Before I get to the main topic some readers might want a follow up to my last post, Tomorrow. I'm not doing a whole post on it because it was pretty basic. Drop off at Preschool went well, he had a great day, and I got him another Mum to celebrate. The Mum addiction is apparently genetic. But I've talked a lot about my family lately and I try to diversify my posts so now it's time to talk about something all too common...............when women are the victims.
I think about this almost daily but I chose now to write about it because of something that happened recently in Montana. A 14 year old girl was raped and her rapist only got 30 days in jail. She committed suicide because of it. 30 days! That's it?! 30 days?! That man will be released and at some point rape another teenager because the previous sentence wasn't so bad. She was 14. Why wasn't there additional charges related to her age and not just the act itself? The judge later backtracked and wanted to change it but another court said he can't.
http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/former-mont-teacher-gets-30-days-for-student-rape
Update 9/26/2013: He gets released today
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/25/us/montana-teacher-rape/?hpt=us_c2
It's not just something with teen girls it's with women too, they get sexually and/or otherwise physically abused and the dude that did it doesn't serve enough time. These women will never feel safe and the women in the community the criminal was released into shouldn't feel safe. We should not have to live like this. Jaycee Dugard would never have been kidnapped and raped if Philip Garrido had been properly sentenced for his previous rape of Katie Hall. He was sentenced to 50 years but only served 11 after Katie Hall.
Jaycee Dugard:
http://www.biography.com/people/jaycee-dugard-20993627
Katie Hall:
http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/jaycee-dugard-garrido-rape-victim-katie-hall-recounts/story?id=13977018
Edited 9/23/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/23/carl-peterson-sex-offender-address-community-town-meeting_n_3976417.html?ref=topbar
Here is a link to a story I just read. The disturbing part to me is
'Peterson is a "Level 3" sex offender which, according to Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety, means "he has been determined to be at a high risk to reoffend and to pose a high degree of dangerousness to the public."'
He only served 4 years and is high risk to do it again and is a danger to society yet he was released into society. I would be open to what he had to say about his reasons and it's good to hear that he is in therapy but he's still a danger to society. But the "society" in question is women so he's free to live with his wife and 14 year old daughter. His victim was his 14 year old niece back in 2000. I can't wrap my head around that!!!
edited: 9/26/2013: Here are more stories of kids who would be safe at home if their Murderers served longer prison sentences:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Kanka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Polly_Klaas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Lunsford
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dru_Sjodin
I read about a lot of similar stories. A woman/teenage girl is kidnapped and raped repeatedly and the guy is a registered sex offender who didn't serve enough time. Usually, the victim is also murdered. Instead of life in prison with no parole these guys rarely have to serve their full sentence after the first time, like Philip Garrido. They only get serious sentences after one or more additional woman/women has unnecessarily become a victim. When they are released from their first crime, they are a danger to society. Sorry, not society ................ women. Because the criminals that are also a danger to men serve longer and stricter sentences in some states. I tried to find a good website but each state has different statistics for this and I am not posting 50 links. One really only has to read the crime sections of national papers to know what I mean. Below I will post more links to these kinds of stories as I read them:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/lucius-crawford-confesses-killing-three-women_n_2247056.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/13/carie-charlesworth-teacher-fired_n_3436716.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/k-sujata/bring-the-rape-conversation-home_b_3964542.html?utm_hp_ref=crime&ir=Crime
http://www.dailybulletin.com/general-news/20130709/confessed-serial-rapist-granted-release-from-prison
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-doe-/my-husband-the-impostor_b_3989875.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl19%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D382249
Cheers to Louisiana. Apparently, if you rape a child 13 and younger you get the death penalty or life in prison with hard labor and no parole. Of course we'll see if they follow through with that. Most sex criminals only serve 50% of their sentences.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/25/austin-gulledge-rape-1-year-baby_n_3989367.html?utm_hp_ref=crime
With the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, something that usually passes very easily, some Republican Congressmen wanted to exclude new provisions for Lesbians, Transsexuals, Native Americans and Illegal Immigrants. They think it's okay for some women to be victims. Luckily, the final version, signed in March, covers ALL women.
Issues:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2012/05/03/11524/the-fight-to-reauthorize-the-violence-against-women-act/
Passed Bill:
http://www.nnedv.org/policy/issues/vawa.html
Oct. 23, 2013 Domestic Violence and Guns:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martha-burk/domestic-violence-awareness-month_b_4133288.html?utm_hp_ref=crime&ir=Crime
One story that struck me the most is this one. H.S. was raped at a house party. After, she refused to cheer for her "star athlete" attacker when he stepped up to the free throw line during a basketball game. She was kicked off the squad. She was victimized repeatedly by authority figures who thought she should have cheered for him. Men who don't understand how it feels to be a victim of a sex crime. What would they have done if it was their wife, daughter, or sister?
Story:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/rape-high-school-cheerleader-vows-fight-school-district/story?id=11972052
What Psychology Today has to say about her:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/witness/201011/rape-victim-should-cheer-rapist-court-says
I feel sorry for the women that don't get the justice and protection they deserve. Why do so many authority figures think it's okay to treat women like their safety doesn't matter? Why do women have to suffer so many times over and not quite get the justice they deserve? Why are there so many victims to begin with?
This is a link to RAINN. It's an organization called the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. If you are a victim of a sex crime, they can provide help. Please get help.
http://www.rainn.org/
How do you stop these criminals? It starts in the home. With a young son. When he goes to hug a girl innocently it's up to the parents to teach him to ask first and respect if the person they want to hug says "no". It continues with an older son on the cusp of developing sexual desires and a more detailed conversation about respecting women and controlling themselves. This is when you talk more about what "no means no" really is about as you have the "sex talk". A talk that should be repeated throughout adolescence, especially if a serious relationship develops. The best thing you can always do is practice respect towards women and self control as an example and talk openly about respecting women. If a boy is taught that it's not okay to treat women like that, they are much less likely to rape and/or sexually assault a women. These are the "good guys" a girl can trust. Zach is already showing a lot of respect towards women. I will do my best to have that stick.
Daisy Coleman Edit:
It continues...........Daisy was 14 when she was raped in January of 2012. She did make some poor decisions. She drank alcohol including a giant glass an older boy gave her and snuck out to go to a party. But she was raped and instead of support she gets victimized all over again. People tell her to kill herself. She gets teased all the time. A video of the rape circulated around school while authorities say they can't find it. Her rapist's father is a powerful man locally so the rapist, a popular football player, gets the protection. This is the story I got that from:
http://m.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/daisy-coleman-maryville-rape
It's not okay that this happens. It's not okay that victims of sexual abuse are told they "have it coming" or are called "sluts". We can't respond like this when something so traumatic happens to another person. By taking the side of the abuser you become an abuser too. It's too late for Daisy but next time, I hope the community and authorities do the right thing and support the victim.
The only time I have read about a male victim being treated like Daisy has is Jerry Sandusky's Victim 1. People fall into denial that these powerful people could do such horrible things. It seems like the more powerful they are the MORE likely they are do them because they are more likely to get away with them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/penn-state-scandal-jerry-sandusky-victim-mother_n_1108979.html
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