...Within the novel, Picking Cotton, the issue of misconceptions and false eye witness accounts comes into play. On a warm June night in 1984, Jennifer Thompson woke up to find a man in her room and was then forcefully raped by him. Throughout the incident, Jennifer continued to analyze the man raping her in hopes of guaranteeing he was brought to justice. She looked at his facial features and clothing and body type. When it came time to chose someone out of the lineup, she was 100% sure that she had chosen the correct perpetrator- Ronald Cotton. After Ronald is convicted and sent to jail, Jennifer begins to rebuild her life while Ronald’s life begins to fall apart. The story then switches to the point of view of Ronald, who explains his side of the story and emphasizes his innocence. It was not until DNA testing came around that Ronald was able to truly prove his innocence. The overlaying theme of this story is that Jennifer’s eyewitness account was so strong that a jury believed, without a doubt, that Ronald Cotton was the man responsible for the rape of Jennifer Thompson. This certainty was quickly dispelled by DNA testing and brings about the problem of misconceptions. Jennifer thoroughly believed that Ronald was her rapist and this proves how easily it is for people to misidentify features of different races. It also helps to disprove eye witness accounts (Thompson-Cannino & Cotton, 2009, p.1-287). Keywords: rape, conviction, innocence, misidentification The...
Words: 1283 - Pages: 6
...Sexism is a problem that every person will experience at least once in the life. The oppression can be as simple as a joke, to as a serious as rape or death. This bias is hidden in stereotypes and in common practices, or it can be front page news. Gender discrimination is so ingrained into our society that it will always be commonplace in our everyday lives. The main reason for its continuing in our society is the history of ignorance and misinformation. Sexism is the discrimination or prejudice of a person based on whether that is a man, women, or transgender. Women have the hardest struggle against sexism. These prejudices can affect them in hundreds of ways from the workplace, home, and their safety while out and about. Nationally, women are subject to horrible mistreatment such as domestic violence and sexual assaults. Globally the amount of abuse to women is disgusting. War rapes, gendercide, genital mutilation, honor killings are not only being done to women, but are being accepted as a part of some cultures. The main issue most women face daily is inequality between men and women faced in the media, workplace, marriage, and many other important areas. It’s not only that women need to be accepted in everything they want to do, but also the...
Words: 652 - Pages: 3
...“Rape. It is a power hungry act. It breeds fear and in many cases, it breeds silence. Repercussion that grows deep into the soil of a person’s soul.” Date rape, a topic that has been widely discussed throughout the world, has been happening since early in the 1970’s and has become a growing epidemic. Typically most individuals feel that women are only affected by any form of acquaintance rape. However, many men are victims of the same circumstances. There are many misconceptions about what date rape appears to be and who is often affected by it. In America date rape has become a growing epidemic on the rise affecting men and women causing both physical and emotional damage, decline of social skills, death and long-lasting effects. According...
Words: 288 - Pages: 2
...Head: Rape Trauma Syndrome Kianna Walls Forensic Psychology March 26, 2015 Abstract Rape is commonly defined as using force to make someone do a sexual act against their will. Rape can cause a person to experience symptoms that are very similar to post-trauma stress disorder. The person experiences symptoms such as nightmares, constant reliving of the event, and denial. Victims experiencing this go through rape trauma syndrome. RTS is not commonly used in court rooms as it is easily dissuaded. When it used in the courtroom, it is used more of a defense than to show that a victim can experience this. This paper explores what RTS is and how it used in courtrooms. It also explores why RTS should be used courtrooms, not as a defense but to show that it exist and that victims can experience this. Rape Trauma Syndrome There have been many trials that use rape-trauma syndrome as either a defense mechanism or as a way to say that rape happened and this was a consequence. But not many trials with expert testimony on RTS as allow to be used. Yet it should be as many people, both female and males, are raped and experience RTS. Rape trauma syndrome is defined by Gupta (2013) as a type of PTSD that consists of physical and emotional traits from post-rape that many people are rape victims share (pg. 415). RTS is very serious and those that have experienced this syndrome deserve to have it recognized in court. There are many misconceptions of rape. Greene...
Words: 2027 - Pages: 9
...She discusses the mental health after effects of rape and the trauma that she experienced. Through discussing this, she is making a small step in combating ableism towards people with mental health issues. Her reactions are very normal among victim-survivors of sexual assault, as noted in Reddington and Kreisel. Almost half of victim-survivors medicate after an assault and this also includes some people who self-medicate (90). Even though it is a slightly smaller section than the rest of the chapters, it is necessary because it helps normalize reactions that someone may have after they have been raped. It is helping to erase the misconceptions and the stigma around those reactions, which is in the direction of solutions around judgements of responses after sexual assault. Some people may have judged the drug use and her dropping out of school, but she still talks about it which I believe is very intersectional. In addition to the intersectionality, she validates others who may have had the same outcomes as...
