Re: Bad idea: Punishing false accusers

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Andre Lieven) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> Kate Orman ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) writes:
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] (RCB) wrote in message news:<611e5148.0311261918.
> > 
> >> Just to give a clear example of societies disregard for mens humanity,
> >> when there was a poll done asking if people cared about men being
> >> raped in prison. About 50% of people said men deserve to be raped in
> >> prison as more punishment for their crimes.

> > I'd like to see a citation for that - but sadly, I find it easy to 
> > believe. I think it says more about the way people view criminals, 
> > rather than men in general - as though they're not actually human, 
 
> You'd have a point IF this attitude held true with regard to *woman
> prisoners*.

Many women prisoners in the US are raped, sexually assaulted, 
sexually humiliated, and mistreated by male prison guards. Women 
in labour are kept shackled, even if they have no history of violence 
or escape attempts. I'll bet the public *would* be a bit more 
squeamish if asked if they approved of this, because there's still 
this perception that male rape is somehow amusing - humiliating 
and feminising, rather than traumatic and potentially life-theatening.
Although many people still believe rape is no big deal, the public
has started to get it through its collective skull that rape can 
physically and psychologically severely harm women ; it's time 
they understood that the same is true when the victim is a man.  
(When hapless male characters on TV and in films stop havings 
things oh-so-hilariously inserted into their bottoms, we'll know the
message is starting to get through.)

Some light reading:

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/prison/

http://www.amnesty.ca/library/1999/3amr5119.htm

Yours,
- Kate Orman