How Often Do Women Falsely Cry Rape?
The question the Hofstra disaster left dangling.
By Emily Bazelon and Rachael Larimore
Oct. 1, 2009
How often do women falsely cry rape? Because of the 18-year-old Hofstra student who recanted after telling police that five men had tricked her into a bathroom and then gang raped her two weeks ago, that question has been flying around the Internet. As Cathy Young notes in Newsday, the answers often fall into one of two camps. "Many feminists argue that the problem of false accusations is so minuscule that to discuss it extensively is a harmful distraction from the far more serious problem of rape. On the other side are men's-rights activists, claiming that false accusations are as much of a scourge as rape itself."
Iisn't the rate of false rape charges an empirical question, with a specific answer that isn't vulnerable to ideological twisting? Yes and no. There has been a burst of research on this subject. Some of it is careful, but much of it is questionable. While most of the good studies converge at a rate of about 8 percent to 10 percent for false rape charges, the literature isn't quite definitive enough to stamp out the far higher estimates. And even if we go by the lower numbers, there's the question of interpretation. If one in 10 charges of rape is made up, is that a dangerously high rate or an acceptably low one? To put this in perspective, if we use the Bureau of Justice Statistics that show about 200,000 rapes in 2008, we could be looking at as many as 20,000 false accusations.
Legal scholars used to be routinely suspicious of rape victims. "Surely the simplest, and perhaps the most important, reason not to permit conviction for rape on the uncorroborated word of the prosecutrix is that the word is very often false," a Yale Law Journal article opined in 1952, echoing a view voiced since at least the 17th century. These views remained mainstream into the 1970s, if not later. As Marcia Clark said yesterday recalling the 1977 rape charges against Roman Polanski, "Those were the days when folks still believed rape was 'easy to charge and hard to disprove.' " And that old adage couldn't have been further from the truth. Prosecutors well knew that unless the victim was Snow White, the case was toast."
You can see what Susan Brownmiller was up against when she wrote her path-breaking feminist tract, Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape, in 1975.
In her book, Brownmiller said that only 2 percent of rape allegations are false, citing findings by the female police in a New York City rape squad. The problem is that while this statistic has been widely repeated, with dutiful mentions of New York-based "research," no one has ever tracked down its source. This we learned from a comprehensive review of the literature on false rape charges published in the Cambridge Law Journal in 2006. The author, Philip Rumney, finds a couple of small studies that back up the 2 percent claim but isn't confident of their methodology.
Rumney's survey of the terrain is the best we found. He also takes aim at the findings on the other end of the spectrum—the research that purports to show that the rate of false allegations of rape is in the range of 40 percent, as well as the flawed (but often cited) work that makes a crazy high jump to as high as 90 percent. The 40 percent figure is usually attributed to a 1994 article by E.J. Kanin in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. Kanin looked at 109 reports of rape to police in one small Midwestern metropolitan area over nine years. His pool was small. The police he studied always offered the victim a polygraph—perhaps signaling they doubted her veracity. And Kanin himself "warns against generalising from his findings" and points to reasons for questioning them, as Rumney explains.
The hugely high 90 percent false rate is several degrees more suspect. The citation for it is usually a study in Scotland by police surgeon N.M. MacLean of only 34 rape complaints made from 1969-74. Complaints were labeled false if they were made after a delay. Or if the victim didn't look "disheveled" or upset or seriously injured. But those factors don't necessarily indicate that a rape charge is trumped up. When police use stereotypes about rape to sort real allegations from false ones, they can do victims a real disservice, as this model paper from the Oregon Attorney General's Sexual Assault Task Force explains. In a 1981 study of 16 reports that claimed the victim admitted to making it up in 14 of them, one case was disproved because the police decided the woman was too large for the alleged rapist to have taken off her "extremely tight undergarments" against her will. Need we say that this not the critical eye we want from the cops?
