“The past year has seen a number of high-profile queer prison abuse cases in the U.S., particularly dealing with transgender women. In one of the extreme examples, the Colorado Department of Corrections has refused to house transgender inmate Lindsay Saunders-Velez with women even after she has been raped in custody twice. Her lawsuit is ongoing. In Illinois, 27-year-old Strawberry Hampton is also suing the Illinois Department of Corrections for the fourth time for a case that involves multiple sexual assault allegations, torment by guards and abuse so graphic and triggering it can’t be detailed in a news report. Officials in the case deny any wrongdoing. In March, transgender inmate Passion Star settled her case with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice over the department’s years of failure to protect her from rape and harm. Among the central demands of Tuesday’s national strike is an end to free and low-paid prison labor. But LGBTQ prison abolition organization Black & Pink Founder Jason Lydon says even low-paid jobs are often denied to queer and HIV-positive people on the inside because they face discrimination. “All of the oppression that exists outside of prison, exists inside but is magnified ten hundred times,” said Lydon. Compounding that is the fact that many LGBTQ people are isolated in solitary confinement when they can’t be safely placed with the general population. There, Lydon points out, queer people are denied the opportunity to seek jobs inside at all.”
Good info on the horrors faced by incarcerated trans women. Also watch out for Black & Pink who on the surface organize to protect black trans women but who in actuality use and abuse those very women they purport to prioritize:
The fact that sexual violence is often experienced along racism for many people of color is almost always completely glossed over in discussions about sexual assault and rape. It’s something that is mentioned when discussing sexual violence — everyone nods their head in agreement. During these conversations, most white people contribute to this head-nodding circle while looking at their shoelaces, heads down to avoid eye contact, because they don’t know what this means and are unable to admit it.
I think that most of the reason this topic gets so little attention in circles discussing sexual violence is because those circles are most often dominated by white experiences. Just mentioning that the experiences of people of color exist feels like enough to most white people in almost every sexual violence discussion I have been a part of.
However this is never enough, and it’s all we get.
Additionally, I have only ever heard this topic described using the “neutral” word racialized and I think this is also because of the strong presence of white supremacy and white domination in sexual violence awareness movements. But my experiences weren’t “racialized;” they were racist.
It’s time to start calling things as they are, regardless of how uncomfortable they make others.
not to sound like a conservative local pastor but eight year olds should not be playing, like, call of duty even offline
of course i dont think playing violent video game by itself is going to make a kid capable of and willing to commit murder because thats also dumb as shit but children shouldnt be exposed to the concepts of violence and death before they’re able to grasp the implications of it and what effect it can have on them and the way they view the world
“sex is something we dont talk about but violence is just fine” is such a dangerous combination of attitudes
to my fellow freshman girlies out there, go parties in groups, don’t walk alone late at night, and if you sense some shady shit going on don’t hesitate to interfere. trust your gut. people are getting sicker by the minute and nothing seems to be changing anytime soon.
PS: CHECK YOUR LOCAL LAWS REGARDING WEAPON PURCHASING
I’m not lying fuck men omfg
as a former RA, who has seen way too much of this shit, it is important to highlight that most of these assaults will not be someone grabbing you from behind a bush or something – a lot of the weapons used against you will be social convention and alcohol/drugs.
it will be at parties. surrounded by people, where you lose sight of a friend and you’re surrounded. it will be guys “making sure to bring you home” while you’re drunk. it’ll be “come on over and let’s watch a movie”, it’ll be so many insidious things.
please always push back from any pressure or challenge to your boundaries. GET LOUD. your physical and mental health is SO much more important than how “cool” you seem. make a fuss, and it might make things awkward, but it’ll be so much better than the alternative. i’ve had so many of my residents come back for the night, so regretful about staying silent while a guy felt her up because she didn’t want to rock the boat or “ruin the mood” of the party. DO IT.
keep a friend, a trusted friend, preferably a girl, and use the goddamn buddy system.do not let your buddy out of sight. keep together at all times, and not just at parties – even at casual outings. new roommate? talk to them about how you want to stick together and make sure nothing happens.
do not go anywhere alone for the first month (this is also just a good practice to meet new people and find new friends lol). go to campus-run events, which are usually more tame and supervised (and still fun!).
know the red flags, and always be cautious of going alone with any man – ESPECIALLY if they’re older. that includes going to parties, movies, even out to lunch.
i don’t want to scare people at all, i really want you to be safe. know that there are campus resources if things do happen, but when it comes down to it, CALL THE POLICE. campus police and counselors can help you deal with trauma and change your classes so you’re away from your assailant, but they’re ultimately working for the university that doesn’t want to report assaults. grab a friend to stay with you to support you – hell, if you live in a residence hall, most RAs have been trained with crisis counseling and will stick with you to the end, and CALL THE POLICE.
pepper spray is a good start, but half the battle is knowing the warning signs and sticking together, and never being afraid to fight back.
also like… start checking your guy friends who do this type of shit and not just when it’s a girl you personally care about
Find older female students and ask abt which frats have reputations and avoid those like the plague. They will all have a degree of danger because fuck frats, but if you feel you absolutely must go to a frat party, make sure you know their reputations first. And *use the buddy system.* Please. Find someone you can trust and if you don’t have that person yet in your life, then quite frankly, it might be better to just wait for the next party.
A woman filed a lawsuit claiming that when she was thirteen years old she was held as a sex slave to Mr. Trump and his friend Jeffrey Epstein. The woman claimed to have a witness, “Tiffany Doe,” to the incidents. Mr. Epstein is a notorious “billionaire pedophile” who is now a Level 3 registered sex offender – the most dangerous kind, “a threat to public safety” — after being convicted of misconduct with another underage girl.
Mr. Trump has a long history of debasing women he’s worked with, crossing the line on a regular basis. He’s taken lifelong joy in objectifying women, including his proclamation: “Women, you have to treat ‘em like shit.”
PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN BANGLADESH RIGHT NOW
On July 29, a bus plowed through a group of students, killing two of them and injuring seven. In response to the utter uselessness of road safety laws, the nonexistent vetting of bus drivers to make sure they’re qualified to be on the road, and the lackluster pace of justice for the slain, students all over Dhaka descended on the streets to protest through this entire week. The response by authorities has been to attack them and do everything to suppress them. The student wing of the current ruling party, the aforementioned Chhatro League, has been involved in attacks against protesters as well.
International media is almost entirely unaware of this. Videos and posts about the protests are apparently being taken off of social media, with accusations that people on Facebook have been slandering the prime minister. Things are getting more and more serious every day.
In a report looking at global LGBT+ issues published earlier this month, the United Nations described the rates of sexual violence against bi women as “shocking”, and bi women as “especially at risk” of sexual violence. In several countries, including the UK, the US and Canada, studies have shown that bi women are the most vulnerable to rape, sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking.
In the UK, studies have found that bisexual women are five times more likely than heterosexual women to be abused by a partner. In one study, 10.8 per cent of bi women reported having been abused, compared to 8.2 per cent of lesbians and 6 per cent of straight women.
Pennsylvania-based intimate partner violence researcher, Dr Nicole Johnson, estimates that up to75 per cent of bisexual women have been raped or sexually assaulted. She has identified three categories of vulnerability that leave bi women at higher risk of sexual violence: substance misuse, hypersexualisation and biphobic harassment.
ForLoveFromFear 