Rape Victims and the Modern Justice System

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Rae Flood
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Justice System ◽  
White Women ◽  
White Men ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
Social Differences ◽  
System P ◽  
Standing Up ◽  
The 1960S

This chapter provides an overview of the experiences of women as they entered the justice system after reporting sexual attacks prior to the 1960s, when judicial decisions significantly altered trial proceedings. Victims' social differences were muted from a prosecutorial standpoint because of standardized investigative procedures—procedures much more rigorous, if not entirely sensitive, than previously understood by contemporary studies of sexual violence. Racial privilege shaped the majority of these successful prosecutions, in that African American women almost never appeared in court testifying against white men, and white women testified against black men far more often than they did against white rape defendants. Women's marital or class status did not preclude their central importance to the States' cases, demonstrating how many women challenged the limitations of chivalry, which awarded protections to only a select few, by standing up for themselves and being taken seriously when they reported sexual violence.

The Ku Klux Klan and the War on Poverty

2020 ◽  
pp. 72-98
Author(s):  
Emma J. Folwell
Keyword(s):  
White Women ◽  
Venereal Disease ◽  
White Men ◽  
Ku Klux Klan ◽  
War On Poverty ◽  
White Supremacist ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Antipoverty Programs

Chapter three traces the history of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi from Reconstruction to the 1960s, before exploring the wave of white supremacist violence that exploded across the state of Mississippi in 1967. This renewed wave of Ku Klux Klan attacks was directed at the state’s antipoverty programs, and in particular at white men and women involved in those programs. The chapter traces the rhetoric used in Klan literature in opposing the war on poverty, which claimed the programs were part of a move toward federal dictatorship. The language fused the core myths and fears on which white segregationists drew—miscegenation, the spread of venereal disease, interracial sex, the threat of black power, and liberal welfare policies that benefitted African Americans. It also illustrates how gender shaped both the Klan violence and its ideology, as attacks on white women teaching in Head Start classes intensified.

“There Were Rapes!”: Sexual Assaults of African American Women and Children in Jim Crow

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 934-950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Thompson-Miller ◽  
Leslie H. Picca
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Jim Crow ◽  
White Men ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
American Women ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Long Term Impact

Using data from 92 interviews, this article examines the narratives of African Americans’ experiences as children and young adults during Jim Crow in the Southeast and Southwest. It gives voice to the realities of sexual assaults committed by ordinary White men who systematically terrorized African American families with impunity after the post-Reconstruction south until the 1960s. The interviewees discuss the short- and long-term impact of physical, mental, emotional, and sexual assaults in their communities. We discuss the top four prevalent themes that emerged related to sexual assault, specifically (a) the normalization of sexual assaults, (b) protective measures to avoid White violence, (c) the morality of African American women, and (d) the long-term consequences of assaults on children.

scholarly journals Identity and the Legislative Decision Making Process: A Case Study of the Maryland State Legislature

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Brown
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Black Men ◽  
White Women ◽  
White Men ◽  
State Legislature ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Women Legislators ◽  
Men I

Both politicians and the mass public believe that identity influences political behavior yet, political scientists have failed to fully detail how identity is salient for all political actors not just minorities and women legislators. To what extent do racial, gendered, and race/gendered identities affect the legislation decision process? To test this proposition, I examine how race and gender based identities shape the legislative decisions of Black women in comparison to White men, White women, and Black men. I find that Black men and women legislators interviewed believe that racial identity is relevant in their decision making processes, while White men and women members of the Maryland state legislature had difficulty deciding whether their identities mattered and had even more trouble articulating how or why they did. African American women legislators in Maryland articulate or describe an intersectional identity as a meaningful and significant component of their work as representatives. More specifically, Black women legislators use their identity to interpret legislation differently due to their race/gender identities.

Racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of applicants and matriculants to neurological surgery residency programs

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Edwin Nieblas-Bedolla ◽  
Fatima El-ghazali ◽  
Saman Qadri ◽  
John R. Williams ◽  
Nabiha Quadri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
African American Men ◽  
White Men ◽  
Residency Programs ◽  
Asian Men ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Neurological Surgery ◽  
Ethnicity And Gender

