A Premier in Pretty Colors for Dumb Politician
About a week ago, I was gifted with a link to a study published in 2010 called Giving Birth to a “Rapist’s Child”: A Discussion and Analysis of the Limited Legal Protections Afforded to Women Who Become Mothers Through Rape by Shauna R. Prewitt.
Thank you, Paula for sending me the link!
Considering the recent discussions in the media regarding “forcible rape” and “legitimate rape“, not to mention how all this Republican ideology feed into adoption issues, I read the report with great interest, a bit of horror, and found it to be very interesting overall. I do recommend a nice sit down and for all to read the study themselves. You can find it here.
Unwelcome Advances and Blaming The Women
Now, I have never been raped nor sexual assaulted or had anything horrible like that done to me. Maybe I got away lucky with only the relinquishment deal? I don’t know since I have nothing to compare to.
The closest thing I have to relate to was a silly situation that happened when I first moved to the Hudson Valley area. Being naive and friendly, my friend Vicki and I were hanging out with this guy we just met in my just-signed-a-lease-for-so-totally-empty-apartment. After a bit, he made a move and tried to make out with me. I rejected him, but felt… I don’t know…guilty or something equally stupid. Like I had done something, which I hadn’t, to make him feel like the advances were invited.
After being told NO once, he tried again and again, feeling like *I* had done something wrong, I said no.
I was really lucky that Vicki was there or I do think something bad could have happened. Vicki, who was ever to sweet and meek, stood up and ordered this guy to leave, “I think you need to go NOW”. And she repeated that until, indeed, he did go.
I don’t even know if that could be considered a “close call”, but what it did teach me was how very easy it is for women to internalize the blame for that kind of thing. I felt that, immediately, that his advances were my fault. Logically, I knew they weren’t, but the FEELINGS were very much there. I don’t even know where they came from, but given the situation, they surfaced.
Rape by Numbers; an Infograph of Truth
As always, please feel free to copy and share away, just hit me with a link back please.
Persons Conceived from Rape
Like many involved in adoption, the idea of a “person conceived from rape” isn’t a blanket statement made about “those people”; rather, I actually know more than a few people whom I am lucky enough to call my friends. As I really try very hard to make it my practice NOT to speak for others, if you haven’t already, make sure you pop over to The Declassified Adoptee and read what Amanda says so very well regarding this issue. There is also a post over at Lost Daughters about the same subject “Conceived in Rape”
Bottom line, conception and pregnancy resulting from rape happens much more often than the Right to Life strong arm would like us to believe. What I learned is how a mother’s love can transform an act of violence and love beyond that so abortion doesn’t have to be the answer in the case of rape and shouldn’t be assumed to be the solution.