Rumney's smart debunkings leave us with a group of American, British, Canadian, and New Zealand studies that converge around a rate of 8 percent to 10 percent for false reports of rape. Not all of these studies are flawless, but together they're better than the rest of the lot. They include a massive 1997 report on sexual assault by the U.S. Department of Justice, which includes data from 16,000 local, county, and state law enforcement agencies. The DoJ found that "in 1995, 87% of recorded forcible rapes were completed crimes and the remainder were classified as attempts. Law enforcement agencies indicated that about 8% of forcible rapes reported to them were determined to be unfounded and were excluded from the count of crimes."
If 8 percent to 10 percent is about right for false reporting of rape, based on what we know so far, how should we think about that number? Rumney says he's not sure whether crying wolf is more or less likely over rape than over other crimes, because the comparative research is even less conclusive. So that's a question that appears to have no answer at the moment. (A 2001 Department of Justice report says that the rate of false reports is similar for other crimes, but it also gives the 2 percent figure without a source, so we're skeptical.)
What is clear, however, are two problems that are the flip side of the same coin. False charges of rape are an absolute nightmare for the men caught in their net. And the specter of made-up allegations is a real problem for law enforcement—which means they are also a problem for women who are telling the truth. Let's take the men first. We've heard from many of them in e-mails and comments since the Hofstra incident. Here is one story, equal parts heartbreaking and thoughtful:
My girlfriend was raped several years ago. I was falsely accused of rape less than a year ago. I contacted her (I had known her before her incident) because I was desperate for someone to talk to who would understand what I was going through. To my great relief, it turned out that we understood each other very well. From the initial stages of suicidal thoughts and not being able to function to the long-term fear, mistrust, and guilt that are facts of our lives, it turns out that her experience of being raped and mine of being falsely accused of rape were very similar. … One important difference, though, is that when she was violated, she received a great deal of help (medical, legal, psychological). Apart from family and friends, I was on my own. My legal and psychological problems had to be dealt with by me at a time when I couldn't eat, sleep, or think (except, of course, about killing myself).
On the law enforcement end, we heard from Steve Cullen, an Army attorney who's worked extensively as a prosecutor. He offered this cogent—and dire—explanation of the reverberations when women cry wolf about rape:
False reports have an incredibly corrosive impact on how sexual assault accusations are policed. Police treat sexual assault accusers badly—much worse than the lawyers do—much worse than the courtroom does. Forget what you see on "Law and Order SVU," the police end absolutely discourages victims from reporting. Why is this so? Because cops suspect just about every victim is another false accuser, because either he/she has personally dealt with such a problem, or has heard stories from his or her cop buddies to this effect (and yes, in my experience female cops can be even worse offenders). This police behavior is bad, and counterproductive—but it's real. Putting a real stigma on false reports might combat this a bit—and make it a little easier for actual victims at the police station.
False reports also have a disproportionate impact on juries. How I'd hate to be prosecuting a sexual assault right now. Often in sexual assault prosecutions there's no debate as to the sex, but everything falls on proving lack of consent—and can only be proven through a convincing and persuasive victim's testimony. Often, that victim's testimony has to overcome some less than ideal circumstances—she was drinking, people observed her flirting with the perpetrator etc. That's something she can own up to, and overcome on her own. What she can't do on her own is extinguish jury members' memory of reading of some spectacular false accusation case in the newspaper last month. Every false accusation that makes it into the news makes it that much harder for the real victims to receive justice.
If police and juries are influenced by false reports, especially high-profile instances of false charges, like the Duke lacrosse case or the Hofstra case, why wouldn't those reports influence victims, too? Up to 60 percent of rapes go unreported. The Hofstra story will only make more women wonder if the police will believe them.
This is sobering. As, of course, is the whole topic. We're left to draw the following conclusion: False allegations of rape aren't rampant. But they don't have to be to cause terrible trouble. This is a problem that a men's rights movement shouldn't trump up. And also one that feminists can't dismiss.
http://www.slate.com/id/2231012/pagenum/all/#p2
Information Sheet on Date Rape
10 Things You Need to Know About Date Rape
1. Date Rape is forced or coerced sex between; partners, dates, friends, friends of friends or general acquaintances.
2. Date Rape can be coerced both physically and emotionally - some emotional tactics include; threats to reputation, threats to not like you, name calling, saying you "brought it on" or "really want it", threats to break up and threats to say you did it even if you didn't.
