The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: rape

  • Feeling Helpless About Syria

    Unless you live in a cave somewhere, you know what’s going on in Aleppo, Syria right now. And if you’re like me, you’re feeling pretty darned helpless about it. People are being slaughtered and I’m looking at my empty guest room. I’d take them all in if I could. I’d stack ‘em up like cordwood.…

  • #ShoutYourAbortion

    Well, here’s a blog entry I never thought I’d write. It’s about a growing movement of women who are coming out about their abortions. They seem to be doing this for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, as the government attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and roll back women’s rights, it’s important that people…

  • Okay, I Can’t Stand It.

    A dear friend, whom I love and respect, posted the following on her Facebook page. It broke my heart that someone I care about and admire so much could be so taken in. I’ll start with the quote (Which is from some other source, which has since disappeared from Facebook, and I’ll remain faithful to…

  • Why Are We Shocked?

    As more and more women come forward with rape allegations, it’s becoming increasingly impossible to maintain any warm and fuzzy feelings for Bill Cosby, America’s favorite dad. There’s nothing worse than having an icon fall from grace, but there you have it. It happens all the time. Not only are none of us perfect, but…

  • Ways to Increase Your Safety

    I take the issue of safety very seriously, perhaps more so than the average person. Due to some abuse I experienced in my childhood, I have been diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). It gets triggered when I feel as if people in positions of authority don’t have my best interests at heart, or…

  • Free Maheinour el-Masry

    Here’s what’s sad. I’m willing to bet that 99 Americans out of 100 have never heard of Mehinour el-Masry, a brave human rights protester who has been jailed by the Egyptian government for exercising what we would consider to be her basic human right to free speech. I only heard of her the other day…

  • It’s No Honeymoon

    I heard recently that the tradition of having a honeymoon after one gets married has some very nefarious origins. Back when abducting the bride from a neighboring village or tribe was even more commonplace than it is today, it was a good idea for the man to hide the woman for a couple of weeks.…

  • Corrective Rape — “It’s for your Own Good.”

    I’m in the virtual world known as Second Life, and a total stranger approaches me. He says, “I want to make love to you.” “Uh, no thanks.” “I won’t tell anyone.” “Thanks all the same, but I couldn’t be less interested.” Sheesh. Are there really men out there who think women are animals that can…

  • 10 Quotes That Should Piss Off Any Woman With Sense

    What breaks my heart is that this blog entry could practically write itself. “The fact is the Republicans don’t have a war on women, they have a war for women, to empower them to be something other than victims of their gender.” –Republican Mike Huckabee (Gee thanks, Mike. It sure has been no fun being…

  • Raped by the System

    Ladies, you are twice as likely to be raped than you are to develop breast cancer, and yet less than 20 percent of the rape kits in America have ever actually been processed. 97 percent of all rapists will walk free. Just let those statistics sink in for a minute. It’s estimated that only 16…