Rape victim and ‘black virgin’ Kainat Soomro condemned to die in Pakistan over rape

Because of … the way in which that pervasive, diffuse threat of violence constrains the liberty of women in everyday life to move and act and live as they want, libertarians and anarchists must recognize patriarchy as a system of violent political oppression older, no less invasive, and no less powerful, than the violence of the police state or the warfare state. But unlike the kinds of State violence to which male anarchists and libertarians are accustomed to discuss — violent restrictions of freedom handed down according to explicit State policies, ratified through political processes, promulgated from the top down and consciously carried out by officially appointed or deputized agents of the State — patriarchy expresses itself in attitudes, behaviors, and coercive restrictions that are largely produced by bottom-up, decentralized forms of violence … without conscious collaboration or conspiracy, sometimes in conflict with the explicit provisions of the law…. It’s important to recognize that the coercive social order that arises from this kind of diffuse gender violence, both as a direct consequence and as social, psychological, or economic ripple effects from the direct consequences — is no less real, no less effective, no less important, and no less evil, for being undesigned, for battering women into the social position they currently occupy as if by an invisible fist…. 

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Elizabeth Smart became a household name after she was kidnapped from her home in Salt Lake City, UT at the age of 14 and held in captivity for nine months. She was forced into a polygamous marriage, tethered to a metal cable, and raped daily until she was rescued from her captors nine months later. Smart was recovered while she and her kidnappers were walking down a suburban street, leading many Americans who followed her story on the national news to wonder: Why didn’t she just run away as soon as she was brought outside?

Speaking to an audience at Johns Hopkins about issues of human trafficking and sexual violence, Smart recently offered an answer to that question. She explained that some human trafficking victims don’t run away because they feel worthless after being raped, particularly if they have been raised in conservative cultures that push abstinence-only education and emphasize sexual purity …

School Principal Refused To Report Rape So Star Athlete Wouldn’t Suffer

In a story that sounds like every awful tale of rape, bullying and perpetrator-forgiveness as of late, a teenage girl was sexually assaulted by a star athlete at Forest Hills Central High School in Michigan in a soundproof band room. When she reported the incident to a teacher, who then told the principal, she was instructed not to tell police about the rape, as it could jeopardize her rapist’s chances of getting recruited for a college team. Her rapist, you see, was star of the school’s basketball team.

The principal, Terry Uruquhart*, refused to take any action. The girl and her parents feared the rapist would sexually assault somebody else, so they ignored the principal’s incredulous request and filed a report with the Kent County Sheriff’s Department regardless. As they began an investigation, the school remained totally hands-off and the athlete rapist was free to roam around. And guess what happened two weeks later?

He raped somebody else. …

Rehtaeh Parsons Rape Case Solved By Anonymous in Less Than 2 Hours Despite "No Evidence"

When I was in the 9th grade, I held a knife to my jugular and gave serious thought to cutting it. I was 15 and had been the victim of relentless racial bullying for the better part of four years, and by the time I held that knife to my throat, I was desperate enough for it to end that my life meant nothing to me. The thought of my family and my grandfather in particular stopped me.

This isn’t a story I regularly share for obvious reasons, and to be honest it’s one I try to forget. Anytime I hear a story like Rehtaeh Parsons’s, though, I can’t help but think back to that day and wonder if the same things I thought went through her mind as well. The story of Rehtaeh is sadly typical these days;she went to a party, drank, was gang- raped by four boys, and then bullied so cruelly that she hung herself. The full story can be read in that link. My focus is on what happened after: How after a year of investigation, the police deduced that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge any of the four assailants, and how Anonymous proved them wrong in two hours. …

Rehtaeh Parsons Suicide: Web Calls On Anonymous To Act After Nova Scotia Teen's Death (UPDATE: Anonymous Responds)

The suicide of Nova Scotia teen Rehtaeh Parsons after an alleged gang rape and months of bullying has led to a swell of outrage online.

Parsons’ story broke in the media earlier this week, just days after her family took the teen off life-support.

The provincial RCMP and the government have been facing criticism that the boys who allegedly raped Rehtaeh and then spread the photos of her were never charged with any crime and the web is calling on online hacker/vigilante group Anonymous to act. On Tuesday, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Ross Landry said that he would be seeking options for a review of the case. It was a reversal from Landry’s previous position on Tuesday, when the minister said he would not be reopening the case. …

Arrests Made In The Rape Of Another Teenaged Girl Who Committed Suicide

Earlier this week the country was introduced to Retaeh Parsons, the 17 year old Canadian teenager who hanged herself in her bathroom late last week, 17 months after photos of her alleged gang rape by four of her classmates surfaced and spread throughout her school.

For the Pott family in Santa Clara County, California, Retaeh’s story must have sounded painfully familiar. Their 15-year-old daughter Audrie ended her life last fall after she was allegedly gang raped by three 16-year-olds, who then shared photos of their crime with friends.

On Thursday, officials from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office announced that they had arrested three area high school boys in connection with Audrie’s rape …

Rape Culture Claims Another Victim: Teen Ends Life After Photo Of Her Alleged Gang Rape Goes Viral

(Trigger warning: The following op-ed contains discussion of rape, including some graphic details.)

Seventeen months ago a Canadian teen was allegedly gang-raped by four of her peers and the photo evidence of the rape spread across her community. But unlike the situation that unfolded in Steubenville, where the victim was at least given the comfort of knowing her assailants received some measure of punishment (even if the media took their side), this case ended in tragedy: The victim was taken off life support by her family on Sunday, three days after attempting to end her own life.

Seventeen-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons’ suicide was the harrowing end to a story involving not only sexual assault, but also the issues of harassment and victim-blaming that are problematic symptoms of rape culture. …

Another Football Player Accused Of Rape, Another Community Blaming The Victim

Two football player high school students in Connecticut are charged with the second-degree sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl. The allegations come amid other complaints of hazing at the school, but Torrington High School officials insist that these are individual instances and not a part of a larger cultural problem.

But whether or not the alleged rapists Edgar Gonzalez and Joan Toribio, both 18, are maverick sexual assailants isn’t really the cultural question. Rather, the fact that students in the neighborhood and the school have taken to Twitter blame the young girl and not the alleged rapists highlights a broader rape culture that assumes men are only haphazardly involved in sexual assault, but it is usually the victim’s fault…

In this episode of Speaking On Liberty’s Jason Lee Byas, Grayson English and Kyle Platt interview C4SS Fellow and Dissenting Leftist blogger Nathan Goodman about the the US prison system.