#rapemyths

[doraj19]

#Repost @redmylipsorg ・・・ Our #RedMyLips2018 shirts are finally available! And for the first time EVER, the artwork chosen has been inspired by one of our very own #warriors. Thank you @wasianfactor for your passionate support and for giving us permission to use this incredible image! Because we are very late (to our own party) it'll be a close call getting shirts in time for April. But we're working with @bonfire and will do our very best to make that happen! All shirts purchased THIS WEEKEND will be off to the presses on Monday. So get yours TODAY! Link in our bio. You can also check out our online store: www.redmylips.org/store. #redmylips #betterlatethannever #stillnotaskingforit #endsexualviolence #victimblaming #rapemyths #supportALLsurvivors #itwasnotyourfault #endrapeculture #speakout #getREDy #ok2share

[aquasizzle]

#redmylips2017 #endvictimblaming #rapemyths #speakout #onlyyesmeansyes #ok2share #notaskingforit

[slutornut]

One Year Later: How we have been holding our judges accountable

By Stephanie Stella

Without a doubt, the Jian Ghomeshi trial sparked a shift in the public's awareness of sexual assault law and the treatment of complainants on the stand.

Since then, we've seen cases like the one judged by Gregory Lenehan, who proclaimed "a drunk can consent." Or judged by Robin Camp, who asked,  "Why couldn't you keep your knees together?” In the case of a young woman raped in Calgary.

Even in cases where there is clear evidence of the victim saying “no,” there was no guarantee of a conviction. Judge Michael Savaryn decided a particular victim in court did not dissent enough. Her lack of consent was disproven by the Judge, despite her having said "no" multiple times, because at one point in her assault she smiled and laughed her attacker off.

In the rare instances we saw a conviction, the criminal was shown sympathy and given a minimal sentence, so as not to ‘interfere with’ or ‘ruin their life.’

These cases continue making news, not because they are a new phenomenon, but because the public is more interested and aware of the prevalence and pattern of disregard to sexual assault complainants in the justice system.

Past cases are now being brought back from the dead to scrutinize the sitting judge. For example, a 2015 ruling by Judge Pat McIlhargey is being challenged because his acquittal of the accused was based upon apparent disparities between the victim and a host of rape myths. Another ruling, delivered by the Honourable Keith Yamauchi in 2013, is up for appeal, on the grounds that the acquittal hinged on the accusation that multiple complainants did NOT report sooner.

In another case, R v. Ururyar, in which Mandi Gray- the complainant waived her publication ban, and publicly denounced the judicial system’s mistreatment of her, the case ended in a conviction in July 2016. It was immediately challenged, both by the appellant's lawyer and the internet. The appeal posited that Justice Marvin Zuker, the judge presiding over that case, suffered from a feminist bias toward the complainant.  The appeal was heard by a new judge in March- Judge Michael Dambrot. I sat in the courtroom to listen, as I had done during the trial. Within ten minutes, the judge was already agreeing with the appellant's attorneys, talking in a familiar, jovial tone, and openly insulting Judge Zuker's verdict. When the complainant's side stood up to speak, the change in the judge's tone was palpable. Every comment Judge Dambrot made was criticizing, condescending, or outright rude to the Crown and the intervener. Multiple times, he interrupted or actually shushed them as they were speaking. He seemed to have already decided which direction he was going to rule, before hearing any arguments.

Remember, this was the appeal hearing for a trial judge's verdict, on the grounds that the trial judge was biased. The irony would be comical if the consequences were not so serious.

Judge Dambrot showed little knowledge or understanding of what actually happens during a rape trial, and was dangerously resistant to correction by people with knowledge of the process. According to Judge Dambrot, rape myths aren't used in court; if they become apparent, the judge will simply reject them. He claims that these myths do not influence the verdict, and they certainly are not used as the basis for a ruling. According to Dambrot's fantasy world, the biases of Pat McIlhargey and Keith Yamauchi trials never happened.

We already know rape myths have no place in court, Mr. Dambrot, but a glimpse into any current rape trial reveals that we have not yet reached a point where they are not there at all. In the meantime, pretending these myths don't influence people - including lawmakers and judges - is just plain naive.