3. If a person has had too much to drink or is on drugs they can not consent to sex and having sex with them is legally rape.
4. There are certain date rape drugs that render the victim unconscious and limit memory; using these drugs on somebody carries a harsher penalties than date rape and is a federal crime with a possible 20 year sentence. (See: 1996 Drug-Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act)
5. Rohypnol, GHB, ActiveSeX, Roofies, Ruffies, Roche, R-2, Rib and Rope are all names describing a date rape drug. These drugs are odorless and tasteless and difficult to detect when in drinks or mixed with other drugs.
6. Date rape drugs may be difficult to trace but evidence of intercourse is not, and in cases where use of these drugs is suspected evidence of rape standards are lower.
7. If you don't want to have sex, say NO like you mean it and fight it off if you have to - despite urban myths, people who fight off a rapist are more likely to stop the rape.
8. Date Rape is the most common form of rape (78%) with 1 in 4 girls expected to fall victim to rape or attempted rape before they reach 25, and 3 out of 5 rapes occuring before a woman reaches age 18.
9. Although girls are more often victims of rape, guys are not safe - they can be raped too.
10. NO MEANS NO! If a person says no to sex (no matter how quietly or unconvincingly) and you go ahead with it anyway, that is rape.
If a person has had too much to drink or is on drugs they can not consent to sex and having sex with them is legally rape.
This is an excellent, very lengthy 2008 summary of research on rape and violence.
http://www.calcasa.org/stat/CALCASA_Stat_2008.pdf
Child rape case ‘worst’ ever, detective says
Detectives say Madison Twp. man sexually assaulted two relatives over an eight-year span.
Updated 10:13 AM Friday, October 8, 2010
MADISON TWP. — Butler County sheriff’s detectives are describing the 22-count rape indictment against Benjamin Vargo of Madison Twp. as “the worst case of abuse” they’ve ever seen.
Vargo, 25, of Middletown-Eaton Road, also faces two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor for allegedly abusing two male relatives for more than eight years, said sheriff’s Detective Melissa Gerhardt. The abuse allegedly happened so many times and for so long, it was difficult to determine the number of charges to bring against Vargo, Gerhardt said.
“It is the worst case of abuse I have ever investigated or been involved with at the sheriff’s office,” Gerhardt said of the alleged crimes, which occurred between January 2000 and December 2008.
It’s a pattern of abuse authorities believe started years ago with Vargo’s father, David, who was convicted in 2002 of repeatedly raping a juvenile female family member. David Vargo, 69, is still serving a nine-year prison sentence.
Since the elder Vargo has been behind bars, two of his six sons have committed suicide — one last month just a few weeks after telling detectives about Benjamin Vargo’s alleged abuse, according to detectives.
Benjamin Vargo’s brother was reported missing on June 27 by their mother who said the boy “had been known to be upset and take long walks,” according to sheriff’s reports. The 15-year-old was found an hour later laying on the ground disoriented.
“He made a disclosure about his brother,” Gerhardt said.
Benjamin Vargo was arrested that night and charged with gross sexual imposition. He was charged late last month with rape involving another juvenile. Those cases are now part of the 24-count indictment, with the original gross sexual imposition charge increased to a rape count.
Vargo is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 18 before Butler County Common Please Judge Patricia Oney. He remains housed in the Middletown City Jail. At a pretrial hearing in Middletown municipal court this morning, Oct. 8, the Middletown charges were dropped because Vargo's case will be taken directly to the Butler County grand jury, court officials said. Vargo is being represented by Springboro attorney Christopher Cornyn.
The investigation remains open. Anyone with information or knows of other victims may call Gerhardt at (513) 785-1257.
