JustDragonflies -> RE: What actions , if any, should I take? (5/8/2013 4:30:22 AM)
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ORIGINAL: DarkSteven Like I say, if the accusers won't file charges, why should I? I have to say DarkSteven, I'm surprised at this reaction from you. We don't know each other personally, of course, but I sort of assumed you'd understand some of the more delicate nuances about such sensitive topics. Perhaps it was unfair of me to have such expectations, but I couldn't help but say this. I haven't read further so perhaps someone addressed this... but philosophically there are a lot of reasons why you should take action although the alleged victims have't, yet. I'm not even sure this is legally possible for you to do, if the people involved are adults and you weren't a witness (which would, in some states, actually make for a second victim, I believe). However, just for the sake of this To Talk or Not To Talk conversation... I must say, rape occurs on a variety of levels, some of which are acknowledged by the legal system, and some of which are not, yet. There is no right, normal or even "appropriate" way to react after a rape, btw. (This is to you random person on page 1 or 2 who said they thought hanging out with the rapist meant the victims were probably liars. This is a well documented experience that victims have: returning to their perpetrator. It almost always makes them feel fucked up and ashamed and confused. But it doesn't make them liars.) But for the hell of it.. come on a little imaginary journey with me. And imagine that you're a women who just said no, wanted to say no but couldn't (for any number of reasons), fought back, or didn't, orgasmed, or didn't... and someone that you were attracted to, hated, didn't know, or loved/was married to.... opened your body up and inserted themselves into you. (Seriously, pause for a moment... can you even imagine how that would feel? Powerless? In pain? Maybe hating yourself for your body's reaction/weakness???) These are all different forms of rape. However... Society generally accepts one story about rape (not speaking for the readers here, just how rape is generally portrayed). The One Story goes like this, a stranger raped me, I fought back, but I couldn't stop it, it was horrible, and he beat me up, btw. But when the reality of one's rape varies from that story it is extremely shameful, confusing, upsetting, isolating and pretty much The Worst Thing That Probably Ever Happened To These Women/Men. Now, I don't know about you, but it's pretty hard for me to open up about whatever the worst is that happened to me. And I know this to be true for a lot of people. In fact, many victims never do open up about it. (But should their perpetrator feel no consequence and should the next potential victims receive no protection if the other victims aren't strong enough to take the action that society asks of them? Does being so hurt or insecure invalidate you to the point that no one should stand up for you? What if this rapist goes on to rape your grandma? or your daughter or your wife? or your...... Would we have wanted something to happen despite the prior victims remaining silent THEN? How would we feel then about someone not speaking up because the accusers/victims didn't speak up themselves? Just a thought.) So, here we are. Post rape. Man, that sucked having our body entered and violated when we did not want to be entered. [:o] Also, it sucks to feel like I can't protect myself, keep myself safe, or trust my body to defend myself to capacity, or be "appropriate" in that situation. Also, I kind of feel crazy, because... shouldn't I have been able to tell he was going to be like that? I'm really fucked up for not having any sense about who I was with. Maybe I deserved that for being so stupid/slutty. Yet... in the midst of this shame, anger, fear, confusion and isolation... I choose to speak out. Yay me!! Maybe I did so because some other victims did and I wanted to lend a word about this horrible rapist?? I know that going to the police is going to be tricky. How do I explain all this perverse stuff that is still illegal in some states? How do I explain when people acted like Miley Cyrus killed orphans when she just smoked pot/maybe salvia on twitter? How do I explain when these peers of my own kink community are like "Um. That didn't happen you crazy vindictive bitch!!!!!!!!!!!". So. I'm scared. But I'm speaking up. But just a l i t t l e .... Probably I have not received any therapy or any rape advocacy still at this point. Probably I kind of hate myself and everyone else a little. I might be considering "ending it all", even. And now there's a whole slew of people who don't support me, think I'm lying, jealous or worse. And what are the POLICE going to think? How can I ever prove this? I already washed it all away, probably 352 times. It's my word against his. I wind up on Rape Victim forum and even on it there are pages and pages of horrible experiences trying to prove pretty crazy violent rape, let alone this weird crap I'm dealing with. And none of the other victims are going to the police. So how can I? I'm overwhelmed. I'm scared. It seems really hard to be the only one who's strong enough to stand up to the horrific assault on it's own, deal with all the emotional fall out, speak up to the public, be partially shunned and THEN find the will to take your raped body to the police to endure hours of skeptical questioning????????? With no proof? And no optimistic look on the outcome?? (Round of applause for anyone who DOES report a rape, you're bomb, and I'm grateful to you for being so insanely awesome.) There are a lot of good reasons to speak up for rape victims, even when they can't take the action that we feel is best. Obviously a person who has experienced that kind of intense violation, and then such public mixed messages isn't going to be at their most empowered. However, despite all that intense compassion and empathy for the victim... we have to consider this one EXCELLENT reason for speaking up: Protecting future victims. I'm not aware of rapists who just stopped raping people because one day they started to be awesome. With that in mind, if someone can't stand up against the abuses, and you don't like it, or feel like their inaction entitles their perpetrator to get off, remember the future victims deserve to be protected. They never disappointed "you" by not reporting their crime. It hasn't happened yet, and it might be prevented! You... who hasn't even been raped (I assume?)... are all wigged out about maybe experiencing some inconvenient "drama". But you want THEM, the actual victims to be stronger than you bystanders? To be willing to deal with MORE personal sacrifice and potential humiliation..? More stuff to mull over. (Of note, Stephen, did you notice how hostile some posters got in response to this dialog about MAYBE protecting future victims? I'm sure you can extrapolate how much more volatile these topics are to deal with when one is in a very very vulnerable, hurt, post-rape position.) By the way, if anyone is reading this and have been raped, sexually assaulted or sexually abused in any manner, I invite you to visit some awesome, free websites that provide forums or counseling, local and internet support, chat rooms and etc: rainn.org (confidential, free, worldwide, chat support, phone support, hotlines) pandys.org (free, forums, chat, supportive user base, access to other resources) And, if you're still reading this far, I'd just like to say that rape takes many many many forms. To those who have been sexually assaulted, molested, fondled, raped, sexually abused and etc, no matter what the circumstances were (if you're skeptical, write to me or go to those website for more info): you did not, could not deserve it or ask for it. How you respond to it doesn't minimize what happened to you. You are still totally entitled to be safe and to receive support. And my last thought, though I could say it a thousand times. Just because someone doesn't have the strength, self love, will or belief in the system to speak up for themselves: DOES NOT MEAN WE SHOULD NOT SPEAK UP FOR THEM. I, personally will never look the other way, ignore, mind my own business, or otherwise be a bystander of any forms of abuse. I invite the rest of you to try this out with me. It's remarkably "undramatic" and simple living when you try it out consistently. I know that sounded snarky, but I mean it sincerely. People always say not to be/participate in drama, but advocating for others has always been pretty somber, drama free, no-nonsense in my experience. Also, free boob pic!
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