Raise your hand if you are tired of hearing about another way that the courts justify rape and blame women for the violence they have suffered at the hands of men.
Yeah, me too.
A women from the Philippines has decided to take her rape case to the United Nations' CEDAW because the courts in Manila decided that there are two kinds of women; rapable and unrapable (please no, neither of these are actual words) and that she fell into the "unrapable" category.
“The court, in effect, showed that there are two kinds of women: the ‘rapable’ and the ‘unrapable’ kind. I , according to the judge, fit the ‘unrapable’ mold,� she said with a chuckle, pointing out it was an absurd proposition from a judge she described as “unenlightened� about gender-sensitivity.Karen said she did not fall in the “rapable� stereotype by society’s standards. “There was one conference when a rich lady from Davao City sought me out because she wanted to see the prominent businessman’s victim. She looked surprised when she saw me and said bluntly that she had been expecting somebody with a come-hither appearance,� she recalled.
Oh, hell no.
Thanks to Athena for the link.
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I'm curious to know how the hell they define a woman who is "unrapable".
What's almost as worse as that is the rich woman expecting a rape victim to fit some sort of "appearance". Because ya know, with a "come hither appearance" she was clearly just asking for it.
I honestly cannot believe this kind of thing still goes on today. It absolutely, completely baffles me.
I read the article. It seems that they have a "rape is a compliment" culture. She is "unrapable" because she is not pretty enough to be raped.
disgusting.
I'm thinking how similar this reasoning sound to that of the Philly judge in the rape of a prostitute case.
It seems like people who take this stance don't even know what rape is. I would hope that almost anybody would know that rape is more about power than sexual desire. That's just horrible to say somebody is too ugly to be raped.
Grace: I wondered the same thing. I suppose the linked article made sense to someone in the target audience, but for me it was incredibly difficult to follow. There was clearly a real injustice here, but it's hard to understand the exact nature of the injustice (ie, was the one bad judge or a systemic issue in the Phillipines; is it a social issue or a problem with specific laws, etc.) from that article.
Not pretty enough to be raped...? Not pretty enough? Wha....wha, wha?
I'm speechless :(
Although the other day someone in one of my classes asked the question of why guys rape women when there are so many women out there willing to have sex with them. Cause rape is ALL about sex, right? /sarcasm.
i am so glad that someone is taking such a huge stand. i am api AND more specifically filipino/native hawaiian--this feels enlightening almost and very empowering to see someone in the Asian community speak up about her rape. it is very underreported and unspoken about in the Asian cultures. THIS is incredible- props to her.
AND i shall also agree with all the other points-after reading article and focusing on the two "categories" the court implied-i will "blech" throw up now. :[