Responses to rape

Press, 19 May 1984, Page 16

Responses to rape

Sir,—Rape is one form, a particularly horrible one, of assault. All assaults, both on individuals and their property, are crimes, a fact which schools uphold in the standards of behaviour they expect between pupils. One does not need courses on human sexuality and male attitudes towards women in order to teach that people should not assault each other. There is little controversy about schools upholding the laws about not committing assault and theft, but there will be far less community agreement over what constitutes “right” attitudes towards sexuality. It is noteworthy that as feminism has increased the antagonism and division between the sexes, and emphasised women’s self-sufficiency, so rape has increased. Perhaps there is some connection between these phenomena. — Yours, etc., P. CLEMENTS, Chairman, Concerned Parents Association, Christchurch. May 17, 1984.

Sir,—l read with interest the start of Jacqueline Steincamp’s article on the male response to rape (“The Press,” May 16). While no-one will doubt that rape is a serious problem, like many people I get driven up the wall when contributors such as Ms Steincamp make sweeping generalisations. I refer to her comment about our “violent society”: “Our ethics on the rugby field are a real indicator of the violence level.” Organised sport does not contribute to the rise of a violent society, rather it is the refusal of certain groups to participate in any form of social or recreational activity which causes problems. These people find it difficult to relate to other people on any level, and that is regarded as being an underlying cause of violent crimes such as rape. I expect a greater depth of perception than Ms Steincamp’s article provided this morning.—Yours, etc GARY FISO. May 16, 1984.

Sir-After reading Jacqueline Steincamp’s article I felt that some people were beginning to understand that violence towards women stems from society’s attitudes towards women. We are portrayed as sexual objects, incapable of physical or intellectual activity, which hardly teaches respect. It was ironic and disappointing to find, directly above this informative article, a discussion on cycling in which women were portrayed as passive objects. We are referred to

as the wives of cyclists, unable to cope with the physical demands, or the logical thinking needed to understand the way bicycles work. At the end of the article there is a cheap joke about women having to be careful that their cones do not drop off.—Yours, etc., C. SWEET. May 18, 1984.