There are many horror stories about sexual abuse, especially when it comes to child sexual abuse. However, very few of these stories hold the victim partially responsible for the horrific act, until now. The New York Times article (link above) about the gang rape in Cleveland, Texas, not only lacks focus on the victim, but also partially blames her for getting raped. It is an example of how sexism is still rampant in our society, even occurring against girls as old as 11.
In Cleveland a young 11 year old was reportedly gang raped by at least 18 men ranging from the ages of middle schoolers to 27 year olds. It was reported that the girl was raped after she accepted a ride from a 19 year old boy, who took her to a house. She was ordered to undress and threatened with physical abuse if she did not comply. She was raped in that house until a relative came home; when the men jumped out the back window, then took her to an abandoned trailer, where videos and pictures were taken of her being sexually assaulted. The videos were made “viral” and many saw them, leading to the mens’ arrest. Her school found out about this through a student telling the teacher of the video he had seen. Once her school found out they questioned the victim, only to find out she had in fact been raped, and turned the case over to the police. So far up to 18 men have been arrested for raping this young girl.
Now this is story is disturbing with just the facts alone. However, with the addition to the New York Times article describing the incident, the story becomes all the more enraging and awful. The article went so far as to suggest that this 11 year old girl “was asking for it” because of the way she dressed and looked. Residents say “she looked older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20’s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground”, implying that she acted older than her age too. Others placed blame on her mother for not taking better care of her daughter. Some were quoted saying, “‘Where was her mother? What was her mother thinking?’”. Instead of showing a main concern for the victim, the article focuses on the men who committed the crime. The article clearly lacks emphasis on the girl. The entire article seems to be focused on how the men were driven to commit such a crime. And even includes comments from residents saying, “These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives” as if the men were the ones who went through tramatic sexual abuse. At the end, the article does not even say anything about the girl’s health, just that she has transferred to another district. What astonished me even further was that the article also went into full detail of the trailer’s contents and interior decorating. Why does the interior of the trailer deserve a full paragraph and the victim doesn’t?
This article outraged me. To think that an 11 year old girl was brutally raped by more than 18 men, and then partially blamed because of the way she dressed shows how twisted our society is becoming. No matter how scandalously dressed this young girl was, her clothing does not represent the desire to be sexually assaulted. Thousands of girls are dressing more and more provocatively each day, but do not desire to be sexually assaulted. Even girls as young as one or two are competing in beauty pageants and are wearing mass amounts of makeup. There are even television shows following these pageants, an example of which is “Toddlers and Tiaras” aired on TLC. These toddlers are dolled up to the point of looking like life-size dolls and are paraded around in front of hundreds in bikinis, fluffy dresses and other costumes. Yet, there are no accusations of these toddlers dressing to provocatively or seemingly “asking for it”. And these “toddlers in tiaras” are definitely dressing older than they are. For example this photo of a young girl looks like she is under 6 years old, but is wearing more makeup and hairspray than any 20 year old I have ever seen.
(http://ameliaalisoun.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/pre-teen-beauty-pageant.jpg) If she got raped would they blame her appearance too? Would this 5 or 6 year old be “asking for it”?
It is a slap in the face and lack of respect to sexual abuse victims all over the world. To think that someone who is a victim of a rape could be accused for “asking for it”. In another report, the victim’s mother is quoted defending her daughter. She states, “These guys knew she was in middle school…You could tell whenever you talked to her. She still loves stuffed teddy bears” (http://www.nydailynews.com/
This New York Times article shows how sexism still occurs in modern society. Not only is a man writing this article, he focuses the entire article on the men involved in the story. Once again, the male’s perspective and actions are more important than the woman’s, or in this case, the victim’s. It scares me to think that sexism is still so prevalent in society that it would appear in reports about an 11 year old rape victim. What will this mean for our society and for future rape victims? If this young girl, who could have possibly been dressed more maturely and provocatively than other 11 year olds, was being accused of provoking her rape; what would a club going 21 year old rape victim be accused of. Begging for it? Yes women do have to be aware and careful of what they wear and how they portray themselves, but how a woman is dressed is no excuse to rape her. This article shows how even today women’s fashion and dress can be twisted and pinned against them by men, when at the same time, society and media are pushing women to dress “sexier” and exploit their feminine side- a dangerous catch 22.
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