Synopsis: There have been a number of rapes in the Garneau area (where I live) and I thought this was a good time to tell people about victim blaming and the importance of not falling into that trap. Men are the perpetrators and, as such, they should be held responsible. Men need to be active in stopping rape; it’s not enough to merely refrain from the act.
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Derek on A Note on Silence An important message… on A Note on Silence feministgal on A Note on Silence Dave Perkins on A Note on Silence Jossy on A Note on Silence
June 14, 2008 at 10:48 pm
[...] a lovely feminist blogger and vlogger over at Doing Feminism has an incredible new vlog up over at his site on rape and victim blaming. With recent accounts of [...]
June 14, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Thank you for this video. Spot on, amazing, fabulous and kick ass!
June 15, 2008 at 11:13 am
Thanks, Holly!
June 15, 2008 at 5:56 pm
This is great, Derek! Thanks! I get so frustrated when I hear “… Police are warning women to be careful/wear modest clothing/stay home after dark…”
June 16, 2008 at 10:55 am
What Emily said. Great video!
June 16, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Amen, brother! :-)
June 16, 2008 at 8:45 pm
[...] Vlogging Feminism: The Garneau Rapist and Victim Blaming « Doing Feminism “Men are the perpetrators and, as such, they should be held responsible. Men need to be active in stopping rape; it’s not enough to merely refrain from the act.” [...]
June 22, 2008 at 8:50 pm
[...] Walking Women Home is Problematic I vlogged about the recent rapes that have been happening in my neighbourhood lately and covered victim blaming too, but I feel that [...]
June 29, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I really like your point about complacency. This is something that frustrates me about many of my friends that are males and somewhat open to the ideas of feminism. Society at large refuses to take responsibility for stopping rape. Not raping a womyn is not really enough, for men or for womyn. Its no longer enough to just say that rape is bad…
June 29, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I’m glad you agree, Hypatia. It really is time that men take responsibility for this problem. The notices at the beginning of the video are done by a group called “The Garneau Sisterhood,” who are, I presume, women. There are no men who have spoken up about this, from what I know, which is frustrating.
It’s important in my mind to note, though, and I think Inga Muscio mentions it, that men should not show anger or any behaviour that basically is an effort on their part to show how good, non-raping men they are. I disagree with her statement that men shouldn’t be involved in stopping this problem, though, as it is men who are responsible. To me, education and an understanding of privilege is necessary. Outspoken male feminists are a plus, too.
June 30, 2008 at 12:38 am
I found you through Feministe and I love the work you’re doing here. I think you might be interested in this work by a guy I found today:
http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~rjensen/freelance/masculinefeminineorhuman.htm
Hope you find it as interesting as I did and thanks again.
June 30, 2008 at 10:04 am
Thank you for the kind words, Hysperia. Thanks for the interesting link, too. That’s the first time I’ve come across Robert Jensen’s work.
June 30, 2008 at 11:14 am
Oh god, no, not Robert Jensen… ugh… Derek, save yourself!
June 30, 2008 at 11:22 am
I’ve never seen any of his work except for this article. I know he wrote “Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity,” though, and I remember reading criticisms of it. From what I’ve heard about it, I can see you taking objection to it, and perhaps myself as well, but it’s hard to say because I haven’t read it or even remember much of the content that was mentioned in critiques.
Sigh… I certainly hope I don’t become this male feminist that people learn to loathe.
June 30, 2008 at 11:47 am
I doubt you’ll become “that male feminist,” Derek. :)
Here’s some of what I’ve written about Jensen:
http://www.beingamberrhea.com/2007/12/12/degrading/
http://www.beingamberrhea.com/2007/11/28/should-i-subject-myself-to-this/
http://amber.tangerinecs.com/viewentry.php?entry=1783
And a sampling of Ren’s thoughts:
http://renegadeevolution.blogspot.com/2006/11/why-male-feminists-some-anyway.html
http://renegadeevolution.blogspot.com/search/label/Bob%20can%20suck%20my%20strap%20on%20in%20Hell
(I’m certain this will get stuck in the spam queue, because of all the links… hopefully you will see it!)
June 30, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Aha! Thank you so much for those great links! Amber, you have cleared up a few issues in my head that seem so obvious now. I need to write a post about this.
