Mayday, Mayday, Total System Failure!

Our recent discussions about consent have brought up some serious issues and stimulated important analysis. I found these discussions addressing the topic to be productive and useful, however, I also found myself to be in a consistent state of frustration and disappointment. I understand that my feminist education has been a significant influence in my life and has impacted the way I think about things but I feel like you shouldn’t have to take a women’s studies course to know that it’s not right to sexually assault someone. I acknowledge that sexual assault is not always straight forward; that it can be confusing and complicated, but I still struggle with the ridiculously high prevalence of consent/rape myths and victim-blaming attitudes and tendencies. Although consent is obvious to me, I can see how it is misrepresented, disregarded and deemed irrelevant in various avenues of society. Emily already mentioned an example of this in her blog about the ‘Pick-Up Artist’ community, analyzing its disturbingly problematic implications. Another example is the “she wants the d” hashtag (‘d’ referring to dick), made popular through social media sites like twitter and instagram. This is a prime example of how a woman’s “silence and ambiguous conduct” is interpreted as “implied consent” (Gotell, 2010). Of course, there is “no defence of ‘implied consent’ in Canadian law” and the “defence of mistaken belief is not available when tainted by recklessness or willful blindness” as the attitudes around the saying clearly are, leading us to hope that the “she wanted it” defence would be inadmissible in Canadian law (gotell, 2010, p. 215). Despite the legalities, this trend still disseminates a harmful message about consent. Even though it may be used in a purely ‘comedic’ manner (personally, I feel there is nothing comedic surrounding the topic of sexual assault/objectification) and may not necessarily lead to sexual assault, it disregards consent and devalues women’s sexual autonomy and agency. With trends like these that are so prevalent in popular culture, it seems clear to me that there needs to be a widespread systemic change in the way we address sexual assault.

            This change extends to police investigations and attitudes regarding sexual assault cases. As made clear by this week's readings, there are many problems with wrongfully unfounded cases and the stereotypes, rape myths and victim-blaming constructs that contribute to them. I am doing my CSL placement at kindred house, a harm reduction center for women and transwomen involved in the sex trade, and am starting to comprehend just how damaging interactions with police and the legal system can be. The Hattem (2013) article explains how sexual assault survivors’ “experiences with the police and within the courts tend to make them feel like they are being dehumanized, blamed, and disbelieved” (p.1). When trying to report rape to police officers, women at kindred on multiple occasions have been met with the upsetting response that they couldn’t have been raped because they’re prostitutes. I believe this not only makes them feel like they’re being dehumanized, blamed and disbelieved but also contributes to the internalization of blame and responsibility. Women at kindred have actually said that they “deserved it” making excuses like how they “shouldn’t have been working that night”, etc. This is wrong. Everybody, especially vulnerable populations and not just the “good” or “real” victim, should be protected and not disregarded. Dubois (2012) discusses how “women who experience negative reactions after reporting a sexual assault and whose cases are not pursued in the justice system have been found to suffer more severe symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder and depression” reinforcing the importance of appropriate, responsible and empathetic action to women in a marginalized group who already face an array of complex and often traumatic issues such as addiction, homelessness and the violence that can accompany inner-city street life. There are detrimental effects to women who are met with such a lack of compassion and action and I now see why there are such low report rates for sexual assault. It is crucial that there are significant changes in the way the police and legal system approach sexual assault cases and until these changes happen, I’m sad to say that I have little faith in an institution that I had previously considered a key defender of my safety.