stories of VAW

here are some stories of VAW i found on the net.

Man jailed over grandmother's rape

Posted Mon Feb 27, 2006 2:49pm AEDT
Updated Mon Feb 27, 2006 2:50pm AEDT

A 23-year-old man has been jailed for five and a half years for breaking into a Woodville Gardens house in Adelaide and raping a woman as she slept alongside her sick grandchild.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/02/27/1579339.htm

Man arrested for brutal rape, beating

(08/27/08)-- A Kentucky grandmother is in critical condition after a savage attack left her fighting for her life.

The victim says she was attacked by a neighbor while her granddaughter was nearby.

Friends and neighbors of the woman are stunned after she was found beaten, stabbed and raped.

Neighbor Larry Frame found her. "Her throat was cut from here to here. She had wounds across her chest and stomach and different areas. She was brutalized and left to die."

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/national_world&id=6353931

Uncle charged with rape

Cebu Daily News
First Posted 14:32:00 10/27/2008
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Rape charges were filed in court against a man who allegedly molested his seven-year-old niece several times in March.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/metro/view/20081027-168712/Uncle-charged-with-rape

This one sucks! Perpetrators will give any reason/alibis for their acts of violence.

Report: Grandson rapes 60-year-old 'Marian Rivera'

10/18/2008 | 09:54 AM

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MANILA, Philippines — A 17-year-old boy in the eastern Philippines raped his 60-year-old grandmother who he mistook for one of the hottest Filipino actress, a radio report said on Saturday.

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/127822/Report-Grandson-rapes-60-year-old-Marian-Rivera

violence against women

violence against women. it comes in many forms. but one thing i'd like to talk about now is the tendency of people-men and women alike- to pin the blame on the victims rather than the perpetrators.

once such incident is when a co-worker almost got harassed (and what else might have happened if she was not quick enough to think of something to get out of the situation), and another co-worker asked what she's wearing. he even quipped that the victim (or rather survivor) may be wearing that skinny jeans. and when he saw that she was, another comment - so there, he says. (kaya pala!).

that started a heated argument. between me and that co-worker. i can't help it. i can never keep my mouth shut on issues like that.

after the heated argument that did not go anywhere, i searched the net for sites that would back up my claim - that no matter what a person wears, its not a reason for others to commit harassment or violence. there was a site that did a survey. in that survey, men and women alike said that they think clothes were a factor in the commitment of the act of violence. i was shocked and disheartened. of course the survey only proved that there's still that thinking that women invited VAW. and why not? i often heard that the clothes are reason for attacks. not true in my sister's case (and mine too). my sister observed that she was more often harassed when in jeans and shirt. i, on the other hand, don't dress provocatively. i prefer jeans and shirt. and i still get harassed. one time, i was even wearing a long sleeved blouse that hid everything when on old man harassed me.

and i did another search that yielded something more concrete or should i say objective, than just perception of people on who's to blame. it was on google answers:

• convicted rapists don't remember what their victims were wearing (http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/776945.html#answer)

• victims are chosen on account of their vulnerability and not because they are sexually provocative (read: dressed sexily) (Wichita State University http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=police&p=/sexual_assault/)

statistically speaking, rape and other forms of violence against women happen to all walks of life and at any age. haven't we heard of babies and grandparents being raped? could we possibly say that those babies and grandmothers were wearing provocative clothes that invited the assault?

i might say that the way one dresses indeed catches attention. but appreciating and assault are two different things.

i don't have the statistics on what the women were wearing when they were sexually assaulted. but do i have to? are perpetrators of violence not responsible for their own actions? they should be. we are all responsible for our own actions. so why not rapists and harassers?

Lola

For once, I would like to see a heroine who kicks ass. Not someone who’s world revolves around some man.

So when Facundo says goodbye to a budding relationship with Lola, I felt relieved instead of sad. Why? Now Lola can focus on being a career woman in a male-dominated company that is Distilleria Lobregat.

Lola who? Facundo who? They're the characters to the newest television series. And I'm not about to give a blow by blow account of the series...

Back to my musings...and I envisioned a Lola, walking tall, confident, intelligent and witty. Making it in a world of men. Kicking Gaston’s ass, outdoing, outsmarting and outthinking Gaston. And still look pretty and stunning. Gaston by the way is the antagonist.

Ah…but I had my hopes high too soon. In the following scene, Lola is seen lost. Just like an infatuated high school girl. She handed a report to Facundo, Facundo asked her how she was. She says she’s okay. But returns to her work station crying her heart out. I don’t know. Maybe that is how women react to heartbreaks. Maybe that was how I reacted when I got my heart broken too. But of course I can’t see myself.

I can emphatize with the feeling lost, and have bouts of crying spells with or without any trigger - or visible triggers. But gosh, can't she hold it in and wait until she comes home to cry her eyes out? And besides, she's got one of the bestest gay friend there is - Manolo. Someone who gives a man's perspective and yet understand what a woman is going through.

What I'm saying is...yes, women still has a long way to go despite of all the breakthroughs since women were allowed to vote. And admittedly, stereotypes still exists. But I'd like to see some inspiration here. You know, someone to look up to. I know, I suck.