US Senate hearing on rape in the US webcast today (14.9.)

[Nessus]

“Rape in the United States: The Chronic Failure to Report and Investigate Rape Cases”


Senate Judiciary Committee
Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs

NOTICE OF SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, has scheduled a hearing entitled "Rape in the United States: The Chronic Failure to Report and Investigate Rape Cases" for Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 2:15 p.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Chairman Specter to preside.
By order of the Chairman.
Witness List

Hearing before the
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs

On
"Rape in the United States: The Chronic Failure to Report and Investigate Rape Cases"


Panel I

The Honorable Susan B. Carbon
Director
Office of Violence Against Women
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Panel II

Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey
Philadelphia Police Department
Philadelphia, PA

Sara R. Reedy
Butler, PA

Carol E. Tracy
Women's Law Project
Philadelphia, PA

Julie Weil
Jupiter, FL

Scott Berkowitz
President & Founder,
Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network
Washington, DC


Panel III
Lawanda Ravoira
Director
NCCD Center for Girls and Young Women
Jacksonville, FL

Dean G. Kilpatrick, Ph.D.
Distinguished University Professor
Vice-Chair for Education, Department of Psychiatry
Director, National Crime Victims Research
& Treatment Center,
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC

Eleanor Smeal
Feminist Majority Foundation
Arlington, VA

Michelle Madden Dempsey
Associate Professor of Law
Villanova University School of Law
Villanova, PA

To be heard is Sara Reedy, who was incarcerated for reporting her rape. Also on the witness list is Carol Tracy from the WLP (PDF on Philly findings) which has underlined several times the lack of response to reports of rape, mis-labelling rapes and sexual assaults, etc.

So, rape in America! For, against? Opinions, anecdotes? Can the gummint do anything to realistically reduce rapes?

[Dreadnaught]

Philadelphia Police Department
Sara R. Reedy - Butler, PA
Carol E. Tracy -Women's Law Project, Philadelphia, PA
Michelle Madden Dempsey- Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, PA



I can't help but notice the proportion of panelists and witnesses who are from the state of Pennsylvania, with a focus on folks from Philadelphia. I've mentioned before how I think that particular state/city is broken and dysfunctional in many ways.

Just this week the capital city of Pennsylvania came close to defaulting on a bond payment. There's been a low-level drug war in North Philly for the past few years and it's the only US city that dropped a bomb on a habituated residential block.

Are rapes under-reported in general? Yeah, we've all seen data that suggests not every rape is reported. And this is generally bad. Though I think two issues are at tension with each other:

1) The fact that some proportion of rape is a grey line- Anecdote: Group of friends at college after I left. Girl hooks up with a guy in the group and later claims he forced her into sex. All the friends in the group have to heart-wrenchingly side with the guy, as the girl talked to others about how much she wanted to sleep with him for weeks right up to the night she actually did.

For all we know, she regretted it right before they had sex. But then again she could have right after. Society and the law distinguishes between post- and pre-sex regret, but this situation was clearly very much on the line. The girl's friends couldn't watch her ruin a guy's life because her views may have changed while straddling this line (no pun intended).

2) Rape is a violent crime and a psychological crime- An event happened, but it may not have been wanted. It's difficult for the law to distinguish things like "want" and "consent" in intimate situations. And it can be difficult to prove such situations happened without relying on hearsay (EG Amerikan Duke University Lacrosse Case).

Actually those are the same issue. But addressing them in the law is hard. Okay, this is disjointed and I need to get to work so I'll leave it thar...

[Lewkowski]

So, rape in America! For, against? Opinions, anecdotes? Can the gummint do anything to realistically reduce rapes?

Sure. When the evidence is iron clad, shoot the SOB.

[Nessus]

Sure. When the evidence is iron clad, shoot the SOB.

You say that about everybody, though.

[Dreadnaught]

Sure. When the evidence is iron clad, shoot the SOB.

It's rape. The evidence is often not iron clad.

[']['ear]

Just this week the capital city of Pennsylvania came close to defaulting on a bond payment. There's been a low-level drug war in North Philly for the past few years and it's the only US city that on a habituated block.

Heh. Never heard of blocks doing this.

[Dreadnaught]

I questioned the spellcheck when it suggested that, should have not taken the suggestion. Damn morning-after-night-of-headcold posts...