One of Dambrot's freshly minted myths is actually an already-established myth gone meta: that sexual assault complainants report their assaults to push their own secret agenda. It was one of the many myths repeated in the Gomeshi trial as well as in the R vs Ururyar trial, and one that men’s right’s activist of the social media love to toss around. The new version? That myth doesn't even exist.

After the judge decried the existence of rape myths again, a group of survivors walked out of the R Vs Ururyar appeal, and the complainant announced that she will not testify again, in the clearly inevitable event that the original conviction verdict is overturned. One year later from the Ghomeshi verdict, we have a still-too-common sight: a judge who demonstrates a concerning lack of knowledge of the basic facts of rape and power dynamics.

So I will ask again, a year past the Gomeshi trial, has anything changed?

Are society and the justice system ready to make the shift from blaming victims to believing survivors and listening to their stories? Are we ready to hold our judges accountable for their prejudices and mistakes? Did we need to see it play out publicly in the Gomeshi scandal before we could collectively accept that the systematic injustice is indeed real?

The difference between a year ago and now is that survivors are feeling more empowered than ever to go public and speak out, both against their attackers and against the courts who demonize them in the witness box.

Yes, victim witnesses are mistreated in the system. This is happening, and it is absolutely unacceptable. And yes, we do have more options other than being forced to ‘lie back and take it’.

[tallulahlines]

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY! The other day a policeman told me it was a girl's own fault she got raped in the street, because she was drunk and it was late. Jesus. Teach your sons not to rape women, don't teach your daughters they deserve it. Un policía otro día me dijo que era culpa de la propia chica que la violaron porque ella estaba borracha y fue en la madrugada. Joder. Digan a tus hijos que no violen a las mujeres, no las digan a tus hijas que lo merecen. #internationalwomensday #rapemyths #idiots

[surveycircle]

Current online study which is still recruiting participants: "The effect of cognitive distortions of rape myth acceptance" https://t.co/8SBxGEVFd8 via @SurveyCircle #SexualAssult #RapeMyths #Cognition #CognitiveDistortion #RapeMythAcceptance pic.twitter.com/jOTKeiCcUw

— Daily Research (@daily_research) July 6, 2018

[blacklabs-blog1]

What makes a rapist rape? And why do we play the victim blame-game? Read more at https://www.theblacklabs.com/rapemyths

[gurl-let-me-tell-you]

We decided to make this educational post for those who continue to perpetuate rape myths and victim blaming. There’s been backlash towards the #metoo movement with some ignorantly calling it “an attack against men.” A lot of women have also been questioning the validity of many of the accusations we’ve seen in the media. It’s really sad when women would rather further perpetuate misogyny and sexism by siding with sexist and inaccurate male opinions. Please educate yourself before you support rape myths and victim blaming 🤦🏾‍♀️

[yosoylamonstruita]

We need to #endrapeculture and #supportsurvivors. It's time we educate people about #rapemyths (en Washington, District of Columbia)

[lucyslawforprincesses]

She was wearing a bra, so it was her fault.

[slutornut]

Ms. Gray acted consistently with consensual sex. For example in her evidence, I asked: "Were your feet dangling over the edge of the bed?" And she responds "No". "So did you move up further on the bed?" Her Answer: "I guess I must have." "This demonstrates that Ms. Gray is an active participant in a sexual act."

Lisa Bristow, Lawyer, R v Ururyar during closing arguments

[no-to-porn-blog]

Rape myths

Myth 1: Rape Occurs Between Strangers in Dark Alleys

Fact: Only around 10% of rapes are committed by 'strangers'. Around 90% of rapes are committed by known men, and often by someone who the survivor has previously trusted or even loved. Victims are often raped in their homes.

Myth 2: Women Provoke Rape By The Way They Dress or Act

Fact: dressing attractively and flirting is an invitation for attention and/or admiration, not for rape. People of all ages, genders, classes, cultures, abilities, sexualities, races and religions are raped. Rape is an act of violence and control.

