Topic: sexual assault

What Is With The Insistence Around Teaching Kids The Terms Penis And Vulva? The Message Is Just As Important As The Words

I want my kids to be aware and empowered – physically, emotionally and intellectually. I hope to raise them to be strong and verbal children who know limits and boundaries of all kinds. I intend to keep lines of communication as open as possible – around their feelings, their concerns, and their bodies. But if you are telling me none of that will be possible if I don’t teach them the words penis and vulva, we might be in trouble. More »

Unbelievable: College Assigns Book Report As Punishment For Rapist

Sometimes you read some news that is so ridiculous you simply cannot believe it is true. This is one of those times. Students at Occidental College in Los Angeles have filed a federal complaint that the school has failed to take the reporting of sex crimes seriously by improper reporting and in some cases even cover-ups. In one case, an alleged rapist was made to write a five page book report for his actions. A five-page book report? For rape? I’m confused. More »

Torrington Rape Case Devolves Into Rape Apology, Rape Threats, & General Grossness On Social Media

Just as the rulings were being handed out in the Steubenville rape case, another eerily similar story of high school sexual assault was gaining traction. As the world began to move on from a small town in Ohio, we were immediately pulled in to a small town in Connecticut, where two Torrington High School football players were being charged the statutory rape of two 13-year-old girls. (The number of alleged rapists has grown to four high schools boys now.) Now, the social media bullying that became an intricate part of the Steubenville case has reared its ugly head once again. More »

How On Earth Do Wives Defend Their Child Molesting Husbands?

In the course of writing about parenting and motherhood, I come across a lot of stories involving child abuse and molestation. It is a very sad and disturbing part of my job. And while these heinous crimes will never make any sense to me, there’s another aspect of these cases that I am also intensely confused by. How exactly do wives stand up and defend their child molesting husbands? More »

The Chicago Tribune Refuses To Call A Pastor Who Seduced An Underage Girl A ‘Rapist’

Jack Schaap, an ex-pastor at an Indiana mega church, was convicted of having sex with an underage girl in his congregation. He is a rapist. So why won’t the Chicago Tribune label him as one? More »

The Next Steubenville? A Connecticut Rape Trial Involving Two High School Football Players And A Bunch Of Victim-Blaming

The story is eerily similar as we continue to debate the verdict and implications of Steubenville’s highly publicized rape trial: Two high school football players are accused of rape. Victim-blaming is spreading over social media towards the girls brave enough to come forward. And a school seems to be all to willing to look the other way when its star athletes break the law. It’s like the very worst deja vu. More »

Seriously? One More GOP Politician Calls Pregnancy From Rape Rare Because Of ‘Trauma’

Did you think that after the 2012 elections and the defeat of guys like Todd Aiken and Richard Mourdock that we would be done with politicians making ignorant comments about rape and pregnancy? Me too. And apparently, we were oh so wrong. Let’s listen to the latest nonsense, brought to you by the President of the California Republican Assembly, Celeste Greig. More »

The Latest Sexual Predator ‘Lured’ Into Arrest By Police Is A Professional Tennis Player In Florida

It’s a plot line made famous by the controversial television series To Catch A Predator. A grown man chats with who he believes to be a young tween or teenage girl online. They flirt. They maybe share some explicit pictures. … More »

Three Young Sisters Raped & Murdered In India Have Deaths Ruled ‘Accidental’ By Repugnant Law Enforcement

On February 14th, when most of us were sharing a romantic dinner with our significant others, when One Billion Rising was protesting all over the globe about violence against women, a poor widowed mother in rural India lost her three young daughters. More »

What We're Reading:

Jerry Sandusky Attempts Second Appeal To Overturn That Whole Raping 10 Children Thing

Like a huge zit on the country’s chin that just will not go away, Jerry Sandusky is continuing his legal battles, attempting to overturn his conviction on 45 counts of sexual abuse and assault, perpetrated on 10 different victims. The disgraced former Penn State coach has filed his second appeal with the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Let’s see the bogus reasons he comes up with this time. More »

The Violence In Chicago Isn’t Just About Guns – Stories Of Rape Terrifying Illinois Parents

The Violence In Chicago Isnâ��t Just About Guns - Stories Of Rape Terrifying Illinois Parents

This week, 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton‘s death has brought national scrutiny to the growing gun violence problem in the streets of Chicago. The young woman’s murder grabbed attention because the teen majorette had so recently performed at President Obama’s Second Inauguration in Washington DC. But when I was discussing the story with some Chicago parents, they brought up another growing fear, aside from gun violence, that hasn’t made it to the national news just yet. More »

The US Air Force Blames Their Culture Of Sexual Assault On… The Teen Girls Too Scared To Come Forward

One would think that the focus of a hearing on rape in the military would be on the 32 men who felt justified in abusing their position of power and assaulting female subordinates. One might want to wonder how these types of monsters got to be in leadership positions within our military. One would think the Air Force would ask itself how it trained and promoted men who feel entitled to take advantage of women. One would think… and one would be wrong. More »

The Details Of The Jimmy Savile Saga Are Even Worse Than You Imagined – 214 Cases Of Sexual Abuse

By now, you’ve probably heard about the enormous sexual abuse scandal dominating the news in the UK. Once-beloved national icon Jimmy Savile, who was knighted by both the Queen and the Pope, who worked for the BBC for decades, was accused of being a sexual predator. The new report issued by the British police detailing Savile’s crimes are even worse than anyone could imagine. More »

After The Rape Stories From New Delhi & Steubenville & Everywhere, Women Are Tired – But Still #ShoutingBack

It’s a jarring thing to wake up too, reading all of these tweets about how women and girls are subjected to harassment on a seemingly never-ending basis, but in light of recent events it seems that everyone is speaking out against things like this. And even though it is sort of jarring, it isn’t very shocking, because this is the life of women, from birth to death. This is our reality. I don’t care how old you are, or how you look, or what you are wearing, or where you are, chances are pretty good that you will encounter this. More »

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