RAPE (See Links At Bottom)
An Open Letter From The Florida NOW State President
From Toni Van Pelt, President, Florida NOW
Wednesday, August 11, 1999
An Open Letter to Rod Smith, the University of Florida and the Gainesville Business Community
Just Say No to Rape and Violence Against Women!!
Rape is clearly a gender crime and a hate crime against women.
The most recent example of this is the abysmal treatment of Lisa
Grier at the University of Florida in Gainesville. [Link To The Delta Chi Rape Allegation Website]
Women are oppressed into submission by fundamental religious
demands and church "teachings", from a very early age. Religious
based dogma teaches men and women that women are owned by
men and must do whatever men decree. We are socialized, as
women, to be sexually "available", on demand, for men from our
births. Women are eternally referred to as "girls", a language
reminder that they never reach adulthood. The advertising industry
portrays even young infant girls as sexual offerings in submissive
positions to "dominant" infant males. Women are taught to be
"lady-like", with eyes down on the ground, an obvious advantage
for the male rapist.
The male gender is taught that it is privileged. They claim women and
girls of their enemies as prizes of war, to rape, mutilate and murder for
their amusement. This same mentality is used to motivate male players out
on the sports fields of our nation, the most glaring example is, of
course, football. The male gender believes they are animal like in their
lack of control over the desire and demands of their penis. Therefore
they are not responsible for their "sexual urges". These urges are
"natural" and men have "every right" to satisfy their "sexual appetites."
They are encouraged by pornographic magazines, advertisements and film,
now available for easy viewing on computers , to have "rape fantasies".
These "men" dehumanize women as sexual objects and play toys. When
speaking of women they use language to further dehumanize women, when
they refer to women as "options", chicks, trophies, etc.
In the United States most women and girls are taught by our patriarchal
culture to be "dependent" upon using their bodies and, by extension men,
to "earn" a living. They are offered a variety of ways to accomplish
this. They can use their "wiles" to lure or entice with their "sex", a
man to marry them. The deal is as long as the woman is obedient and
accessible, the man will financially support her for the rest of her
life. This is "the good girl" way of earning a living. Women in this role
are referred to as madonnas, nurturers, good mothers, etc.
The other acceptable career path available for women under the
patriarchal model is the one in which she sells her body to support
herself. She can pose in sexually explicit postures with or without
clothing, exhibiting her body for the TV and movie industry, the
marketing industry, the beauty industry, the pornographic industry and
the sex industry, to name a few, to make money. This is "the bad girl"
path. Women in these professions are referred to as "models, professional
cheer leaders, prostitutes, sex dancers", etc.
Under the patriarchal paradigm there is no such thing as rape. Women are
not "allowed" to scream "NO". The good girl must always submit and be
obedient and the bad girl gets what she deserves and has been asking for
all along.
From feminist women's and men's point of view, even though women do not
have equal protections and remedies under the law of the nation, the
female gender is "equal" in our society. Women are born with free will,
in a country that was founded on freedom. Women are taught that they
should be able to earn a living using their minds. We are told, "One day,
who knows, even a woman could be President of the United States." We are
raised to believe we are human beings, with full rights, autonomy and
responsibilities. This model promotes women's education, independence and
respect. Feminism advocates women entering careers that expand their
minds. Many of us become attorneys, doctors, scientists, etc.
Since women are traditionally discriminated against by the business
sector with lower wages than men for equal work and they internalize
their oppression, it is reasonable for some women to choose a path of
earning more money using their bodies. This does not mean they are
"available for sex on demand", any more than the young girls and older
women who are victims of male rape violence. Most women believe that they
have the right to decide when and how they have sex. No matter what
career path women choose, we do not give up our rights as human beings.
In other words, women, in the feminist culture, don't believe they are
responsible for the act of male, macho rape. We believe men are
responsible for their violent actions.
Following the patriarchal model, when men do rape it becomes the burden
of others to protect them. The business community, in the case of the
most recent, alleged University of Florida, fraternity gang rape, the
college and the town of Gainesville, itself, have a vest interested in
keeping the alleged crimes hidden from public view. After all, in the
contorted reasoning of this culture, even though rape is a male
privilege, since women protest rape and violence, and make demands for
their right to be safe, they may not buy an education from this community
and that would hurt business. And, of course, the most important thing is
the bottom line.... not human beings, but how much money can be made or
lost.
As reported by Pam Brooks, a therapist and licensed clinical social
worker in Orlando, rape by a male stranger accounts for only about one of
five sexual assaults. Most rapes are committed by a male known to and
trusted by the female rape victim. The reality is that, although one in
four women will be raped in her lifetime, fewer than 10 percent will
report the assault. Least likely to report are women sexually assaulted
by someone they know. The Family Service Centers of St. Petersburg
advises, "SEXUAL ASSAULT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE AT ANYTIME."
Rapists look for someone who is vulnerable"...and available. RAPE IS
A CRIME OF VIOLENCE AND CONTROL NOT PASSION."
It is law enforcement's responsibility to enforce laws, to investigate
all aspects of a reported crime and to treat all victims of crime with
dignity and respect. Clearly this did not happen in the Lisa Grier rape
case. The campus police must act immediately and responsibly when calls
for help reach them. And it is imperative for the campus police to report
these crime investigations to the proper community law enforcement
agencies. If they do not, they lay the University open to charges of
"Business first." And they are perceived by the most women as accomplices
in a cover-up, to protect the college's bottom line. Rape is one of the
top concerns of college-age women as demonstrated by the continually
focus on exposing the culprits and the rape culture on campus by the
National Organization for Women's campus chapters across the nation.
"We must stop permitting it to be socially and politically acceptable to
give rapists aid and comfort", according to Alice Vachss, who was
identified by PARADE magazine in 1989 as one of the country's toughest
prosecutors. Vachss was on the front line of rape prosecutions from
1982-1991 as assistant district attorney in Queens County, N.Y.
specializing in sex crimes.
It is the prosecutors' job to build a case and prosecute. Again a
complete failure on the part of Rod Smith and his office. When a woman
has the moxie to come forward and demand justice, it is important for
you, Rod Smith, to demonstrate courage and conviction by building a case
to prosecute the allege rapists. Instead of supporting the victim, Lisa
Grier, you chose to use your power to cover up and confuse the alleged
crimes. Shame on you!
It is the responsibility of the judicial system to incarcerate those
individuals found guilty. Instead we have judicial officials in this
case, releasing evidence and making a mockery of our justice system. "And
after viewing the tapes, judicial officials decided that King's claim of
being a rape victim was not prosecutable, and released the tapes to the
public. Someone even tried to sell it on the Internet," according to a
Gainesville sun staff writer.
Florida NOW is proud of our campus chapter, UF/SFCC NOW and its strong
leadership and their allies in shining an unrelenting, bright light on
the filth the patriarchal culture in the Gainesville community has tried
to sweep under the rug. And we applaud Lisa Grier for having the grit to
come forward and demand justice for herself and, by extension, for all
women.
We call on Rod Smith, the Univeristy of Florida and Gainesville business
community to reconize their role and discontinue their participation in
the patriarchal culture that denigrates women. We further call on them to
find the courage to do everything in their power to....
Just Say NO to Rape and Violence Against Women!!
For Women's Lives,
Toni Van Pelt, President
