I know I said something like this a month or two or three ago, but I'll take another stab. I think the debate here is missing the main point -- that most sex abuse, whether it be child abuse, or rape, or whatever, takes place in the home between persons who are at least acquainted with each other. Sexual abuse and rape by strangers is the almost infinite minority of offenses. I think whether the discussion is on recidivism, or Megan's law, or any of the other highly emotive public debates, that the purpose of these discussions is to avoid addressing the real issue. The REAL issue (in my humble opinion) is something along the lines of: what is it in our society that has led to almost epidemic incidences of sexual abuse and rape? I think the discussion of sex abuse and rape by strangers fills three needs: 1. It is an excuse to get angry at someone and aim all social blame at them, regardless of whether that blame is deserved or not. 2. It avoids the awful answers to the real question, like, because we live in a society where the powerful (generally, but not always men) are completely free to abuse the weak (generally, but not always, women and children -- the most notable exception being rape in jail) this abuse of power invades all areas of our intimate relations in the family and between friends. As long as we condone the rights of those with power to abuse those without power, sexual abuse and rape will pervade our daily lives. 3. As long as we have strangers to blame, we can don the garb of self righteousness and ignore the larger problem which is very much a part of people's daily lives. As an illustration of this point -- this summer at the iaffe conference i attended a session led by some Mexican women from the Chiapas. One point which stuck with me was their description of the tremendous increase in incidents of rape since the signing of nafta and the end of automatic land rights to mexican peasants. Men, disposessed of land, unable to find waged work paying enough to provide adequate support, were raping Mexican women in unprecendented numbers. The problem had gotten so bad that women were forming neighborhood vigilante groups to protect themselves -- from Mexican men. IMHO this is a perfect example of how rape, and sexual abuse, are a result of the increased oppression of the poor by the powerful. The other example is jail rape. In jail, all the standard excuses which blame women (generally the victims outside jail) for their own rape are unavailable. The jail population does not 'ask for it' they do not wear miniskirts and high heels, and they are not walking around giving unassuming males 'come hither' looks (just a few bullshit answers I've heard over the years). In fact, jail rape shows the act exactly for what it is, a method of constructing a hold of the powerful over the weak, as a reflection of life on the outside. Rape on the outside, sexual abuse on the outside, is exactly the same thing -- it just gets more moral/ethical bullshit woven around the naked act. The reason I put this all together is that I think this is one of the most crucial issues facing our society, and these issues of dominance go to the heart of an economic critique of capitalism. Our social relations of constructing dominance closely mirror our access to economic power. In a society where there are markets for everything, then without access to economic goodies, power is ineffective. Therefore, as long as economic well being is restricted, then our social relations will continue to focus on the dominance of the weak by the powerful. maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