Words: 1176 - Pages: 5
...credit card fraud, drug peddling, rape, insider trading, prostitution, bigamy and attempted suicide to name but a few. They should entail punishment in the ideal situation. These situations can and do take place in extremely dissimilar conditions and for conflicting reasons. This stochastic variable makes it hard for the criminal justice system to be foul proof and have a “recognized measuring standard” of crime to a level that incorporates the total outlook of various social groups (Digital Films, 2012). Any action against the word of God, the laws of a country or one intended to cause harm and hardship to an individual or a society is defined as crime (Danny Dorling et al, 2005). ANALYSIS Two parameters determined the public’s perception of crime in most cases; the most reported crimes in the mainstream media and the most likely crimes they encounter in their daily lives. The majority of the interviewees are more inclined to see a criminal in the terms of a “gun – toting street criminal” not as an “immaculately dressed wall street banker”. Time and lack of information insulates the public when it comes to white collar, corporate and state sponsored crimes, which are more sophisticated and have much wider impact. According to the Jones and Bartlett, a Gallup poll of 2009 found fifty percent of the respondents believed street crimes such as burglary, rape, murder, drug peddling, assaults as the immediate serious crimes they worry about most. Spending on security systems...
Words: 1064 - Pages: 5
...related to trans representation in American popular culture poses some questions I believe are pertinent especially in today’s society: how does this case from the mid-1990s challenge us to rethink the importance of visibility and action for violence against women; necessitate new emphasis on body and assessment of social meaning ascribed on female bodies? What’s the truth about Trans sex crimes and do they play out differently when those circumstances in mind? Not only does this entire story challenge conservative views, it challenges the understanding of feminists and the conventional ideas of the body, sexual differences, and violence against women. This story highlights the absolute need to address the intersecting sides of oppression that...
Words: 454 - Pages: 2
...Across the world, humankind is synonymous about the fear of the big F-word: feminism. This fear generally emanates from the misconception about the true definition about the people supporting this movement. The definition of feminism has been distorted over the years, molded to fit the stereotype of a “feminist”. Feminist: A person who believes in the social, political, economic, equality of the sexes. A feminist is often associated with the stereotype of an irate, manipulating man-hater although, only the few minority actually fall into this generalization. Feminists can come in all sizes: ebony, white, Asian, female, male, European, masculine, feminine etc. Many people do not understand the significance of feminism in our world and to do...
Words: 1506 - Pages: 7
...they confessed to being a witch. The words, The Witches Hammer meant nothing to me. But the concept and history of the witch trials always have had meaning to me. I am a woman’s advocate. I have counseled many people who have been victims of sexual assault, child abuse and domestic violence. I am a Sexual Assault Response Team volunteer. I get sit with rape survivors while they have the rape kit exams. I feel deeply about what I do. I say all this because I also feel deeply about the women that were tortured, imprisoned, and killed in the name of “Almighty God”. So the term, “Witches Hammer” means a lot to me. I don’t know that this term can be used on a regular basis in the practice of Paganism or Wicca. This term, to me, is mainly an educational tool to make people more aware of the past and its’ implications. I think this term can be used to educate about the history of mankind. I appreciate that it has been a part of my education at this...
Words: 1190 - Pages: 5
...December 2014 When discussing sexual assault or rape, people often overlook the effects and aftermath of the situation, especially non-physical effects. Those of us who have the privilege of receiving public education are taught about the importance of consent-getting someone’s permission before touching their body-in sexual education classes, or maybe we are taught by our parents or other guardians. Regardless of how we are taught, we all learn that it is wrong to touch other people when we are told “no”. However, we hardly ever take the time to consider that there are more lasting effects of sexual assault than making someone uncomfortable. Sexual assault damages victims’ health physically as well as psychologically (Campbell). It is most common to hear about the physical impacts sexual assault can have on victims. Perpetrators of sexual assault are motivated by feelings of power and control over their victims, and therefore are violent and forceful, which can cause lasting physical damage to the victim. One hundred percent of completed rapes, 39 percent of attempted rapes, and 17 percent of sexual assaults against females result in injured victims. Immediate physical effects a person can experience after a sexual assault or rape include bruising, bleeding, difficulty walking, soreness of the body, disorientation, nausea, vomiting, and tension headaches, among other effects. Some other physical consequences experienced by rape survivors include gynecological damages, pregnancy...