It is also highly unlikely that someone would be convicted only on the basis of a deliberate false allegation by a woman. With all of Billy Boy Troll's ranting on this topic, he has posted exactly ONE case of a man falsely convicted and imprisoned solely on the basis of a deliberate lie by a woman. And, in that instance, the lie was revealed because the woman voluntarily came forward after the man had been incarcerated for four years and confessed to what she had done. He had his conviction reversed and she received a several year sentence for perjury.
Sexual Exploitation by Helping Professionals
Sexual exploitation by a helping professional: sexual contact of any kind between a helping professional (doctor, therapist, teacher, priest, professor, police officer, lawyer, etc.) and a client/patient.
•It is difficult for a client/patient to give informed consent to sexual contact or boundary violations because the helping professional holds a great deal of power over that client/patient
•90% of sexual boundary violations occur between a male provider and a female client/patient (Plaut, S.M., 1997, p. 79).
•Such behavior is regarded as unethical and, in every licensed profession, can be grounds for malpractice and possible loss of license.
There are three major types of sexual involvement between a client/patient and a professional:
1.Sexual activity in the context of a professional treatment, evaluation, or service
2.Seual activity with the implication that it has therapeutic benefit
3.A sexually exploitative relationship
Why it is not acceptable behavior:
•The helping professional starts from a position of great power over the client/patient and is expected to respect and maintain professional boundaries.
•The professional has a responsibility to protect the interests of the client/patient and not to serve his/her own needs.
•The client/patient has put his/her trust in that professional and the betrayal of that trust can have devastating consequences.
Within the Therapeutic Relationship:
•Clients in therapy are the most susceptible because the client is already vulnerable and trusts the therapist t0 help her/him feel better.
•Therapy relationships are particularly intimate, with clients sharing their innermost thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
Issue of Transference:
•Transference- Way in which a client transfers negative/positive feelings about others to the therapist. Transference in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact, it is necessary in all therapeutic relationships.
•Countertransference- When the therapist projects his or her own feelings back onto the client.
•Problem- When the therapist is unable to recognize transference and countertransference reactions and, instead, responds in a sexual manner.
Common Reactions:
•Sexual dysfunction
•Anxiety disorders
•Depression
•Increased risk of suicide
•Feelings of guilt, shame, anger, confusion, worthlessness
•Loss of trust
Very Low Report Rate:
•It is estimated that only 4-8% of survivors of sexual exploitation by helping professionals report the exploitation (Gartrell, N., et al.,1987 per TAASA, p. 168, 2004).
•Often there is reluctance to report because of
◦Anticipated or real pain associated with pursuing the case
◦Fear that she/he won't be believed.
•It often takes several years for the client to recognize that she/he has been harmed.
3 Ways to Take Action:
1.Licensing board complaints- Standards vary by state and profession. Possible punishments include suspension or revocation of a license or rehabilitation programs. In these cases the client's confidentiality is protected in any public reports of the proceedings.
2.Civil lawsuits- Client hires his or her own attorney and sues the therapist directly. Usually this is the only way to receive payment for damages. Procedures are public, and the burden of proof is on the client
.
3.Criminal proceedings- An option in some states. In these cases, the state prosecutes (State v. Therapist). The best possible outcome is a criminal sanction (probation, incarceration).
http://www.rainn.org/get-information/types-of-sexual-assault/sexual-exploitation-by-helping-professional
Do rapes need more aggressive testing by investigators?
October 15, 2010
By Matt Hrodey
This summer, Illinois became the first state in the nation to require testing of all rape kits admitted into evidence by police agencies. A few cities, such as New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, have enacted their own policies requiring all kits to be tested. Advocates, including some in Wisconsin, say authorities owe it to victims to test all rape kits when they’re collected.
The kits contain physical evidence collected from the bodies of victims that can be tested for DNA and used to prosecute perpetrators. Typically, rape kits must be sent to a state crime lab for DNA testing but given the cost and labor hours involved, the kits are usually tested only when the results are needed to prosecute a case. If a victim doesn’t want to prosecute or other factors make the kit’s results of no immediate interest, no testing occurs. But some experts believe the evidence could be helpful to police searching for repeat rapists.
