome reporting & commentary by the women at Ms. Magazine Blog)?

Feds Lied in Tribal Rape Case

U.S. Has "Failed" Rape Victims: Senate to Hear Testimony

A Call for Self-Defense Against Victim-Blaming AND Against Rape


here are the common themes i see:

1. Rape is the lowest priority violent crime...
2. ...because really, it's the woman's own fault...and it's just a "women's issue" anyway...
3. ...so why bother spending any actual resources (time, money, attention) addressing it?


rape culture says that 'it's all in our heads'...that most rape is perpetrated by terrifying strangers in alleys (not true), that most women 'cry rape' falsely (not true) just because they regret a sexual encounter or because they want to get back at a man with whom they are upset, and that it's our responsibility as the VICTIMS of violence to somehow ward off that violence before it begins...otherwise, well, what did we expect?

I expect law enforcement to take my report of a violent attack on my person seriously. I expect that if i submit to an often painful, embarassing and psychologically difficult physical exam so that evidence of my rape can be collected, that said evidence will actually be TESTED. I also expect that women of all races and ethnicities and orientations and classes will be protected under the
LAWS of the united states. Frankly, I expect a life free from fear of rape and sexual assault.

i know, i have very high expectations.