Words: 1803 - Pages: 8
...Rape & Rape Trauma Syndrome Dictionaries most commonly define rape as a sexual act committed by force especially on a woman. (The American Heritage College Dictionary. 1997 pg. 740) Until a few years ago it was limited to penial penetration of the vagina. Penal Code 261 defines rape as an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator without the lawful consent.(Roberson, 1998, p. 188) Penal Code 263 goes on to say that the fundamental wrong at which the law of rape is aimed is . . . the violation of a woman's will and sexuality. (Roberson, 1998, p. 190) All other sexual assaults are classified under varied names, yet the aftermath is usually the same. Rape is one of the cruelest forms of criminal violence. The victim suffers a profound injury. Rendered powerless by physical force, threats, or fear, after which being forced to submit to sexual acts, including vaginal penetration, oral copulation, sodomy, and penetration opening with a foreign object, the victim is left virtually alone. Rape is an intrusion into the most private and intimate parts of the body, as well as an assault on the core of the self. Despite whether the victim suffers any physical trauma, the psychological impact of a sexual assault is severe. Moreover, the painful, post-trauma symptoms that result from rape are long-lasting. Even those victims who appear to have recovered months or years later often find that an overwhelming sense of powerlessness and vulnerability...
Words: 2029 - Pages: 9
...a victim of rape? The question makes anyone’s body shiver, yet it doesn’t cross our mind when our parents drop us to college that we are entering a world as wild as one can imagine. Our excitement and hope at this new stage in life is unexplainable, but while we are glooming with happiness our parents are entering an alarming state of unease, because we are not immune to the hidden danger of rape, and other sexual crimes that happen in our new found “comfort zone.” Every new day is an example of a college potentially mishandling the sexual assault of one of its students. While sex crimes are on the rise in America’s higher-education system, so does the institutions negligence. The purpose of this paper is to try and unravel the injustices and misconceptions of what...
Words: 1579 - Pages: 7
...While also using the NCVS and NIBRS as their sources, they conclude that victims are more likely to consider a sexual crime a rape when it occurs in a public setting, while police will carry on with an arrest for similar reasons, along with the victim showing visible signs of physical violence (Clay-Warner and McMahon-Howard, 2009). It is through these and other conditions that they propose as the “Classic Rape” examples adhered to from a legal standpoint, while other equally vital conditions that fall within the law are somehow excluded. And from a more technical standpoint, the Clay-Warner/McMahon-Howard team rely on Donald Black’s Behavior of Law Theory to explain how social factors affect to what extent action is taken. To sum it up briefly, non-whites are less likely to call on the police as opposed to whites; casual strangers are more likely to rely on law enforcement, while couples normally prefer to keep sexual assault private; educated persons are more apt to report sexual crimes; violated groups take priority over lone individuals; and finally, sexual crimes occurring at night in public spaces are more often reported (2009). Relying on these factors can possibly help re-shape how society, law enforcement and victims view rape and other sexual crimes, not to mention...
Words: 1198 - Pages: 5
...Debran Rowland, a Carleton graduate, and Author of the book The Boundaries of her Body explains that ages 14 and 15 are peak ages for girls, for being victims of rape, Proving that we as teenagers are in definite danger of being victims. As girls, it is something we must be very aware of and even fear at times. Rape has also become a growing issue at colleges. Bradford Richardson, a graduate of Claremont McKenna College analyzes this growing problem in Text Box: The above graphic, passed along by the Huffington Post's Laura Bassett, was put together by the Enliven Project using data from Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey and FBI reports. It drives home extremely well the fact that false rape accusations are exceedingly rare, despite what media reports might suggest. Almost as rare are cases when rapists actually go to jail more so than strangers.his article The Real Campus Sexual Assault Problem. He explains that a common controversy comes up at colleges where rape is concerned when alcohol is involved, and whether or not that is rape. Conservatives and liberals have shown the different sides of this debate while conservatives argue that evidence should be “clear and convincing”. Liberals tend to push for a less demanding standard. Because of this controversy, many victims fear that their case may not be successful in court...
Words: 1584 - Pages: 7
...You’ll be told more often than not that, “She should not have been drinking so much,” or “If she can’t remember parts of it, why should we trust her judgment at all?” or, even more frequently, “He’s a good kid, a good student, an athlete. He doesn’t fit the bill for ‘rapist’.” I will later go into further detail on why that latter statement is a widely popular misconception, but first we will address the former two statements. Two of the most important things to point out in regards to campus sexual assault are A), the difference between incapacitated rape and forced rape and B), the importance of steering away from discussing the “dangers” of alcohol and substance abuse in relation to sexual assault. These points are both highlighted in Heather McCauley’s editorial, “College Sexual Assault: A Call for Trauma-Informed Prevention.” She first defines forced rape as, true to the name, forcible sexual assault while the victim is sober, and incapacitated rape as rape involving a victim’s intoxication level in any form, whether it be...
Words: 1721 - Pages: 7