Myth 3: Women Who Drink Alcohol or Use Drugs Are Asking to Be Raped

Fact: Women have the same right to consume alcohol as men. Drugs and alcohol are never the cause of rape or sexual assault. It is the attacker who is committing the crime, not the drugs and/or alcohol. Likewise, stress and depression don't turn people into rapists or justify sexual violence.

Myth 4: It's only rape if someone is physically forced into sex and has the injuries to show for it.

Fact: ometimes people who are raped sustain internal and/or external injuries and sometimes they don't.  Rapists will sometimes use weapons or threats of violence to prevent a physical struggle or sometimes they will take advantage of someone who isn't able to consent, because they are drunk or asleep for example.  

Myth 5: If the victim didnt complain immediately it wasnt rape

Fact: the trauma of rape can cause feelings of shame and guilt which might inhibit a victim from making a complaint. This fact was recognised by the Court of Appeal in R v D (JA) October 24 2008, where it was held that judges are entitled to direct juries that due to shame and shock, victims of rape might not complain for some time, and that a late complaint does not necessarily mean that its a false complaint. Only three in 10 rapes are reported to law enforcement. It is not easy to talk about being raped. The experience of re-telling what happened may cause the person to relive the trauma

Myth 6: If She Didn't Scream, Fight or Get Injured, It Wasn't Rape

Fact: Victims in rape situations are often legitimately afraid of being killed or seriously injured and so co-operate with the rapist to save their lives. Rapists use many manipulative techniques to intimidate and coerce their victims. Victims in a rape situations often become physically paralysed with terror or shock and are unable to move or fight.

Myth 7: People who were sexually abused as children are likely to become abusers themselves.

Fact: This is a dangerous myth, offensive and unhelpful to adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, which is sometimes used to explain or excuse the behaviour of those who rape and sexually abuse children. The vast majority of those who are sexually abused as children will never perpetrate sexual violence against others. There is no excuse or explanation for sexual violence against children or adults.  

Myth 8: Prostitutes cannot be raped.

Fact: Prostitutes have the same rights with regards to consent as anyone else: the transactions they negotiate with clients are for consensual activities, not rape.

Myth 9: Women cannot be sexually assaulted by their husbands or boyfriends

Fact: Legally, women have the right to say no, to any form of sex with anyone, including their spouse or the person they are dating.

Myth 10: Women secretly want to be raped.

Fact: There is a big difference between fantasizing about aggressive sex and wanting to be raped.A woman is in control of her fantasies; however, women are not in control when they are being sexually assaulted. Rape is a violent, terrorizing, and often humiliating experience that no woman wants or asks for.

And there are more rape myths than i’ve listed here!

[karinaerhart]

rape myths

2 rape myths that caught my attention

Myth 1: The primary motive for rape is impulsive sexual desire.

Fact: Studies show that the major motive for rape  is power, not sex. Sex is used as a weapon to inflict pain, violence and  humiliation. Most rapists appear to have normal personalities with an  abnormal tendency to be aggressive and violent. Between 2/3 and 3/4 of  sexual assaults are planned in advance.

Myth 2: Women ask for rape by their manner of dress or flirtatious behavior.

Fact: No woman deserves to be raped, regardless of  her appearance or behavior. Since rape is a crime of violence, rapists  choose their victims without regard to physical appearance.

Do you realize? So often we’re told that rape wouldn’t happen if women dressed right- but it is NOT out of sexual desire that people do this but about power. It is society that is wrong not out wardrobe. Violence against anyone IS NOT OKAY.

http://www.mnsu.edu/varp/assault/myths.html

[sarah13kate]

#RedMyLips Day One! ❤️😘👄💄 @redmylipsorg #sexualviolence #rapemyths #victimblaming #awareness #nomeansno @rjsnaps

[civilrightsadvocacy]

On way 2 Helena 2 testify be4 MT Supreme Ct w MT NOW's former Pres Marian Bradley in Judge Baugh's censure hearing re use of #RapeMyths when he sentenced RAPIST Stacey Rambold to 31 days in jail. (at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC))

[sassyy-survivor]

People don't think sexual assault is that serious and it utterly breaks my heart. The scars run so deep and just because people can't see them, they assume they can't really be there.