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify trends in the demographic constitution of applicants and matriculants to neurological surgery based on race, ethnicity, and gender. METHODS The authors conducted a cross-sectional study using compiled demographic data obtained from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Trends analyzed included proportional changes in race, ethnicity, and gender of applicants and matriculants to neurosurgical residency programs from academic years 2010–2011 to 2018–2019. RESULTS A total of 5100 applicants and 2104 matriculants to neurosurgical residency programs were analyzed. No significant change in the percentage of overall women applicants (+0.3%, 95% CI −0.7% to 1.3%; p = 0.77) or in the percentage of women matriculants (+0.3%, 95% CI −2.2% to 2.9%; p = 0.71) was observed. For applicants, no change over time was observed in the percentages of American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) men (0.0%, 95% CI −0.3% to 0.3%; p = 0.65); Asian men (−0.1%, 95% CI −1.2% to 1.1%; p = 0.97); Black or African American men (−0.2%, 95% CI −0.7% to 0.4%; p = 0.91); Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin men (+0.4%, 95% CI −0.8% to 1.7%; p = 0.26); White men (+0.5%, 95% CI −2.1% to 3.0%; p = 0.27); Asian women (+0.1,% 95% CI −0.9% to 1.1%; p = 0.73); Black or African American women (0.0%, 95% CI −0.6% to 0.5%; p = 0.30); Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin women (0.0%, 95% CI −0.4% to 0.4%; p = 0.71); and White women (+0.3%, 95% CI −1.1% to 1.7%; p = 0.34). For matriculants, no change over time was observed in the percentages of AI/AN men (0.0%, 95% CI −0.6% to 0.6%; p = 0.56); Asian men (0.0%, 95% CI −2.7% to 2.7%; p = 0.45); Black or African American men (−0.3%, 95% CI −1.4% to 0.8%; p = 0.52); Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin men (+0.6%, 95% CI −0.8 to 2.0%; p = 0.12); White men (−1.0%, 95% CI −5.3% to 3.3%; p = 0.92); Asian women (+0.1%, 95% CI −1.3% to 1.5%; p = 0.85); Black or African American women (0.0%, 95% CI −0.6% to 0.7%; p = 0.38); Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin women (−0.1%, 95% CI −0.7% to 0.5%; p = 0.46); and White women (+0.3%, 95% CI −2.4% to 3.0%; p = 0.70). CONCLUSIONS Despite efforts to diversify the demographic constitution of incoming neurosurgical trainees, few significant advances have been made in recent years. This study suggests that improved strategies for recruitment and cultivating early interest in neurological surgery are required to further increase the diversification of future cohorts of neurosurgical trainees.

Monsters, playboys, virgins and whores: Rape myths in the news media’s coverage of sexual violence

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon O’Hara
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Legal System ◽  
News Media ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
Rape Victims

Much of the news media’s coverage of sexual violence perpetuates myths and stereotypes about rape, rapists and rape victims (Burt, 1980). This is troubling, as the news media shapes public opinion about rape (Soothill, 1991) and can affect policy-making, not to mention the running of the legal system itself (Emmers-Sommer et al., 2006: 314). The news media frequently portray rapists using monster imagery (Barnett, 2008; Mason and Monckton-Smith, 2008; Soothill et al., 1990), their victims classed either as ‘virgins’ attacked by these so-called ‘monsters’ or instead as promiscuous women who invited the rape (Benedict, 1992). These depictions can impact upon public opinion as the more frequently rape myths are used, the more accessible they become. This can be harmful to rape victims when individuals who subscribe to these myths are involved in the criminal justice system (Franiuk et al., 2008: 304–305). Through a lexical analysis of the newspaper coverage surrounding three news events gathered from three LexisNexis searches, this article assesses the use of rape myths within the British and American news media’s reporting of such violence.

He’s a Rapist, Even When He’s Not

2018 ◽  
pp. 132-152
Author(s):  
Tommy J. Curry
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Black Men ◽  
Sexual Intercourse ◽  
Black Males ◽  
White Woman ◽  
White Women ◽  
White Men ◽  
Historical Reality ◽  
Economic Need ◽  
False Accusations

Tommy J. Curry considers Wright’s views on gender in terms of the historical reality of black males’ vulnerability to sexual violence at the hands of white men and white women. Curry explores Wright’s impassioned response to the 1951 trial and execution of fellow Mississippi native Willie McGee. McGee had been charged with having raped a white woman, Williametta Hawkins, who had been described as his mistress but who, in fact, had threatened to cry rape if he refused her advances. Curry reports that at that time, black men, often out of economic need, were sometimes coerced into sexual intercourse by threats of false accusations of rape. Otherwise, they would be either literally or metaphorically lynched. In a way unprecedented in Wright scholarship, Curry frames Wright’s “The Man of All Work” as an allegory for the rape of McGee. In the story, a black man cross-dresses in search of employment in domestic work. This leads to a series of misunderstandings and misidentifications by whites that almost kill him. Curry concludes that this story was far more than a clever plot: it effectively expressed a particular set of humiliations and dilemmas faced by black men.

Residential Location and the Earnings of African American Women

1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Hoffnar ◽  
Michael Greene
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
African American Men ◽  
Central City ◽  
Residential Location ◽  
White Men ◽  
Reference Groups ◽  
American Women

In comparing the earnings of African American women to three reference groups—white women, African American men, and white men—three principal findings emerge. First, African American women residing in the suburbs are worse off than any other suburban group. Second, central city African American women are worse off than any other group of central city residents. Third, while central city residence imposes a statistically significant earnings penalty on men of both races, no such penalty is found for African American or white women. Therefore, African American women will enjoy no earnings advantage if they move to the suburbs. This finding underscores the importance of including women in studies of residential location and the socioeconomic status of African Americans. A narrow focus on male data to inform policy is clearly insufficient.

