Where are we now? Rape and more rape.
Where are we now? I’m going to start with my story, for context, and then go on to some other stuff: rape statistics, and problems of projecting “rape as a problem” on other places, and how we engage in Othering when rape happens in places outside of Canada.
Nearly ten years ago, on March 29, 2003, a stranger outside of a subway station in Toronto raped me. The judgment and court transcripts will show that cops witnessed this happen; that I called 9-1-1; that there was security footage of this. Despite all of this, the person was acquitted.
But he was acquitted on June 20, 2005. I remember the judge starting off with statements that sounded like I had “won”. He was describing what happened to me, and stating it as fact. But then he would describe what the defense had said, and how prosecution failed to contest it. He mentioned how defense claimed I did not call 9-1-1 (phone records show otherwise), but prosecution did not contest this. He described how the defense made claims that sounded completely unbelievable, but the prosecution did not contest this.
He described how the defense stated that the defendant, my rapist, did not penetrate me anally with his penis, because that was against his religion. The prosecution did not contest this by bringing attention to medical evidence, let alone by subpoenaing the doctors who treated me at the hospital.
For a total of 6 years, I was revictimized by lawyers, by people at the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB), and by myself, while I was constantly reminded of what happened and questioned if I was just some over-dramatic girl who misinterpreted something that wasn’t really “wrong”. I still struggle with PTSD, but at least now CICB pays for my psychotherapy!
Well, to start, Statistics Canada’s most recent report on sexual assault in Canada states that “About one in ten sexual assaults is reported to police, according to the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization. With only a small proportion of sexual offences formally documented through law enforcement, the prevalence of sexual assault in Canada has been difficult to quantify.”
It’s a big problem, and we only know a small part of the picture. If you’re interested in numbers, read this publication and go from there.
Recently, through social media, a lot has been said about “rape culture” and the social norms, myths and stereotypes that continue to impede any advances in dealing with the problems of rape, preventing it, supporting victims, and recognizing it as something other than “sexual”. So I’m not going to go there.
Projecting our problems elsewhere while ignoring our own; shifting the blame to “backwards” cultures
Over the past few months, several international rape cases have received a lot of attention in the media, who often focus on perceived archaic and culturally-backwards [inferred as such] qualities of these places. Problems of rape in India (including gang rape) have drawn outrage -- as they should. Another case receiving attention through social media is the story of a 15 year-old girl in the Maldives victim who was sentenced to 100 lashes for premarital sex
Are these places backwards or what?!? /sarcasm
When people look at these cases from afar, we can create an Other. In sociology, the “Other” implies a binary of dominance and subordination, where the Other is the subordinate; or of superiority and inferiority; of insider or outsider. It can be marked by physical appearances, behaviour, language, culture, knowledge or material possessions, for example.
It’s easy to criticize other places with documented “poorer” records of women’s rights, or “corrupt” institutions. (Disclaimer: YES! Men get raped too and suffer immensely! By mentioning “women’s rights” I am not ignoring the men and boys who have been victimized)
But we have these problems in Canada too. As mentioned earlier, only about 10% of sexual assaults are reported to the police. This statistic alone speaks volumes to the problems that exist here – that keep people from reporting rapes; that even when reported lead to abysmal conviction rates (and yes, the issue with how we treat those convicted of crimes is a whole other problem to be unpacked).
It’s important to be aware of problems that exist elsewhere, but not to the point that they give us a false sense of being “not as bad” as those far away places.
So really, where are we now? Is rape even a real crime?
In the ten years since I was raped, I can honestly say I feel as though nothing has changed. I would like to think that the recent Steubenville rape case in America has brought greater attention to problems in America (and in Canada) surrounding how we deal with rape. But I’m not that optimistic. In two weeks will people still be talking about this? In one year will people still be talking about this?
It is going to take a major paradigm shift in the way a multitude of issues are viewed before rape can really be taken seriously.
In closing, I would like to quote one of Émile Durkheim’s most famous quotes about what makes a crime a crime. After reading it, one must consider: do we really see rape as a crime? Do we see it differently depending on where it occurs, and who it happens to?
“We must not say that an action shocks the common conscience because it is criminal, but rather it is criminal because it shocks the common conscience. We do not reprove it because it is a crime, but it s a crime because we reprove it.”
- Émile Durkheim, from “The Division of Labour in Society”, 1893