Friday, April 8, 2011

Eman al-Obeidy: Libyan rape survivor or Libyan whore?

I recently came across articles discussing an alleged rape that occurred in Libya. 
Eman al-Obeidy went to the press in a local hotel to try to tell her story of Libyan 
soldiers capturing her, raping her, and torturing her.  As she tried to tell her story 
she was taken away by police.  After this encounter there has been an interesting 
reaction from the media in how they have covered the incident.  In Libya they are 
show casing how not to support survivors and also victim blaming at its worst, by
calling Eman a whore, prostitute, and many other derogatory names making the rape seem
as though it is her fault.  Something I find interesting here though is that 98% of 
rape accusations are true, the same as any other violent crime.  So why do people think
Eman is being treated as lair? Also, this story also brings to mind for me how one 
should handle disclosures, and for SAPAC we use the approach BSR: believe, support, 
refer. Which none of these are happening with this case.  What do people think about
this?  
 

Here is another article I found if you would like more information: link

1 comment:

  1. How many rape victims actually come forward? Especially with secular and conservative women daring to voice their shame so openly? You look at one side of things, but neglect to see the other. Why is it not such a surprise she found her way there in front of the media? What a coincident...

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