The Illinois law will serve as a national experiment. It was prompted in part by extensive backlogs of untested rape kits at some Illinois police departments. The Chicago Police Department wasn’t one of them; it already requires that all kits be submitted for testing. However, a review by Human Rights Watch estimated in July that only about 20 percent of rape kits booked into evidence since 1997 had been tested in Illinois.
In some cities, particularly Los Angeles, where a 2008 city audit found about 7,000 untested kits and a later review revealed a total of 12,000 idling throughout Los Angeles County, public criticism has stirred officials to mandate testing.
In July, a Fox 6 News investigation requested records from 10 departments in Southeastern Wisconsin and tallied the region’s backlog at about a thousand kits. On average, area departments only sent about one out of every three kits for testing. A Milwaukee police captain told the station that stranger rape cases are always sent for testing, but the District Attorney’s office decides whether or not to submit a kit when the victim knows the suspect.
Supporters of mandatory testing say that even if DNA evidence from kits isn’t needed to convict someone, it should be tested anyway and added to law enforcement databases; it could be used later to identify a serial rapist. But that would require a greater dedication of state resources. Illinois is counting on increased funding through the federal Debbie Smith Act, which provides money to states to test rape kits, and Gov. Pat Quinn is promising additional state funding to support the new law but hasn’t specified an amount, according to The Chicago Tribune.
The Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault floated the idea of passing a similar law earlier this month. “It’s a good time to talk about the issue,” says Jacqueline Callari-Robinson, director of prevention and health services. “Kits should be tested. The system should work cooperatively with clients and test the evidence they’re willing to give.” Callari-Robinson says state legislators have contacted WCASA to discuss the legislation but declined to give their names.
Callari-Robinson, also a president of the Wisconsin chapter of the International Association of Forensic Nurses, says the kits can take between one and four hours to complete. “It’s using the patient’s body as a crime scene,” she says.
In July, Milwaukee police used DNA evidence to charge Gregory Tyson Below with numerous felonies related to the reported attacks of eight women between 2004 and 2009. The case has also prompted new training for the department’s officers. Some victims in the case complained that police were unresponsive in investigating their reports.
In Milwaukee, patients are most often referred to the Sexual Assault Treatment Center of Greater Milwaukee, which has two locations: the Aurora Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee and the Aurora West Allis Medical Center. Available 24 hours a day, the Center says its “nursing, social work and advocate staff provides immediate services,” including short-term counseling, liaison services with law enforcement and the collection of a rape kit. It sees about 700 patients a year, both adults and children.
An alarming number of sexual assault go unreported every year – Callari-Robinson says about 90 percent aren’t reported to police. Debbie Donovan, program supervisor for the Sexual Assault Treatment Center, estimates that about 60 percent of its patients have had some contact with police. The remaining 40 percent do not report the assault (though some may do so at a later date).
In either case, the decision to undergo a rape kit lies with the patient. “A very basic belief we have is that victims have a choice with respect to the care they’re seeking,” she says.
The Center doesn’t send kits for testing; only police send them to state crime labs. There are three in the state: in Milwaukee and Madison and a third in Wausau that offers fewer testing services.
If police are involved in a case, she says, they take the kit as evidence, otherwise it can be held for a month or two at the hospital. In rare cases, victims will submit kits to police without reporting the assault in what’s called “blind reporting.” Sometimes victims fear reprisal from their attacker if they report the crime.
“A segment of our population comes in and they’re not sure they want to talk to the police,” Donovan says. “They may have had a previous contact with police when it didn’t go well, or they may not have enough trust in the system. But some of those will go ahead and report in a few days.”
http://www.milwaukeenewsbuzz.com/?p=296605
October 15, 2010
Board recommends familial DNA testing
By Frank Green
After listening to requests from prosecutors today, the Virginia Board of Forensic Science unanimously recommended the General Assembly consider funding a new crime-fighting tool called familial DNA searching.
The endorsement followed a strong plea from Rick Conway, an assistant commonwealth's attorney for Prince William County, that the state forensic laboratory begin familial searching as soon as possible in the effort to catch a rapist who attacked two teenagers in his county last Halloween and a dozen other women in Virginia and other states.
