It’s like the age-old question about a tree falling in the forest: If you report a sexual assault on your college campus, does anyone hear it? A study released last month by the Chicago Tribune found that only one arrest was made for every 14 reported sexual assaults on six Midwestern campuses that were surveyed. […]
Search Results for: forcible rape
Would Your Rape Be Counted?
At least 1 in 6 women in the U.S. will be raped in their lifetime. An estimated 1 in 10 rape victims are male, and studies have suggested that 1 in 2 transgender people will be sexually assaulted. But unless a rape fits the FBI’s 82-year-old definition, “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and […]
If a Woman Isn’t Bruised and Bleeding, Will Her Rape Be Counted?
In late January, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) sparked outrage when he introduced the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3), which sought to further restrict abortion funding for all women. But what also angered feminists was that, in drafting an exception to allow abortion funding for survivors of rape, the bill defined “real” […]
Rape Is Still Rape, And No Still Means NO!
It took filmmaker and activist Aishah Shahidah Simmons 13 years to fund, produce, direct and release her inspirational and defiant NO! The Rape Documentary. NO! brings together archival footage, testimonies of rape survivors, performances and interviews with activists and scholars to examine rape in African American communities through a black feminist lens. The international acclaim […]
25 Facts About Rape in America
The FBI’s definition of “forcible rape” in their Uniform Crime Report (UCR): “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” [PDF] What that definition leaves out: anal, oral and statutory rape; incest; rape with an object, finger or fist; rape of men Number of men raped in any year, according to the UCR: […]
To the FBI, Lara Logan Wasn’t Raped
Less than three months ago, CBS News correspondent Lara Logan was brutally gang-raped in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. She was covering the Egyptian uprising on Feb. 11 when a group of 200 to 300 men suddenly snatched her away from her team. Then, “For an extended period of time, they raped me with their hands,” she […]
The FBI’s Definition of Rape: Older Than a Lot of Things
The FBI has been using this definition of rape for its Uniform Crime Report since 1929: The carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will. That definition excludes victims of forced anal or oral sex, rape with an object, statutory rape and male rape. And that definition hasn’t been changed in 82 years. […]
Rape Is Rape: No More Excuses!
In the battle against Rep Chris Smith’s “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” feminists and other advocates successfully agitated to keep the term “forcible” rape from defining who gets federal money for abortions. But did you know we’re still fighting the war to get “forcible rape” removed from our national lexicon? Since 1929, the FBI […]
The New York Times Puts Another Alleged Rape Victim on Trial
Last month, The New York Times stirred massive controversy by implicating an 11-year-old girl in her own brutal gang-rape, reporting that she “dressed older than her age [and wore] make-up.” This week, they’re blaming the victim yet again. In 2008, a 29-year-old woman was out celebrating a job promotion with friends when she had too […]
She Drinks, She Flirts, She Passes Out … Is It Rape?
Trigger warning: Material about sexual assault. Around midnight at a college party, several young women soccer players are alerted that a 17-year-old girl is barricaded in a room with eight guys on the baseball team. Through a window, the women glimpse what looks like an assault. They batter down the door and, as the men […]