The obscene betrayal of Israelis who survived - and didn't survive - rape

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I wish the horrific scenes of dismembered bodies that had been brutally raped, images that are seared into my soul and the souls of first responders who witnessed the massacres’ devastating aftermath, hadn’t happened. I wish that those women and girls who were assaulted and then escaped or left for dead were not having to carry the crushing weight of this trauma. I wish I had not seen videos of Israeli hostages being taken off a truck in Gaza with telltale signs of sexual assault – blood dripping down from their private areas and soaking their ripped pants.

I wish that this was truly all one big hoax as Ms. Pearson seems to believe. While I am grateful that the university has now terminated Pearson’s leadership of the Alberta Centre, the sentiments that she expressed are ones that are both overtly and covertly being echoed extensively among people whose roles are to be supportive of ALL survivors of sexual violence, not just those who conveniently fit into their worldview or political agenda.

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Yet, over this past month, I heard again and again the view that as Israeli women, the victims somehow brought this on themselves…that they deserved to be violated. I’ve even heard others call rape a valid tool that can be used on the path to freedom. Sometimes it is unspoken. Sometimes it is whispered. Sometimes it is shouted. Sometimes it is lurking underneath the veneer of feminism and social justice. To those who share Ms. Pearson’s beliefs, I ask you, aren’t these supposed to be the exact issues that we have been working against in our shared hopes for a world free of sexual violence?

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If you are claiming that they were never raped or questioning the veracity of their experiences, ask yourself honestly: Are you making these claims just to make sure things fit neatly into a black-and-white version of reality where the “good” side has done nothing wrong? If so, what does that say about the moral compass of the feminist and human rights movements, which have always inspired me so deeply?

More..

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-obscene-betrayal-of-israelis-who-survived-and-didnt-survive-rape

Miriam Schler is the executive director of the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center.