June 30, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I’d only read that one article by Jensen and I still like it a lot and will use it in classes for sure. I’m grateful for the other links on the issue of pornography. I’ve read a bit and will keep reading. So far though, what I see are differences of opinion about sex, sexuality, porn and anti-porn. Some of them are interesting and make substantial contributions to the conversation. I’ve pretty much always been anti-censorship, but whether that makes me pro-porn or not, I truly don’t always know. But Jensen seems hardly a Puritan, just because he sees the way that sexism inevitably contributes to sexual pratices. I don’t see how that can be denied, although everyone is certainly entitled to their interpretations of how that works. Sigh. These days, we seem to have nothing better to do than to come up with reasons to be divided from and against each other. Actually, not a new phenomenon.
June 30, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I’ve read Jensen’s book and many of his articles. All of his writing makes me feel… icky. I feel like I’m being talked over, talked down to, hushed up. It most certainly does not make me feel heard, valued, considered as an equal.
June 30, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I can’t respond to that because I haven’t read the books or much else. However, I will read a bit more and I imagine that I’ll understand, then, what you mean. The article I read was about how to get young men to understand the consequences of their uncritical acceptance of “masculinity”. I liked it and I shouldn’t talk about other aspects of his work and yours that I know nothing about. And I apologize for doing so.
July 1, 2008 at 9:29 am
No worries.
July 1, 2008 at 7:00 pm
[...] followed by something like, “Well, damn, was I ever off the mark about …” A comment that Amber left with several links gave me exactly those two feelings. For those of you who decide [...]
July 30, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I’m a male victim of rape.
Well it’s great to see something online about all this, congrats 4 having the Balls to do it. My wife and I also live in this area and are greatly concerned about these rapes. We have 3 daughters, all of which don’t leave the house without ‘dog spray’ and knives. Knowing how to use them appropriately is indeed important. I believe everyone ought to carry a means of protecting themselves and I don’t just mean women. Nobody has a right to take away our freedom! If everyone felt confident enough they could protect themselves we would probably have far more good samaritans.
Though most normal people feel the same way, many just go about their business and shrug their shoulders saying, ‘what the hell can you do, just keep an eye out i guess’….. well dah… really now, just how does one “keep your eyes out” anyway, …. for whom exactly? Hmmm… how does one spot a psychopath. … Sadly the Truth is… You Can’t, unless you are familiar with the traits or behavioral patterns of these kinds of…shall we say , HUNTER’s/Predators. These psychopaths have instincts as to ‘who’ will make the best victims but most of us have no insight as to who they are.
As I mentioned I am a rape victim myself, a male one. Yes it happens more than the public ever will or will want to hear about. Men are just much less likely to come forward about the rapes let alone report it to the law… hell if you can’t even tell your close friends why the heck would you tell a cop and be subjected to their judgements.
I’ve also heard the non-sense of don’t take crime into your own hands, ‘just dial 911’ …. Somehow a call to 911 does not fit into the whole rape scenario, for after all if the victim had the pretense to see it happening they would not likely be in the position of victim to begin with.
Please correct me if I’m wrong but I feel the police could also be helping more by sharing more of what they know about the Garneau Rapist. I have a hard time believing that of 3 victims all that was known of the assailant was that “he wore dark clothes and was of medium build.” How can that help all us good neighbours catch the culprit. It makes victims like myself lose faith in the policing system. I remember everything from my experience from body odor, to facial hair, to physical stature even if it was at night. If we had more to go on we could help catch this guy and keep all potential victims safe. Moreover, it shouldn’t be a topic we avoid talking about . Rape doesn’t just happen to people who live in bad neighborhoods, dress inappropriately, work at the wrong restaurant, or stay out too late at night. There is actually a psychological term for this type of irrational thinking. It is referred to as DEFENSIVE ATTRIBUTION and is the tendency to blame victims for their misfortune, so that one feels less likely to be victimized in a similar way. This type of thinking only helps ignorant people maintain the belief that they live in a just and predictable world where they are unlikely to experience such misfortune.
Thanks for listening.
July 31, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Vlug Fietsen,
I’m sorry to hear about what you were put through. Male rape is a problem, without a doubt, and it definitely needs to be seen as such more than it is.
I do think it’s tough, though, to criticise the police based on the information they’ve given, but please, correct me if you think I’m wrong. I think that experiences of rape surely vary from person to person, and I would not be surprised one bit if many survivors wouldn’t be able to remember a thing about their attacker.
August 1, 2008 at 1:43 am
Impossible to know what the police may know in this situation and I agree, sorta, that it’s at least possible the survivors my not know more about their rapist than has been publicized. But I ALSO know that there are plenty of instances when the police have been less than forthcoming about giving information about rapists, to the detriment of people who live in the predator’s chosen zone. In fact, it’s very common. Police use excuses like worrying that rapists will get scared away, into another jurisdiction, making it more difficult to apprehend them - though there’s very little evidence that rapists are transient. Failure to adequately warn the public is an extremely common offense of many police forces, though obviously, I can’t tell if that’s the case here.