Abstract P080: Self-reported Experiences of Everyday Discrimination are Associated With Shorter Leukocyte Telomeres in African-American Women With Coronary Heart Disease

Circulation ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 135 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samaah Sullivan ◽  
Viola Vaccarino ◽  
Muhammad Hammadah ◽  
Ibhar Al Mheid ◽  
Kobina Wilmot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
White Women ◽  
African American Men ◽  
White Men ◽  
Cellular Aging ◽  
Telomere Shortening ◽  
American Women ◽  
And Gender

Rationale: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is an indicator of biological aging. Telomere shortening may be sensitive to social stressors such as discrimination, but this has not been previously examined in a biracial cohort of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Objective: To explore differences in LTL by race and gender and examine whether discrimination was associated with accelerated cellular aging (shorter telomere length). Methods: Data were from 367 White and African American patients in the Mental Stress Ischemia Mechanisms and Prognosis Study (MIPS) which enrolled patients with a diagnosis of stable CHD from Emory University-affiliated hospitals and clinics. LTL was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and expressed as a ratio of the amount of telomeric DNA to the amount of single-copy control gene (T/S). The T/S ratios were then converted to kilobase pairs. Discrimination was measured using the 10-item Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS), where participants reported their experiences of everyday mistreatment during the previous 12 months. Responses were rated using 4-point Likert scales ranging from never = 1 to often = 4 which were summed. Due to the potential batch effect in telomere length, we modeled telomere plate as a random effect. Multiple linear regression models were stratified by race/ethnicity and gender to estimate differences in mean LTL and associations with discrimination, adjusted for potential confounding factors. Results: African American women had longer mean LTL (5.58; SD: 0.05) compared to African American men (5.28; SD: 0.04), White women (5.22; SD: 0.05) and White men (5.24; SD: 0.03). Reports of discrimination were higher among African American men (16.1; SD: 6.5) compared to African American women (15.4; SD: 4.9), White women (14.9; SD: 4.4), and White men (13.5; SD: 3.8). The association between discrimination and accelerated cellular aging was statistically significant among African American women [β = -0.02; 95% CI: (-0.04, -0.001); p=0.0377] after models were adjusted for demographics, smoking history, BMI, and disease history. Discrimination was not significantly associated with accelerated cellular aging among African American men [β = -0.01; 95% CI: (-0.02, 0.01)], White men β = [-0.003; 95% CI: (-0.02, 0.01)], or White women [β = -0.01; 95% CI: (-0.03, 0.01)]. The association between discrimination and accelerated cellular aging remained statistically significant for African American women after further adjusting for depression and perceived stress. Conclusions: Although African American women with CHD have longer telomere length, they may experience greater telomere shortening in relation to discrimination. Accelerated telomere shortening secondary to discrimination stress may be a potential mechanism of health related disparities among African American women with CHD.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Rae Flood
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Sex Crimes ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
The Media ◽  
Rape Trials ◽  
American Society

This concluding chapter considers the myriad legal and medical reforms that have been established since the 1970s in enhancing access to justice for rape victims. At the same time the chapter looks at contemporary rape cases and the media storm surrounding them, once again confronting the racial rape myths that prevail in contemporary American society. The chapter argues that, while institutionalized support for those navigating the complexities of rape trials has grown in recent decades, historic myths about race, gender, and sexual violence still uncomfortably intervene in sensationalized media coverage of sex crimes and in the contemporary justice system, forcing us to continue to confront and challenge our own understandings of rape.

Factors Influencing Electrophysiologic Responsivity in Normal Adults

1965 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-347
Author(s):  
Robert Goldstein ◽  
Benjamin RosenblÜt
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
White Light ◽  
Pure Tone ◽  
Alpha Rhythm ◽  
White Women ◽  
White Men ◽  
Inverse Relation ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Electrodermal Responses ◽  
Normal Adults

Electrodermal and electroencephalic responsivity to sound and to light was studied in 96 normal-hearing adults in three separate sessions. The subjects were subdivided into equal groups of white men, white women, colored men, and colored women. A 1 000 cps pure tone was the conditioned stimulus in two sessions and white light was used in a third session. Heat was the unconditioned stimulus in all sessions. Previously, an inverse relation had been found in white men between the prominence of alpha rhythm in the EEG and the ease with which electrodermal responses could be elicited. This relation did not hold true for white women. The main purpose of the present study was to answer the following questions: (1) are the previous findings on white subjects applicable to colored subjects? (2) are subjects who are most (or least) responsive electrophysiologically on one day equally responsive (or unresponsive) on another day? and (3) are subjects who are most (or least) responsive to sound equally responsive (or unresponsive) to light? In general, each question was answered affirmatively. Other factors influencing responsivity were also studied.

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