I read with interest a piece on Huffpost entitled “How We Can Prevent Another Steubenville.” In it, Kelli Goff discusses what she thinks is the real issue behind Steubenville: alcohol.
If a teen drives drunk and is killed in an accident, or worse, kills someone else and we find out their parents never discouraged them from drinking and driving, we blame the parents. Yet for some reason we don’t discuss the role of alcohol in sexual assault the same way. Continue reading
The holidays are upon us, a time of year when assaults are on the rise due to a great many factors. In order to help increase safety for everyone, let’s keep a few things in mind: Continue reading
Wow. I just finished reading a real piece of work on someone else’s blog. He had the nerve to post it to the Slutwalk Toronto Facebook page because he was taking a very novel approach to victim blaming (read: “not very novel at all”) and wanted everyone to see he was totally incapable of absorbing new ideas.
Our esteemed writer is a believer in what he terms the “Oleg Volk school of rape prevention.” Mr. Volk, however, is not a preventer of rape but a proponent of “gun culture.” Volk uses propaganda tactics to argue his point on firearm legislation, equating those who favour gun control to racists who would prefer all potential victims of crime be unarmed and defenceless. A similar tactic was used in Canada recently when Vic Toews said those who were not in favour of strict internet controls were on the side of child pornographers; the tactic is the same regardless of who uses it, and betrays the lack of understanding of an opposing argument as well as a penchant for fear mongering. Guns and self-defence, or counter-violence in response to assault, is an option not everyone chooses to employ, or is capable of employing. Mandating counter-violence of any kind, which is what the either/or fallacy amounts to in the context of self-defence, is highly problematic and can serve to call into question the authenticity of a victim of crime. Continue reading
There’s a controversy brewing over a self-proclaimed victims’ advocacy group and their take on false rape accusations. I was asked by another group if I could write a response to a statement released by RINJ calling for strict measures to protect men from false accusations of rape. Read my first ever guest post here.
Hey, Guy. I think we should talk. I don’t mind if your girlfriend, sister, or any other important woman in your life listens in on this one, but this is really about you and me – man to man. Comfortable? Good. Read on.
I mentioned elsewhere on this blog, victims of sexual assault can fall into three categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Since that post, however, I’m inclined to edit those categories and add a fourth, all of which I will attempt to (perhaps less clumsily) explain here. Continue reading
I’ve had a number of discussions with well-meaning men on the subject of “women’s self-defence.” Continue reading
I hate all the “never do this” and “always do that” garbage I see out there passed off as self-defence advice. I’m tired of seeing victim-blaming masquerading as empowerment. Here are nine tips that don’t engage in victim-blaming, are applicable to anyone, and can work as well as a kick in the balls.
Sexual offenders move among us. They’ve been in the clergy, the Scouts, and even our families. Sexual offenders are predators who will go where they believe they can find prey Continue reading
