Friday, October 10, 2008

Rape

You may be familiar with this:-

New Poll finds that almost half of Northern Ireland Students Believe that a Woman is Partially or Totally Responsible for Being Raped if She Flirts

Posted: 30 September 2008

New campaign to target student unions

A new poll shows that almost half (46%) of Northern Ireland university students believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she has behaved in a flirtatious manner, revealed Amnesty International today (29 September), as it published a report on attitudes to violence against women.

The poll, Violence against women: the perspective of students in Northern Ireland, commissioned by Amnesty International, surveyed the attitudes and experiences of over 700 students across University of Ulster campuses.

The research showed that a 'blame culture' toward women and sexual violence exists over drinking, perceived promiscuity, personal safety and whether a woman has clearly said 'no' to a man. The poll found, for example, that almost one third (30%) of students in Northern Ireland believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she is wearing 'sexy or revealing clothing'.

The figures are higher than those found in similar surveys carried out elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Amnesty is calling on university heads to do more to tackle the problem of violence against women on campus.

Amnesty International Northern Ireland programme director Patrick Corrigan said:

'This survey shows that there are some extremely disturbing attitudes swirling around our campuses.

'It's shocking that so many students lay the blame for being raped or assaulted at the feet of women themselves. If we are going to break a cycle of violence against women in Northern Ireland, we need to start by challenging attitudes amongst students and the population at large.

'As part of an integrated strategy to end all forms of violence against women, the Northern Ireland Executive should consider a comprehensive campaign aimed at preventing violence and challenging prejudicial attitudes.'

Katie Morgan, President of NUS/USI (National Union of Students / Union of Students in Ireland) said:

'Sadly, these results chime with what I have seen with my own eyes on campus. We've long been calling for better services for students who have suffered violence, and these results confirm not only that domestic abuse amongst students occurs far too often, but that students don't know where to turn when it happens. The universities and colleges need to think again about the welfare of their students and in tackling the suggestion that a woman can be responsible for being raped.'

Amnesty's poll also revealed that domestic violence against female students is apparently widespread in Northern Ireland. Forty per cent of students reported knowing a female student who had been assaulted by her boyfriend or partner. Meanwhile, one in 10 local students considers violence acceptable against a girlfriend who nags, flirts with other men or refuses to have sex.
Revealingly, the survey also showed that three-quarters of students did not know what advice to give a woman who had suffered domestic abuse: 77% felt they did not have enough information and support to tackle the problem and 82% were unaware of the availability of any support services on campus for student victims of domestic violence.
The results have prompted Amnesty International and local students unions to launch their own campaign on campus to challenge sexist attitudes. The poster, leaflet and drinks mat campaign will be rolled out in the University of Ulster and Queen's University Belfast student unions over the coming weeks.
Amnesty has also written to Northern Ireland college heads and the Northern Ireland Executive encouraging them to take more action to tackle violence against women students.

ENDS

Note to editors
The full survey report - Violence against women: the perspective of students in Northern Ireland - is available from Amnesty International.

The survey questioned 715 students at the four University of Ulster campuses across Northern Ireland. It was conducted by a group of university students working through the Science Shop.
The survey questions were similar to two comparable studies undertaken in the UK by ICM for Amnesty International and the End Violence Against Women campaign. This report also includes a description, where relevant, of the variance between the results obtained amongst students in Northern Ireland with the other surveyed cohort.


That "students" rape and beat their girlfriends and other female targets of opportunity is no surprise to anyone living in the Holyland. That the police cover it up is also no surprise. That no "student" has been or will be prosecuted is, you guessed it, no surprise. When this smug little shit says that "students" are not criminals he means that they are above the law. After all no-one was prosecuted for this. The attitude of the cops was that the victim brought it upon herself because of her mental health issues. I do not know how any woman can be a part of the RUC/PSNI. One would need to be utterly devoid of conscience, empathy, decency etc; in short, simply not human. From my own experience I would have to say that that appears to be the case.

I was at Queens freshers fair recently. NUS/USI had a stall. One of their slogans was,

"Thanks for having sex with me when I didn't want it. Duh!"

This says many things. First of all, rape is so common among the "student" body to have become banal. Why else describe it in terms that are not shocking, not voicing the outrage that comes with true violation. NUS/USI, headed by a woman no less, are treating this as a matter of "educating" male "students". Rape is reduced to some kind of childish misbehaviour that needs a lesson in good manners to sort it out. Secondly, the experience is reduced to an unpleasant inconvenience. What the Amnesty International poll makes clear is that rape is not only normal to "students", but something they beleive that young women should simply expect to happen. This is a culture of invalidation that is grotesque beyond my power of words. These people are simply devoid of human dignity and human decency. Where have they come from? They did not emerge from the womb fully formed degenerates. They have grown up in a family and school and peer environment that obliterates all humanity. What kind of parents send their daughters to "study" in Belfast knowing that they will be raped, will be beaten, will be invalidated by their peers? The kind of parents that have raised a generation of monsters and unleashed them on the residents of South Belfast, destroying community after community without remorse, but instead with brutal glee.