"We’re talking about a major serial rapist here," Conway told the board. "The police up and down the East Coast are doing everything they can in the absence of familial DNA searching. It does have a great deal of urgency for us. our officers are ready, willing and able to take on the challenge," he said.
In typical DNA searches, DNA profiles from crime scenes are screened through a database of criminal and arrestee DNA profiles looking for a match, or cold hit. Searches might also accidentally turn up close matches that prove to be a child, parent or sibling of the suspect.
Special software — readily available but still in need of testing -- and additional "lineage" DNA testing can deliberately and more effectively search for likely close relatives of suspects in databases. The relative is not a suspect, but the lead is pursued to find a close relative whose DNA does match the profile found in the evidence.
Following this morning’s meeting, Conway said he was somewhat disappointed. He said he did not believe any new legislation was needed. Board members Steven D. Benjamin, a defense lawyer, and board chairman Raymond Morrogh, the Fairfax Commonwealth’s attorney, agreed.
Conway said, "I would like to see the lab forge ahead and let the legislation catch up." He said the effort may not pay off, but, "it would certainly provide leads that we don’t have now."
The Virginia State Crime Commission, which recommends legislation to the general Assemby, will get a report on familial searching at its Nov. 15 meeting.
In a spectacular case earlier this year in California, the technique led to the arrest of Lonnie Franklin Jr. in connection with 10 murders in the Grim Sleeper killings that terrorized Los Angeles. Police were led to Franklin through his son’s DNA; his son had been arrested on unrelated charges.
Because of privacy concerns and false hits — issues proponents insist are easily overcome — the technique is controversial and is in regular use only in California and Colorado, neither of which enacted special legislation.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/oct/15/board-recommends-familial-dna-testing-ar-565713/
Topic:
Violence Against Women
Friday, Oct 15, 2010
Yale fraternity pledges chant about rape
A viral video shows young men marching through campus while barking, "No means yes!"
By Tracy Clark-Flory
Sometimes, the post just writes itself: On Wednesday night, Delta Kappa Epsilon pledges marched through Yale's Old Campus -- where most first-year female students are housed -- chanting, "No means yes, yes means anal!" The fraternity pledges were marched blindfolded while barking like soldiers ... with marching orders of anal rape. They also threw in, "My name is Jack, I'm a necrophiliac, I **** dead women." A video of the initiation was immediately posted on YouTube and, what do you know, it's gone viral.
Now, DKE President Jordan Forney has been forced to apologize for this blatant sexual intimidation by calling it "a serious lapse in judgment by the fraternity and in very poor taste." But this sort of hateful crap isn't a "lapse in judgment." It doesn't innocently happen that you're guiding male pledges by young women's dorms in the dark of night chanting about anal rape. It isn't a forehead-slapping slip-up, it's a sign that you need major reprogramming as a human being. Student feminist magazine Broad Recognition has it right: It's calling for Yale to take disciplinary action against DKE -- where George W. Bush got his presidential training -- "on behalf of its female students."
http://www.salon.com/life/violence_against_women/?story=/mwt/broadsheet/2010/10/15/yale_fraternity_pledges_chant_about_rape
Forney and Teicher: How our fraternity failed
By Jordan Forney, Sam Teicher
Friday, October 15, 2010
At around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, many people heard loud chanting and singing in and around Old Campus. The chants came from members of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. The lyrics ranged from patriotic to crude to obscene. Too often, college students get carried away in revelry or tradition and ignore the significance of their words and actions. The widespread response to this event showed us that, for some people, our words had real and powerful meaning.
The brothers of DKE accept responsibility for what we did, and want to sincerely apologize to the Yale community. We were wrong. We were disrespectful, vulgar and inappropriate. More than that, we were insensitive of all women who have been victims of rape or sexual violence, especially those here at Yale. Rape is beyond serious – it is one of the worst things that any person can be subjected to. It is not a laughing matter, yet we joked about it.
