Month: September 2018

Police demands for potential rape victims’ data spark privacy fears

rapeculturerealities:

Police are demanding almost unfettered access to highly personal records and data from potential rape victims before pressing ahead with their cases, the Guardian can reveal.

In some areas, complainants are being asked to disclose health, school and college records, counselling notes and all data from their electronic devices, documents obtained under freedom of information requests show.

In London, the Metropolitan police request access to social media, web browsing activity and content, instant messages, location data, emails, deleted data, images, videos, audio files, apps, contacts, documents, MMS and SMS messages – which can be kept for up to 100 years. The information provided can then be disclosed to the Crown Prosecution Service and the defence.

But in other parts of the UK no such information is required from complainants. The postcode lottery revealed by the documents has raised fears among campaigners that victims will be put off going to the police by the intrusion into their lives.

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Police demands for potential rape victims’ data spark privacy fears

New Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick details parties where girls allegedly were drugged and raped

rapeculturerealities:

A third accuser of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh publicly identified herself Wednesday and alleged that Kavanaugh and others in the early 1980s spiked the drinks of girls at high school parties with intoxicants to make it easier for them to be gang raped.

The woman, Julie Swetnick, said Kavanaugh lined up with other boys, including his close friend Mark Judge, waiting to rape those girls at many parties — and that she once became a victim herself.

The allegations were detailed in an affidavit, signed under penalty of perjury, that was released by Swetnick’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti. Her statement was sent to a senior staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Swetnick’s stunning claims came on the eve of scheduled testimony at that committee by Kavanaugh, 53, and Christine Blasey Ford, who has said he “physically and sexually assaulted me” in the early 1980s.

The now-51-year-old research psychologist Ford claims Kavanaugh held her down on a bed when she was 15, groped her and tried to pull off her clothes asJudge watched. Republicans who hold the majority on the committee have refused to subpoena Judge to testify despite calls to do so from Democrats, Ford’s lawyers and Avenatti.

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New Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick details parties where girls allegedly were drugged and raped

1,600 Men Signed an Ad in Today’s NYT Supporting Dr. Blasey Ford and Honoring Anita Hill

rapeculturerealities:

On Nov. 17, 1991, a full-page ad in The New York Times featured the names of 1,600 black women who were passionately opposed to Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and expressed their support of Anita Hill, who the women felt had been “maligned and castigated for daring to speak publicly of her own experience of sexual abuse.”

Today, as similar debate rages around the potential confirmation of Donald Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court amid allegations of sexual assault and lewd behavior in Kavanaugh’s past, a nearly identical ad has appeared in the same newspaper—this time featuring the names of 1,600 men who support Kavanaugh’s primary accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

Crowdfunded through more than $134,000 contributed by nearly 3,000 donors,the ad was organized by several organizations and companies, including Godfrey Dadich Partners, which designed the ad, and ColorBox Industries, which created the digital assets.

“For generations, men have taught boys to disrespect girls,” says W. Kamau Bell, a signer of the ad and host of
CNN’s United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell. “Worst of all, boys have been taught that it’s ‘manly’ to disrespect women. Then those boys grow up and teach the next generation the same thing, and the cycle continues. Right now, men who know that is a toxic environment for all have to speak up, believe women, and break the cycle.”

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1,600 Men Signed an Ad in Today’s NYT Supporting Dr. Blasey Ford and Honoring Anita Hill

fierceawakening:

lenyberry:

fierceawakening:

So I just saw a “she’s trying to ruin his life, based on when she came forward” post on my dash

And

Dude

If my abuser was about to receive some massive promotion and become, like, one of the council of pediatric physical therapists who set policy for the people on the ground

And I came forward and said “that’s her. I can’t let her ascend to Official Expert without saying something”

Would y’all support me or would you make memes about me

Right? 

Like, I didn’t report the guy who sexually abused me as a young teen for various reasons which I still hold were, at the time, rational ones. The statute of limitations is long since expired by now, so there’s little point in reporting it TODAY as nothing would come of doing so. He would not do any jail time. 

However if he were suddenly about to be A Very Important Person with a lot of influence over a lot of people’s lives? Yeah, that would be a good time to bring it up like “hey maybe reconsider if this is the kind of person you want in that job”. 

