Newsletter for July, 2019
Rape in the News
Note: Hover over BLUE TEXT to link back to original article.
Cyprus Rape Case
Note: For more information see Was a British Girl Gang Raped by 12 Young Israelis?, and the August newsletter.
RAPE HELL Brit Ayia Napa rape victim, 19, tells how she ‘fainted’ after 12 Israelis ‘attacked her one-by-one for an hour’
Rebecca Husselbee, The Sun, July 19, 2019
This case played out a lot differently. A British 19-year-old was allegedly gang-raped by 12 young Israelis at the resort, Ayia Napa in Cyprus. The Israelis had recorded it on their phones and claim it was consensual.
One of the phone tapes leaked to the internet apparently showed the girl smiling. The girl recanted and all 12 Israeli boys returned home and were met with champagne and celebration at the airport. Some of Israeli comments were derogatory to the girl saying she was a shiksa and not a good Jewish girl. The boys had excellent legal representation but the girl seems to have a local lawyer, who may be quite good but the story still must play out.
The girl is charged with making a false report and is awaiting trial in jail.
I find the case troubling. The girl may have recanted because she just wanted it all to go away. The Cypriot police may have been bribed. I was especially troubled by the tone of the Israeli press. What do you think? Have you been following. Some links to articles are:
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-cyprus-rape-case-israel-s-boys-struck-at-dawn-1.7544222
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9552391/brit-woman-gang-raped-israel-cadets/
Spain: prosecutors claim attack not rape as victim ‘did not fight back’
by Stephen Bergen, The Guardian, July 3, 2o19
This case known as the Manessa Manada case to differentiate it from a previous and similar case. The notoriety of these two cases has activated a movement calling for a change in rape laws. In a July 9, 2019 article in the Independent the girl gave a tearful testimony in court. She was lured into an abandoned building by a friend who then gave his 5 buddies 15 minutes each with the girl. Another girl looked in and saw them standing around without pants. They were watching and masturbating. The laws everywhere need to change to accommodate proven data on tonic immobility, the freeze state preventing women from actively fighting during a rape.
Jeffrey Epstein taken into custody in New York on new charges related to sex crimes involving minors
by Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky, July 6, 2019, Washington Post
If you’ve been following the news at all, you already know more than you would like about Jeffrey Epstein, his connections to famous people and his predilection for underage girls. This one has been talked about for ages. It’s finally coming to light. I hope everyone involved in this horrible mess goes to jail including Alexander Acosta, Alan Dershowitz, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and the woman, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Serial rape suspect linked to decades-old crimes through genealogy, DNA, officials say
Some of the old rape kits tested in California connected Mark Manteuffel to a series of rapes in the 1990s. Manteuffel worked in law enforcement, in the prison system for decades and was additionally a lecturer at the California State University in Sacramento. Lots of rapists fall under the radar because they are considered to be “nice guys.” I think Mark Manteuffel is another example.
Warwick University apologises to women targeted by ‘rape chat’
by Richard Adams and Richard Batty, Guardian, July 10, 2019
This was covered last month. British Frat boys have a “bad dude” reputation and seem to be getting worse. A male student attempts to explain to his female friend why he is reading texts about abducting her, chaining her to a bed, forcing her to urinate on herself and then sleep in it from his lads as just a little joke among the guys? How did Warwick respond? They sent in their publicity team to squash it. That tactic did work. See Newsletter for June, 2019, Rape in the News, third article down.
E Jean Carroll says she received death threats after accusing Trump of rape
by Ed Pilkington, The Guardian, July 12, 2019
This is a serious story. Carroll’s book, What Do We Need Men For, may not do as well as Ms. Carroll hoped but the rape she describes by Donald Trump is believable and should be taken seriously. If it were any other politician that person would have already resigned. Why is it accepted in The Donald? How can people still defend him? Please, someone, explain.
