And some people question the conventional wisdom that says many, many rape cases go unreported in the US and other countries each year because women are afraid and/or ashamed to come forward.
Look at the quote below, and you'll see why conventional wisdom is right: because a woman can't trust that anyone will treat her with an ounce of humanity after being raped:
Why would he want to rape her? She doesn't look like a day at the beach.
Any ideas who said it? Nope, it's not the defense attorney making a sleazy attempt to exonerate his client.
It's the judge presiding over the rape case. He made that comment after looking at a photograph of the battered victim, shortly before the defendant pleaded guilty to the crime.
Yep. The judge. Circuit Judge Gene Stephenson of Florida, who should now be removed from the bench permanently, after showing that he is not only a misogynistic and callous man, but also a judge who understands NOT one thing about what rape is and isn't and who is therefore fundamentally incapable of ever presiding over a rape case again.
Obviously, it's time for the judge to hang his robes up and his head down in shame. And if he doesn't go voluntarily, he should be given a retirement package he can't refuse: step down or lose your state taxpayer-funded pension.
But there's also a larger problem. The judge articulated very succinctly several fears women have about the way some men view rape. That a) rape is about sex, rather than power and violence, b) women will always be judged by our physical appearance, even after being raped and beaten, c) rape is understandable when the victim is attractive, d) there must be a reason he raped her [a.k.a, she deserved it], and e) a rape victim is "dirty" and therefore deserving of derision and humiliation.
By reinforcing these fears from the supposedly lofty heights of the bench, this judge has made it even more difficult for rape victims to report the crimes against them. It's bad enough to first be raped and then be interrogated by police, prosecutors, and defense attorneys, all of whom are "just doing their jobs".
But it's another level of horror to sit in court and have a judge, a MAN, measure your rape-worthiness.
Article comments
1 - Jim S
disgusting.
To take it a step further, if the son-of-a-bitch can't remember saying what he said, he shouldn't be presiding over anything, much less a circuit court.
2 - bhw
It's such an out-of-bounds thing to say, it makes you wonder if he's been slipping for a while and finally crossed a huge line. Wonder if they'll learn he's really needed to step down for a while for other reasons besides his attitude toward rape cases.
3 - Eric Olsen
Truly shocking and amazing - it shows that no matter how much things may have changed on the surface, you don't have to scratch too deeply to get to some truly despicable attitudes toward women.