The Catholic University of America (CUA) this summer revised its student rules to clarify that the school condemns sexual assault more strongly than consensual sex. The change to the policy, which became official July 27, comes in the aftermath of litigation questioning the propriety and effectiveness of the university’s longtime regulations.

Prior to the change, the CUA campus code performed an awkward lumping operation when it came to sex: Its sexual misconduct clause outlawed “physical conduct of a sexual nature that is unwanted by either party and/or that is disruptive to the university community, such as any sexual expression that is inconsistent with the teaching and moral values of the Catholic church.”
Read More “Catholic University Gets Tougher on Sexual Assault, Remains Tough on Sex” »

Take It With a Grain of Assault: Palmer finds humor in her rape.

Hint: Frat boys, check; Victims, no.

Amanda Palmer’s new single, “Oasis,” is a sunny tune about a tumultuous time in a teenager’s life. After enduring rape, abortion, and a schoolwide slut-shaming, the girl receives an autographed headshot of her favorite band—Oasis—in the mail, and everything is again peachy. On her blog, Palmer posted a note from her British record label, Roadrunner, saying the video—which features a brief comic rape scene—had met with “fierce opposition” from the U.K.’s major music networks:

Meanwhile, back home, Jamie Foxx’s latest single, “Blame it (On the Alcohol),” is currently No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its video, featuring Ron Howard, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Samuel L. Jackson, enjoys a heavy rotation on U.S. MTV—despite an equally frothy date-rape theme. The song details Foxx’s pursuit of an increasingly drunk lady. The track also features T. Pain, who chimes through his hallmark vocoder: “Couple more shots you open up like a book.” The song is, essentially, an attempted date rape by a movie star and a dude who sounds like a robot:

Who is allowed to make light of rape?

Read More “Who Can Make A Rape Joke?” »

This week, I wrote a cover story for the paper on the sex life at the Catholic University of America, the official U.S. university of the Catholic Church. The Washington, D.C. school bans all behavior that is “inconsistent with the teaching and moral values of the Catholic Church”—including premarital sex, condom use, masturbation, and sexual assault.

Every year, Catholic’s coeds manage to successfully compromise the university policies—and their own chastity—within the school’s residence halls (and, according to one student, in the student center). The difficulty, for students and administrators, is acknowledging that sex happens. Consistent with Catholic tradition, sex isn’t sex at the Catholic University of America if nobody knows about it.

You can pick up the story on newsstands tomorrow.

Illustration by Doug Boehm

Man rape is funny and swiftly resolved: “Zed’s dead, baby. Zed’s dead.”

In this week’s friendly neighborhood chat, Sady of Tiger Beatdown and I hang up our cardigans, lock the door so Mr. McFeely can’t come in, and talk about something that’s been on our mind for a while: those rapey filmmakers who rape you again, in the movie theater. Hey, kids. It’s okay. It’s not your fault. And you don’t have to let Seth Rogen touch you in that way ever again.

Read More “A Very Special Edition of Sexist Beatdown” »

The Oregon House voted on Tuesday to pass House Bill 2478 [PDF], a measure which would modify its “sexual abuse in second degree” crime to include throwing semen at people. House members declined to discuss the bill at length before the vote, preferring to let the bill speak for itself. The bill, if passed by the state’s senate, would incorporate the following acts into the crime:

For the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of the person or another person, intentionally propels any dangerous substance at a victim who does not consent thereto. . . . As used in this section, “dangerous substance” means blood, urine, semen or feces.

Read More “Oregon Legislature Won’t Comment on Semen Bill” »

The Washington Hospital Center is piloting a new program for treating women who are victims of sexual assault. The “SANE program,” or “Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners,” will provide “survivors of sexual violence immediate access to a private room where one of 11 specially trained nurses will collect forensic evidence.” Sounds good to me.

Fox D.C. creepily frames the initiative by saying it will “preserve a woman’s dignity and collect the necessary evidence.” I’m unclear as to how and where most hospitals treat victims of sexual violence, but private rooms and professional medical personnel sound like they should be standard procedure to me. You should be placed in a private room with a professional anytime a medic is inspecting your genitals. Language about “preserving a woman’s dignity” makes these common-sense medical necessities seem like amenities to help women cope with their shame.

Last month, the Washington Post Magazine printed an “XX Files” essay by Wanda Fleming. In “Suspended Disbelief,” Fleming wrote about struggling with the news that a friend’s husband had been accused of sexually assaulting a young girl. The essay’s sub-head reads, “Guilty or not, it’s a tragedy.” After a correction to the piece was published in Sunday’s magazine, the “or not” scenario seems a lot less likely.

Read More “Washington Post Missteps on Sex Offender Essay” »

Molly Redden over at Georgetown student blog Vox Populi wrote a great primer yesterday on the history of the scourge to the Georgetown campus known only as the “Georgetown Cuddler.” The Cuddler is a sexual assailant who’s been linked to as many as seven assaults around campus (and possibly more near the University of Maryland). In one incident, the suspect “entered [the victim's] bedroom, got into her bed, and put his arm around her.”

Cuddler, eh? That’s a pretty good nickname for a villain who holds damsels hostage, thwarts heroes, etc. (Redden credits the UMD Diamondback with first coining the name). As a real threat to a community, though, it’s a bit of a misnomer. Oh yes, the Cuddler does more than cuddle. He also:

Read More “Georgetown “Cuddler” Does More Than Cuddle” »

Via Feministing: The Younger Women’s Task Force is organizing a get-together to mark the launch of Stand Up for D.C. Women!, a “project that aims to raise awareness about injustices in the treatment of sexual assault victims by law enforcement and health care institutions in D.C.” While that’s not the most feel-good party theme in the world, the beers at CommonWealth might help to lighten the mood. Here’s the info:

Monday, Jan. 5, 2009 (that’s today), 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The CommonWealth Pub, 1400 Irving Street NW, Washington, D.C.

YWTF says that the Stand Up project aims to encourage victims of sexual assault to report the crimes, and to encourage D.C. organizations to make that process as easy as possible. Cheers to that!

NBC reports, and Loose Lips links, this alert about a sexual assault that occurred last weekend in Georgetown. D.C. police are on the lookout for a 25 to 28-year-old black man, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing around 150 pounds, with a “close haircut or a shaved head.” The suspect allegedly “entered a residence in the 1400 block of Wisconsin Avenue near O Street early Sunday morning,” where he “attacked and sexually assaulted a woman inside.”

If you have information on the crime, call Crime Solvers at (800) 673-2777.