Just Say No to Rape and Violence Against Women!!
Print this poster to display in men's rooms of your school!
Right click and then print (choose landscape).
RAPE
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. [The Delta Chi Rape Allegation]
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 University 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
Toni Van Pelt President
FL National Organization for Women, Inc.
vanpelt@mindspring.com