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Re: In today's news...
Someone showed me an article in
My first emotion upon finishing the article was rage, rage at anyone who would dare force themselves upon a woman and then choose to blame the victim. Then I said to myself, "Well, I guess I'm lucky to live in the US and not India--we wouldn't ever consider this kind of justification reasonable."
Upon further reflection, though, I realized that I was wrong. Rape and sexual assault occur quite frequently in the US, and all too often we ask ourselves how the victim could have prevented the crime. In a rape trial, the plaintiff will often face scrutiny: the victim's clothing, sexual history, level of intoxication, and character are as much on trial as the accused. We (the US) have made progress in the past several decades, and I hope that over time that progress will continue. It would be wrong, however, to view this as a problem for other cultures and not my own.
Someone showed me an article in
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that discusses the justifications used (and believed) by a gang-rapist in India.My first emotion upon finishing the article was rage, rage at anyone who would dare force themselves upon a woman and then choose to blame the victim. Then I said to myself, "Well, I guess I'm lucky to live in the US and not India--we wouldn't ever consider this kind of justification reasonable."
Upon further reflection, though, I realized that I was wrong. Rape and sexual assault occur quite frequently in the US, and all too often we ask ourselves how the victim could have prevented the crime. In a rape trial, the plaintiff will often face scrutiny: the victim's clothing, sexual history, level of intoxication, and character are as much on trial as the accused. We (the US) have made progress in the past several decades, and I hope that over time that progress will continue. It would be wrong, however, to view this as a problem for other cultures and not my own.