Rape Crisis Movement
The Rape Crisis Movement (German: anti-rape movement ) began in the 1970s, began as a leftist activists and members of the counterculture, the issue of rape to address public and to break the silence about it. Members and advocates of the movement brought the issue into the public eye by portraying the suffering resulting from rape. At the time, the movement was classified as radical because it shook existing social norms. The movement dealt with the experiences of women and the legitimation of the victims' demands is ascribed to the movement. Prior to the movement, rape victims were reported to and treated unfairly by defense lawyers and the judicial system. As a result of the movement, the rights and protection of victims became the focus of the movement.
history
Before the 1970s, rape was used to control and undermine women. In times of slavery, white men were legally allowed to rape enslaved African-American women. Even after slavery ended, sexual violence was a current method of preventing the African-American population from gaining civil rights and political power.
After the civil war ended and the slaves were freed with the right to vote and own land, society began to be particularly violent. Packs set fire to churches, raped black women, and more. This behavior was followed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1866, which raped, lynched and oppressed black communities.
During the Memphis uprising in 1866, a group of African-American women broke the silence about rape by testifying in court.
In the early 1970s, the anti-rape movement was introduced and promoted by women, incorporating the experiences of rape victims. Left-wing activists and members of the counterculture sub-group were among the first to support this movement . The first goals of the movement included ending and changing social norms that promote the oppression of women and violence against them, as well as the introduction of a support network that creates a fear-free and guilt-free environment where women are safe and a process of self-help and mutual help is made possible.
In 1974 the federal government approved financial support for the Pittsburg Action Against Rape . This was the first time the federal government made funding available to a rape center. In the late 1970s, there were over 1,000 rape crisis centers operating in the United States. At the same time, the movement's ideology was changing. Before 1940, most members of the movement identified themselves as radical feminists . At the end of the 1970s, most members and crisis workers described themselves as liberal Reformed. In the early 1980s, the movement was professionalized in terms of its organizational structure, employees, funding and laws.
Laws
Changes : Many states reformed their laws to redefine the consequences of rape convictions. The new penalty was a gradation of offenses, whereas in the past it was treated as a criminal offense and not differentiated. Above all, special laws and requirements were repealed to give women more authority in their judicial proceedings. The first rule repealed was the requirement that a victim's testimony must be verified by a witness . It was also canceled that the victim must have defended himself against the attacker. This change especially protected women with disabilities because they may not have the ability to hold off an attacker.
Laws to Protect Rape Victims : The enactment of the laws also helped protect other rape victims during the trial. These laws were put in place to prevent the victim's sexual history from being used against him / her in court. Formerly, claiming that the victim was promiscuous and therefore that sexual intercourse must have been consensual could discredit the victim's claims .
Individual evidence
- ^ Nancy Matthews: Confronting Rape: The Feminist Anti-Rape Movement and the State . Routledge, London and New York 1994, ISBN 0-415-11401-2 .
- ^ History of the Rape Crisis Movement . November 2, 2009.
- ↑ Barbara Collins, Mary Whalen: The Rape Crisis Movement: Radical or Reformist? . In: Social Work . 34, No. 1, Jan 1989.
- ↑ Frohmann, Lisa, and Elizabeth Mertz. "Legal Reform and Social Construction: Violence, Gender, and the Law." Law & Social Inquiry 19.4 (1994): 829-851.