Sohaila Abdulali

Of course, this doesn’t justify other people blaming the victim. They have no excuse whatsoever and should all be smacked firmly on the head.

They know that deploying rape brigades is cheap and expeditious: no heavy weaponry, training, or maneuvers. They know that targeting women breaks the backbones, the will, and the cohesion of communities, leaving them vulnerable. Most crucial, they know that the world is blind to women …

Sonal Shukla and Flavia Agnes, two pioneers of the 1980s women’s movement in India

In India, rape in close communities is actually one of the justifications for child marriage. Better for the girl to go to her in-laws while she’s still a virgin, and get legally raped, before an uncle or neighbor gets to her.

The minute you speak, the moment you write your own narrative, the second you open your mouth, you are no longer just a victim. You are taking back some control. It is the opposite of victimhood.

“When it comes to silencing women,” classicist Mary Beard has written, “Western culture has had thousands of years of practice.”

In 2008, the UN officially designated rape a weapon of war

compelling research shows that death sentences don’t deter crime.

Getting married to re-brand a rape as an act of lovemaking looks more like state-sponsored sadism than criminal justice.

“You don’t want to challenge people’s defenses too much,” Sean told me. “If you help them to feel safe, they will open up. Defenses are necessary. They keep people intact. They’re a scaffolding.”