August 1, 2008 at 10:34 am
hysperia,
Thanks a lot. That’s obviously something I was ignorant to, and I’m going to keep a lookout for instances like that in the future.
August 12, 2008 at 2:32 am
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=de96c34d-734c-4c55-a358-62f6f53167b0
The link above is for the latest rape for Saturday, 3 days ago, this insane “Hunter” knows exactly how to get away with it. I would be in shock if they’ll ever find him. It may be a sensible move of the Edmonton City Police or GIS investigators were to release a sort of, “Profile” of the kind of individual he may or may not be, the kind of person he would likely be while with co-workers and with friends, quite often a relative already knows when a sibling is suffering from mental illness. Let’s face the fact that these rapes are Not just Sex to this man, it’s actually a control issue, this is what it’s about, control over the victim… this is what he really get excited about…. and whose behavior may have noticeably changed since the first rapes occurred. Usually these sort of predators become somewhat reclusive in nature, and keeps odd hours, with one thing on his mind, … that’s
…Pickin a victim…. There’s likely a reason why at night he finally attacks, however keep in mind he has likely been patient enough to have watched the ‘soon to be victims’ premises, as well as their personal habits. Taking note of the Times of coming and going, as well as anyone else coming or going, visitors, He likely takes long walks at night because when lights are on in a house/apartment at this time, with curtains not closed, one can see easily into another’s home, without ‘looking suspicious’ and yet if you try to look outside from a well lit room, it’s next to imposable to see anything outside isn’t it.
We must All become more PRO-ACTIVE with regards to dealing with this sort of criminal activity’s in our community. Which leads me to ask a Question, “Does anyone in The Garneau Rapists’ area know if there is a community meeting ?”……….perhaps this would be a positive place to bring up these concerns to ‘our’ neighbourhood. Awareness is a key factor and is part of being Pro-active, thus the more it is talked about, the more likely it increases a chance at someone making a citizens arrest.
Unfortunitly the Police in Edmonton are obviously unable to do much for this community other than tell us to be more alert. Rather than people wanting to stick their heads in he sand. Let’s keep in mind the description the Edm. City Police gave to the public…. “The factors amongst all (four) cases are the same. They all start with a break and enter. The descriptions that we have are very similar, as well as the activity that occurs during the sexual assaults,”…
…Now if the Police want the help of the citizens they really should be giving more details all at once, truly publicize it, even if he gets scarred off (which nuts like that don’t, they’re crazy remember, they likely blend into society very well. . . And only if you got to know the rapist might you notice strange behaviours. The reality is sadly effecting whether or not we trust our neighbours. Everyone is a probable rapist and murderer, especially those that wear dark clothes and happen to be stocky like.
Give us a bloody break will you Mr. Policeman…. if any of you land on this page, please feel free to comment and challenge the comments I made … I welcome constructive criticism from citizens… so that it’s a learning experience for all involved.
It’s sickening that we have these in our society; nonetheless, it is part of having our freedom. BUT lets PLEASE keep in mind that as citizens we should carry our “utility knives” for opening your mail or for helping other good people open their mail if it’s necessary around with you, when passing someone on a street put your hand on it and just be sensible and ready. DO Not Over-react to all this, at the same time lets All take some common sense pre-cautionary measures. My wife says every time a man is going to walk by her, she puts her hand into her jacket to just hold the spray bottle for security, And the most important thing to do, we both agreed, is look the person in the eyes and try to get eye contact while saying hello as you go bye. Looking at people in the eyes shows ‘confidence’ and this is not a trait that a hunter looks for, in fact he’d get scared off. You see if anyone hasn’t figured it out, though I’m sure most of you have, he’s looking for a victim, one with the actions and behavior of a victim, and they attract strange individuals, WHY??? Because the Hunter’s know that they’re easy prey… sadly there are so many people that have their guard down. We know a number of people in a housing project. The children go to school with our kids. Sadly the single parent lets them freely go wherever they want at times, and you only hope that their big sister is around the other 3 younger ones to keep them in line, so to speak. In this case, it is rather normal for the community to help where you see it needs help. So we try to watch out for them when possible. However, this attitude is one from the Native Indians , that is to allow the community to watch and help raise the kids, so they get off the reserve and let ‘em go at it.
Do Not take my comment as being judgmental or racist in any way, this is NOT intended…. It is only an observation after working with the Native communities for many years in different capacities.
