FBI changes the definition of rape to include men, (and why some people are just stupid…)
This is a big step forward for those men who have been raped. This change in the definition can open doors for those that need help (hang on, the stupid part is coming):
The new provision will define rape as any kind of penetration of another person, regardless of gender, without the victim’s consent. It also includes a broad range of rapes involving both males and females in which attackers use objects to penetrate their victims.
“Rape is a devastating crime and we can’t solve it unless we know the full extent of it,” said Vice President Biden, who worked closely with advocates on the issue. “This long-awaited change to the definition of rape is a victory for women and men across the country whose suffering has gone unaccounted for over 80 years.”
Attorney General Eric Holder called the change “long overdue” and added that the new provision will “provide us with a more accurate understanding of the scope and volume of these crimes.”
Carol Tracy, executive director of the Women’s Law Project, and 90 other organizations that support victims of sexual abuse have been pushing for such a change for more than a decade, saying that the public has long been “misled” about the prevalence of rape.
“If you can’t measure it accurately, you can’t monitor it and you can’t direct appropriate resources to deal with the problem,” Tracy said.
As for the stupid part? Yeah, about that: Hamilton Nolan over at Gawker just can’t wrap his brain around the concept and apparently thinks it’s all a crock:
I mean, can somebody explain this one to me? Rape—of a man? It just doesn’t make sense. Rape—but the victim is a man? It just doesn’t add up. Someone break this one down for me, will you? You were raped—but you’re a man. I just don’t get it, sorry. And can we talk about how they arrest hot teachers these days for sleeping with their 15 year-old male students? I tell you, when I was 15 I wouldn’t have minded. Who’s with me here? Men know what I’m talking about. And now there’s some FBI guy saying yes, he was raped—and he’s a man. Someone please put this into language I can understand, okay? It just does not compute. Rape—of a man. Boy, I tell you.
So, who thinks that poor Hamilton is either a/completely and utterly clueless, b/doesn’t get out from in front of the computer much (if at all), or c/straight?
Note to Hamilton: male rape happens, bud. Plenty.
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