It’s not “ruining someone’s life” to say “hey maybe they’re not qualified for this particular, very prestigious and important, job that we all agree only the very best of exemplary individuals should get to have, because they did this in the past”. I think MOST people are probably not “the very best of exemplary individuals” and maybe aren’t qualified to be, you know, Supreme Court Justices! I don’t even think that saying that really even qualifies as an insult, tbh. That’s like saying “you’re not as good a tennis player as Serena Williams”.

Some kinds of things should just disqualify you from certain jobs. And while I agree that people should be allowed to change and not have all their past mistakes constantly held over their heads everywhere they go, even if they did something truly awful… I’m not convinced it’s wrong to decide “some mistakes will close some doors for you forever if you make them”. And we already do that! We already don’t allow anyone who’s ever been convicted of a felony to run for President (even if it was a victimless crime like “being caught in possession of a little bit of heroin that the person presumably planned to use themself”)… so…

This.

A person can not want to get involved but feel a duty to do so when their abuser is poised to gain more power. I don’t get why that’s weird.

Could Dr. Ford be lying and Resisters be piling on with more lies? Possibly. But when a lot of people say very similar things, it’s often “hey wait, I experienced that too.”

onecodewolf:

Hey

There’s a gofundme for the funeral services that are happening on Saturday.

For those of you who don’t know, a young man who I considered a brother took his own life this past Saturday after struggling with terrible depression. The family is struggling to afford everything, so if any of you could donate, or signal boost, I would really really appreciate it.

His death was sudden and very tragic, he was only 19 years old and was deeply troubled. I love him very much. I would really appreciate if y’all could at least signal boost it.

Here’s the link https://www.gofundme.com/2n9gd-tyler-flaherty

Click here to support Tyler McGrath organized by Kim Blanchette

dragonsrequiem:

geekandmisandry:

imnottechsupport:

geekandmisandry:

cumbler-tumbler:

unified-multiversal-theory:

tubaterry:

https://twitter.com/CriminelleLaw/status/1037511306906099712

Reminds me of my mom getting remarried several years ago, for about a weekend – dude waited until after the wedding to tell her he expected her at waiting at home with dinner waiting when he finished work.

I dunno, like I get that this version of manhood is “normal” but goddamn is it the most brittle, contemptable fuckin thing

This is NOT these women’s fault in any way – these men hide their misogyny until they think you’re hooked. They know what they are doing.

These women are wise and brave. I admire them so much!

Not even touching the fact that he thinks teachers and nurses are lesser…he wants her to be less so that he can be more.

Am i the only one that thinks they could have come back from this? Like please tell me this was just the straw that broke the camels back and not a one off event. He must be an at least somewhat respectable person if she managed to stay with him up til that point. Him feeling lesser is a taught facet of his life pushed upon him by the patriarchy. It obviously damaged the way he viewed his gf, and his relationship, but that doesnt mean it cant be untaught. And of course its not this womans responsibility to be his teacher, but i hope she at least made him aware that this is what happened and why she left…

Literally how can you come back from someone wanting to have more power over you?

He’s not a little kid, he’s a grown ass man and if he hasn’t learned that 1. Teachers and nurses are smart as fuck and 2. That women aren’t and shouldn’t be lesser to him then when the hell is he going to learn from that?

Why does it need to be a final straw? Signs that someone is this fucked up are logs, not straws. And being a “respectable” person is easy when you’re lying about who you are and what you think.

These guys waited until they thought their women couldn’t possibly exist without them and then tried to shut down the things that made them special. Being nurses. Public defenders. Teachers.

These men pointed out what they were so proud of… how hard they worked… and tried suggesting that they stop. Tried making them feel bad about it. This is a common pathway into emotional and psychological abuse.

It was designed to make them feel bad and give it up. The next step would have been “what else can I take away”. Those situations where the woman’s confidence is shattered and it takes her years to get free of the asshole… 9/10 started with comments like this.

Please understand that this wasn’t an off the cuff thing. This was something he’s been thinking for a while, but waited to say til he thought he could make her change to suit him.