I don't know many people who haven't heard of the recent news about Lara Logan, a news reporter who was beaten and sexually assaulted while in Egypt after their president stepped down. I don't have much to say on the topic other than I send my prayers to her and am proud of her for speaking out. Speaking out when you're another face in the crowd is one thing, but speaking out when it is going to be covered by the news and spread around the world is another thing. It takes a lot of courage and strength, more than I can imagine. I also cannot believe the amount of ignorant remarks that have been given. The news has covered different reactions from those whose words also got spread around the world that she deserved it and that she should have seen it coming. How could she not, after all she is pretty and was in a heated climate. I hate that ignorance such as this still exists, but I cannot stand that it is so strongly believed that one would go about posting it to the entire world. I can only be happy that Nir Rosen stepped down as a NYU fellow.
And to end this short post, I'll leave words by Mikki Halpin "Other people who have "asked for it" on the job: miners who are trapped, construction workers who fall, astronauts."
I send my thoughts out to her as well. I love your ending quote because it's so true. Some of things I have heard in regard to Lara Logan's attack are just horrible like you said. It's ignorance like that which keeps many survivors in silence for fear of being blamed. It's also ignorance like that which amazes me.
ReplyDeleteI believe she will be able to get through this. She is so strong and it's good to see her speaking out. The more we speak out, the more we give strength to those who feel silenced.
Take care,
Sarah
Hi Mary
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you posted this information about Lara Logan. I read so many conflicting reports on the web after she was attacked.
Some said she was "sexually assaulted," some said she was "raped." I got terribly confused as to what then is sexual assault and what then is rape?
Are they the same? If not, how are they different? How is sexual abuse different from assault and rape?
The reportage on Lara Logan really muddied the waters for me and if you have time, I think it would be great if you were able to maybe post legal definitions of sexual abuse / sexual assault / rape ... ? I am a survivor of all 3 and the greyness of their classifications allowed me to hide from what had actually happened for a long time.
See, I think that in England and the USA and Australia the definitions are all slightly different, which again is very confusing. Especially for survivors who come to the web for information.
I hope that to do such a thing is not a research nightmare, but I think it would be a very useful resource for women from each of those countries.
Good luck to you - I will check back often!
Hugs to you for such a great blog :)