Anna Clark asks “Why Does Popular Culture Treat Prison Rape As a Joke?”
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Is that part of the “punishment” aspect of criminal sentencing? Or “deterrent”?
Also, something to consider next time the “bad people deserve bad” sheep next bleat about Law n Order
Cos popular culture is retarded.
And sometimes people deal with issues that make them very uncomftable by making jokes about them.
Concept of ‘less eligibility’?
As a society I don’t think we deal well with sexual assault at all. We demonise offenders and than wonder why the report rate is so low, given the offender is likely to know the victim (yes there are many other factors).
In Qld prisoners are briefed on sexual assault in their induction.
Ileum – are you serious? We “demonise” offenders? No effing way. We demonise VICTIMS, both in the law courts and the court of public opinion, and make excuses for why the man must be innocent and how it was all the fault of the shameless slut who was out at night/drunk/dressed like that (ie asking for it).
THAT is the real reason rape is underreported; it’s startlingly difficult to secure a conviction and the victim has to go through a second and third layer of torture, first by having to relive it to police and to lawyers and then to replay it all publicly in court, often in front of the perpetrator. Times that terror by ten when it is someone known to the victim and their friends/relatives are split over who is to blame.
I have, for some time, had a particular bugbear about prison rape, mostly because of the very casual way it seems to be dealt with both before and after the fact. I don’t believe, in any sort of civilised society, that we should blithely accept that rape is just “something” that happens in prisons. It is a heinous act of violence and degradation and should be treated with the appropriate gravity.
That our law makers, law enforcers and corrections staff seem to not give a flying you know what is of extreme concern. Violent anal rape should never ever be accepted as an expected “additional” punishment for ANYONE, let alone a drug addict or fine defaulter who, if they had been rich enough to afford a good lawyer, might not have been in prison in the first place.
That
Ileum – are you serious? We “demonise” offenders? No effing way. We demonise VICTIMS, both in the law courts and the court of public opinion, and make excuses for why the man must be innocent and how it was all the fault of the shameless slut who was out at night/drunk/dressed like that (ie asking for it).
Perhaps it’s a bit of both. The stigma attached to the offence means that offenders are far more likely to deny everything, and fight it out in court. I think physical assaults, for instance, are far more clear cut. Sexual assaults aren’t like the CSI tv shows, where teams of forensic scientists can work out the offender. Unless the offence is pretty recent, it’s basically one person’s word against another, and since sex offences are usually committed in secrecy, it’s extremely hard to generate solid proof.
You also have the complexities alluded to above. Not only is the offender likely to know the victim, they may well have spent weeks or months ‘grooming’ the victim, bribing them, etc, leaving the victim with the horrible and shameful feeling that they themselves are complicit in the abuse. Also, some offenders are of high-standing, well-liked, etc, so when victims come out, they may meet with disbelief or anger from those around them.
LH – I am serious but agree with most of what you say. There are many barriers to reporting but I thought as a society we had moved on from the – she asked for it – position (apart from a few league fans?).
I am only suggesting that there is a relationship between the way sex offenders are portrayed and the rate of reporting.
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