REMEMBER:
“Dog Spray” can be purchased at …
Whole Sale Sports
Address: 12610 St Albert Tr NW
Edmonton, Alberta
T5L 4S5 Phone: (780) 477-3737
.. There are different sizes, they last pressurized for extraordinarily long… go ahead and test it on the ground without any wind present, careful not to inhale. If you happen to somehow breathe it in you may want to become educated as to what the effects may be. Have someone watch you from a distance incase help is needed. Just make damn certain you don’t have wind blowing towards you.
ATTENTION: if you ever have to use the spray if at all possible know which way the wind is blowing and take a deep breath just before unlocking the little mechanism in order to spray. then immediately run from the area so as to NOT take any more chances of inhalation yourself.
When I go out of town for Business to Europe, my wife keeps the spray under her pillow at knight, and no it can not go off accidentally.
i would also suggest some good hunting type knives, and concealable ones as well. At Mountain Equipment Co-op on 124th street and a block off the end of Jasper Ave… here in Edmonton… they sell “Mora Knife” (Mora of Sweden) for cheap at
(between 124th and 123rd St.)
12328 - 102nd Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T5N 0L9
(780) 488-6614
… But this does not reflect on their usefulness. My daughters have one each (I have Two). They’re Great for camping and hiking. When we go for a walk even with our dog, we carry the following;
1. knife hanging around the neck. (aka. ‘Neck Knife’ these give easy accessibility to it fast.
2. knife clipped on to their pocket, and now and then i give my eldest daughter (13yrs.of age) my boot knife, which can also be handy in certain circumstances.
3. Dog Spray = from WholeSaleSports.com (address above)
I do hope this helps a bit, we are always on guard, we are NOT paranoid, and we are only being Pro-Active.
That way we can have fun with less worrying about things; they are only tools that are handy if needed.
Well I’m falling asleep at the computer as I quickly write this letter, so I do hope it makes sense as I’m not gonna proof read it.
August 12, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Ya I know – oh greaaaat – not another overzealous posting – it looks like a possible rant…. well NO – I just want to break the proverbial ‘Can of worms Open’ …. so hear it is.
PLEASE DO NOT TAKE MY COMMENTS AS THOUGH I BLAME THE POLICE ON THE BEAT … we are ALL angry at the offender!!!, it is the entire fault of the OFFENDER !!!!!, this is why Alberta should re-introduce the public ‘Hanging’ (as far as I’m concerned)… these kinds of Predators/Hunters know exactly what they are doing, sure there is a possibility there is some mental illness their, again that’s only a reason and not an excuse. There is NO room for behaviour like this in society! We must send the message to these freaks that Canada is NOT a Haven for making true psychopaths like this one, comfortable. That’s if he’s ever caught and actually held accountable for his crimes.
Unfortunately, the Edmonton City Police are unable to make the ‘Common Sense Speeches’ … (that’s just what I call it) to the public for ‘Political’ reasons…or should I say honestly, they’re only scared of litigation and lawyers…. They wouldn’t want to offend those who, [ “live in the dream world and are caught up in the 'status quo' believe system of "Canada, home of the Free"] …. ya right ! The news media here in Canada keep the “Status Quo” going for many reasons; the last thing they want is the TRUTH being spoke of in a Public setting…
THIS no so well known FACT - truly scares the hell out of Law enforcement authorities and politicians (one in the same). If you are caught exposing the Law for their corruption, especially here in Edmonton so it seems, a Journalist may very well loose their job for not keeping up with the “status quo” and “falling in line” with the rest of the writers for the news media…. here is an obvious example of the police being in bed with news media, sad every knows it but no-one has the guts to take a stand…. just look at what those in position of power did recently when a big time, well respected and world renown famous journalist…. ‘Told the Truth’
hey here is a thought, ‘hire police with ethics and have radio stations that actually break real stories with at least a hint of truth in them, oh and maybe they could try without plagiarizing. Also just the facts with an un-bias opinion would be welcomed as well. For Serious News in Edmonton’s Area and the Crimes being committed as well as missing people and the murders, rapes,etc… in the Edmonton and Surrounding Area… I have found only one outlet that keeps up with reporting this news… http://lastlinkontheleft.com/r022b071130christopher.html they would never have these sorts of discussions on any Alberta Radio waves! The site is well worth checking out so I encourage ALL citizens who care about this city of ours to do so, don’t put our heads in the sand and become apathetic, those who abuse their power depend upon this Canadian Type of Attitude… we aren’t like the USA at least eh, were better then them,,, the news points the finger at other problem areas of the world YET they refuse to bring up the fact that HERE in Alberta, Canada, our backyard is a filthy mess that is in desperate need of cleaning up! We needn’t look any further!