Now the truth about rape is out, at least until a PR campaign massages it away. Ater all, it's how the universities "perception managed" the Holyland out of existence.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I dont think anyone was surprised at what this poll of university students revealed.

THE WHOLE GODDAMED INFRASTRUCTURE OF QUEENS UNIVERSITY FROM THE VICE CHANCELLORS OFFICE DOWN IS DEVOID OF ANY MORAL INTEGRITY.

This has been evidenced by their attitude to the ordinary decent community that populated the area around their institution over the past twelve years.

As for the PSNI..........pathetic in all aspects of police work, except handing out speeding tickets.

belfast samizdat said...

I couldn't agree more. Queens' obsession with corporate architecture speaks volumes. A building the size of an aircraft carrier will lord it over what used to be the Holylands, but is now known as "Queens' Quarter". They're pulling down the Science Library, a haven where I used to find peace and fell in love with academe. That was the mid Nineties. Now I look back on my eight year nightmare and swear I will never tell anyone to go to that place. Last night I pulled a psychology journal off the shelves of the Science Library and discovered that Queens is living in the Stone Age. We're reviewing psychology articles from 1904. The girl who had that dubious pleasure had to translate it into modern English. Now we're reviewing textbooks from 1927! Progress!! For years this module's standard text was "The Bell Curve", a highly contentious and politically loaded text that prosthlyetyses Social Darwinism and racial serfdom. DON'T GO TO QUEENS!!!! Run a mile, run a thousand miles, do an Open University degree, but don't go, and surely don't send your kids, to those institutions.

The cops are also good for prosecuting Free Speech and victimising bloggers.

belfast samizdat said...

Proselytizes. I stand corrected.

belfast samizdat said...

Also, Rape jokes aren't funny.

Anonymous said...

Can I ask how this isn't an education issue? It is people expressing their own opinions, and were as it some of the views are archaic, the vast majority of the students who you villify, wouldn't contemplate any of the acts found in the survey. The rediculous fact that you are accusing over half the student population of the north as being rapists is entirely absurd and once agains shows your demented view of the world. By your admission then there are about 25,000 (half the univeristy population of ni) rapists just waiting to pounce then?

Above you say that rape jokes aren't funny - yet is it acceptable to use it in whatever personal vendetta you hold against a minority of the 10,000 students or so in the Holylands. It is students, both women and indeed men too, who are always the victims of these attacks around Queen's. From my own experience I know a friend of mine was attacked by a full-time resident in the Stranmillis area, someone who I have no doubt you yourself know, yet the police there turned a blind eye because he wasn't one of us 'fully formed degenerates'.

belfast samizdat said...

Nearly half (48%)condone rape. 10% admit to beating their girlfriends when denied sex. It is no small minority who go mad in the Holylands.

The rape analogy is not used lightly when describing the obliteration of a community by institutional power employing landlords to do the dirty work and allowing "students" to do whatever they want to residents no questions asked; deprive them of sleep; torment them with noise; destroy their peace year after year; beat them up; rape their women; intimidate them; drive them from their homes. Don't piss on other people's pain. It's just like rape jokes; it's not fucking funny.

Anonymous said...

a new low: check out:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7683805.stm

its quite obvious that students don't take rape seriously: specifically when false allegations like this are made

belfast samizdat said...

I don't know what to make of this story. It's very odd.

Anonymous said...

residents:-

if i were a catholic i wouldnt live on the shankill

if i were a prodestant i wouldnt live on the falls

if i were a resident i wouldnt live in the holylands

STUDENT AREA

so wtf do u expect when u move next door?

Anonymous said...

you approve comments expressing an viewpoint which either agrees with you or insults you, but only if it's extremist on either side. no room is made for moderate comments which deflate whatever sensationalist claim you make.

polarisation like that is, indeed, some very smart 'perception management'. but it also sucks the last dregs of integrity from this shitty blog.

you also ignore what anonymous said above about your shameless use of a study (of questionable veracity) to vilify students, undermining the issue it took in hand - then claim that that poster was pissing on other people's pain? it's a point i made in my previous (unapproved) comment, but i suppose a point inconvenient to tackle. whatever, you'll probably not approve this anyway.

belfast samizdat said...

Comments will be stored and then published when the legal action is over.

Anonymous said...

"The 18 attacks recorded since April compared to 23 in the previous period"

april-october, half of which time there are next to no students in the holylands. there are alot of bad people live in the holylands, the worst of which are not the immature degenerate students.

also note: that pole didn't say anything about condoning rape, your twisting it, it said put partial blame on the woman. i don't agree with the statement but no need to twist it

Anonymous said...

Only students at the University of Ulster were asked in this poll, I remember reading that much at the time, and what do they know? They use crayons anyhow!