Thousands of rape kits are currently untested. Kamala Harris has a plan to change that.
by Li Zhau, Vox, July 12, 2019
Thanks, Kamala Harris, for your interest in achieving an end to the rape kit backlog. With a processing cost of between $1000 and $1500 a kit, it’s difficult for some states to keep up. The article above about a serial rapist who was caught because his DNA showed up in multiple rape kits in the early 1990s is all the proof we need that the program is working. Testing rapekits is the bare minimum of what needs to be done.
In Patriarchy No One Can Hear You Scream: Rebecca Solnit on Jeffrey Epstein and the Silencing Machine
by Rebecca Solnit, July 10, 2019
The Subtitle for this essay is “Truth is whatever the powerful want it to be.” Chivalry in the time of King Arthur constructed a framework that justice meant that all people were equal under the law. It is the same under democracy. It is the foundation of our constitution and legal system. All are equal under the law. Unfortunately power is not invested in the citizen but in the system and the system is now and has been for a while, a patriarchy. Ms. Solnit points out that it is “essential to look past individual perpetrators to the systems that allow them to commit crimes with impunity.” To state that more clearly and directly, it is essential to look past perpetrators like Weinstein and Epstein to the current system of patriarchy that protects them and allows them to commit crimes against girls and women who represent a lesser group.
An Epidemic of Disbelief
by Barbara Bradley Hagerty, The Atlantic Magazine, August, 2019 issue
“This is the question that haunts every advocate, researcher, and enlightened detective or prosecutor I spoke with: How many rapes could have been prevented if the police had believed the first victim, launched a thorough investigation, and caught the rapist? How many women would have been spared a brutal assault?”
Read also this blog’s post by hannahpowers, 11/6/15 Fixing the Rape Kit Backlog
N.J. Judge Terminated After Saying Teen Rape Suspect From ‘Good Family’ Shouldn’t Be Tried as Adult
State Superior Court Judge James Troiano, stepped down. He had ruled that a 16-year-old accused rapist should not be tried in adult court because he came from a “good family” and would probably “go to a good school.”
The second, Superior Court Judge John Russo, had told an alleged rape victim to “close her legs” and laughed about it later with court officials.
Both decisions were reversed on appeal and later both judges terminated. Click on the blue text for article on how the cases progressed.
I was happily surprised by this. I had thought that Judges were all powerful. Apparently not and the legal system seems to be actually working in some rape cases. The media along with a strong prosecution team seem to be responsible for turning these two bad decisions. Maybe there is finally hope in the legal system.
‘Exemplary’ medical student who raped unconscious woman caved to temptation, lawyer argues
by Meghan Grant, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), July 18, 2019
A former medical student who raped an unconscious woman “availed himself of an opportunity” he could not resist due to the stress of “leading an exemplary life,” his lawyer has argued. No, that’s not how it works. Apparently the court didn’t think much of this argument either.
A former UK officer was convicted of rape on a Tinder date, but his victim says trauma is a ‘life sentence’
By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN, July 14, 2019
Katlin Hurley from Tennessee was studying nursing in Antigua when she met Lee Martin-Cramp, a British police officer online. After texting and flirting they met and went back to Hurleys apartment. Hurley drank drugged wine and doesn’t remember everything but she felt later that she was raped.
In a historic decision, the Antigua courts agreed and convicted Martin-Cramp for rape. Katlin Hurley’s dream was to become a missionary nurse but because of this experience will now be staying closer to home.
How many young girls are stopped as they take their first steps into the greater world. Let’s make the world safe for their dreams.
She Didn’t Act Like a Rape Victim
By Ryan Leigh Dostie, New York Times, July 22, 2019
Rape victims must yell, cry and fight, says the Army that trained us for years to be silent, strong and obedient.
This is a writer of merit. She ends her article with a powerful plea. She writes, “When we stay silent to protect ourselves, we perpetuate our own isolation. We are a sea of women, and yet we make islands out of each other. Something has got to break, and it shouldn’t be us anymore.