We’re getting to be like England’s good citizens, had over your guns eh, you don’t need them we are here to protect you, and to protect you from yourself as well… hand over your kitchen knives now, we don’t want you to get any ideas of hurting someone. This is absurd!!!
August 12, 2008 at 4:57 pm
The UK where the common citizens (the good average normal people) have been told by Authoritative Leaders in Law Enforcement to “Not Try To Protect Yourself”…. This was their leader’s “Head of Command’s” advice to the public …. sadly they have put people in prison for taking the law into their own hands…. they called it “Vigilante-behaviour”… and used the news media to demonize those who stand up for themselves and refuse to be victims. They put a man in prison approx. 10 years ago (I cannot recall his name however you may have heard it in the news media only briefly, as it did make the initial headlines… long afterwards he was in prison the issue was raised again) get this… he did time for protecting himself , they made him out to be the “freak lying in wait to get someone…. insane elderly man” and the kids were made out to be Hero’s === something is terribly wrong with this pic. (I do believe his case was heard again about two years ago, the authorities were forced to admit publically to making a large Error on their part) but the case involved two men (boys) break and entry, the victim was asleep and heard talking outside his bedroom door, he overheard their plan of attacking him and what they were going to do. Before they were going to enter, the older gentleman being terrified quickly grabbed his shotgun kept in the closet, and upon the door being opened, he saw the two men charge with weapons in hand. He shot one in self defence dead, the other fled as he tried to shoot him on his way retreating. I recall that one of the offenders had his arm raised in attack mode with a tire iron, the law says only “use of equal weaponry is acceptable to protect oneself with” … so the old man should have yelled ‘Stop, I have to put down my shotgun and pick up my tire iron so things are equal (according to the absurd justice department) – this sounds as though it belongs on TV m like on that show Boston Legal or something simular, this is how preposterous it all sounds…. Now keep in mind that these same criminals were abusing the people in the neighbourhood, particularly breaking into the elderly homes in the area, and were believed to have also assaulted some of their victims. The authorities did nothing to prevent them, this individual elderly man often complained and pushed the police to please give more ‘Police Presence’ in the area so as to keep these criminals away, because he feared for his life and the lives of his good neighbours …. The public only got offered advice to “call the Police 911, if there were any problems, and to not fight the criminals, just give them whatever they want.”
In this case these to teens came to give this man a near death experience with a good beating (perhaps with the intent to kill him?) as they were found guilty of other similar offenses they had perpetrated earlier and had been at large for some time terrorizing the community (funny it kindof sounds like Garneau area and U of A)…..
…..well I’ll sum this attitude up by saying a title of a book … “Dial 911 and Die” by Richard W. Stevens …With an Introduction by James Bovard, Author of “Lost Rights and Freedom in Chains”
Well I can Not resist sharing something I have read only recently that does make sense of all this and indeed adds up….. soooooo….here is a great synopsis of the book… (Don’t take it from me, get it from the horse’s mouth)……
August 12, 2008 at 6:27 pm
[...] said it before: It is not the responsibility of women to protect themselves. Rapists may commit the action, [...]
August 13, 2008 at 11:28 pm
That was a great clip, the rapist is still out there, how do we stop him?
August 13, 2008 at 11:33 pm
http://citizen.nfb.ca/node/21873&dossier_nid=20849
September 8, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Really enjoyed watching this, Derek.
It’s really important that we open up these spaces for dialogue, so we can not only respond effectively, but we can prevent this kind of violence from continuing. This is exactly the kind of communication we need.
My name is Sara and I’m a Soc/Women’s studies student from Ontario and I am part of the Miss G__ Project. (www.themissgproject.org) Myself, some peers and profs at my school are working on organizing a national film festival, open to highschool, college, and University students, around the issues of gendered violence. It’s going to be during International Women’s Week 2009 in Waterloo, ON. We’ll have our website up an running soon- but I just wanted to pass this along to you, because are great at expressing yourself through video and perhaps you, or someone you know, would be interested in submitted a short film, or helping to promote the project. Feel free to contact me at imagynfilmfest@gmail.com, or it’s also on Facebook: Imagyn Film Fest.
Thanks, and great work.
Cheers,
Sara
September 10, 2008 at 10:09 am
I think you and your readers might be interested in this post about “risk avoidance” and why it doesn’t/won’t stop rape:
http://rockymtnfeminist.net/blog/2008/09/05/risk-avoidance-not-the-solution-to-rape/