The brothers of DKE were not out to hurt or target anyone, or to incite violence against women. And although we in no way condone rape, we realize that this kind of behavior exemplifies a casual attitude towards rape that sadly fosters an environment in which sexual harassment can be ignored or belittled.
Though our original statement sought mistakenly to defend the fraternity, we realize that many members of the Yale community are frustrated, appalled and offended by what was said. Many of you are angry with us. We understand why the Women’s Center called for campus-wide action immediately following the story of what transpired — something must be done to ensure that this behavior, whether intentional or in jest, is not simply brushed aside.
And that is why we are joining with the Women’s Center, Yale College Dean Mary Miller and Dean of Student Affairs Marichal Gentry in a discussion about sexual violence and how to create a safe and comfortable environment at Yale University. Actions like ours are unfortunately a recurring theme at college campuses all over the United States. But we hope that Yale can be a model of progressive cooperation and a safe place for women. We therefore hope that these unfortunate events serve as a teachable moment to facilitate and engage in positive and meaningful dialogue about sexual relations here at Yale. Let’s make this right.
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/oct/15/forney-and-teicher-how-our-fraternity-failed/
Women’s Center Board Members: Responding maturely to misogyny
By Women's Center Board
Friday, October 15, 2010
Last night, DKE pledges chanted as they marched on Yale’s campus, including on Old Campus and Cross Campus, as well as in Jonathan Edwards, Pierson and Davenport colleges. Footage of these chants is available online both on the Yale Daily News’s website and on YouTube. This is what they shouted:
My name is Jack
I’m a necrophiliac
I f--- dead women
And fill them with my semen
No means yes
Yes means anal
(repeated)
F--- al-Qaeda
F--- al-Qaeda
(repeated)
F---ing sluts
F---ing sluts
(repeated)
USA
USA
(repeated)
This incident is not isolated; some of these slogans have been heard before on Yale’s campus, though usually behind closed doors. We recognize that these shouts may have been meant in jest, but the meaning of these phrases — “I f--- dead women,” “f---ing sluts,” and “no means yes; yes means anal” — is not a joke. For survivors of sexual violence and their allies, this chant serves as a jarring reminder that Yale is not always a safe place for women. For everyone on Yale’s campus, this sets a tone for our community’s sexual culture that is at best irreverent, and at worst, violent.
It is particularly egregious that this initiation took place on Old Campus, the center of freshmen life at Yale. Wednesday’s chants sent a clear message to impressionable first-year students: both to the pledges who were told to repeat the chant and to the students who were forced to listen. The verses treat sexual violence as a joke.
But sexual violence is a serious problem: women are raped at Yale. Those rapes take place within a sexual culture that often minimizes, excuses and even enables sexual violence. Wednesday night’s chanting, when taken at face value, is a call to commit rape. We do not think that the fraternity brothers intended to incite violence; more likely, they neglected to consider how their words would impact our community.
These verses are only one part of the way sex is talked about at Yale. Though many students have expressed disappointment, frustration and sadness after Wednesday’s chants, it is important to recognize our potential to utter more positive words, ones of mutual respect. This event should be a starting point for broader conversation committed to making our campus safer.
In calling for change, the Women’s Center is building on momentum from last year’s response to the “preseason scouting report,” which ranked and criticized freshman women’s physical appearances, initiating the Class of 2013 with an act of misogyny. Chants like those on Wednesday may have happened in the past, but our campus’s tolerance for them has diminished. There are positive signs. Student leaders have begun to challenge the social norms that condone these incidents. Pi Phi is bringing self-defense empowerment training for women to campus, and Sig Ep is partnering with the Women’s Center to organize a workshop about sexual violence.
At our event today, students will share their thoughts on this incident, as well as discuss broader issues shaping sexual violence and sexual culture at Yale. Yale College Dean Mary Miller and Dean of Student Affairs Marichal Gentry will open the discussion alongside college deans and masters who share our concerns. Then it is up to us, the students, to answer the question: how can we work together, across our differences, to create a positive and affirming sexual culture at Yale?
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/oct/15/womens-center-board-members-responding-maturely/
