Michigan High School Chooses To Protect Star Basketball Player Instead Of His Rape Victims

[UrbScotty]

The National Women’s Law Center is joining forces with a Michigan-area law firm to file a complaint on behalf of a young woman who was sexually assaulted by one of her high school’s star basketball players. As RH Reality Check reports, the complaint alleges that high school administrators did nothing to help advocate for the rape victim after she came forward with her story. In fact, the principal discouraged her from filing charges because he was worried that would hurt her rapist’s chances at getting recruited to play college basketball

...

After the news of the assault spread throughout the Michigan high school, the victim faced backlash from her fellow students, who called her a whore and a liar. She was the subject of intense cyberbullying, and she was also harassed by her assailant and his friends in the school’s hallways. Her parents reported the harassment to the school, but administrators took no action. “The school’s failure to address the harassment sends a chilling message to students that they should remain silent in the face of sexual assault and cannot count on their school to provide a safe learning environment,” a statement from the National Women Law Center pointed out.

Unfortunately, that’s a message that students across the country are receiving from their school administrators. Society’s pervasive victim-blaming rape culture has consistently valued sports stars over rape victims — a dynamic that was particularly evident during the events that unfolded in Steubenville, OH earlier this year. That small town made national news for covering up a sexual assault perpetrated by two of its high school football stars. Even after the teens were convicted, the media took clear sides in the case, focusing on the impact that the guilty verdict might have on the boys’ promising athletic careers rather than the fact that they committed a serious crime. And Steubenville’s football coach just received a contract extension despite the fact that he may have been complicit in the cover-up.

This Michigan high schooler is just one of countless survivors of sexual assault who have faced serious consequences after talking about the crimes perpetrated against them. The Steubenville victim received death threats once her case became national news. And two teenage sexual assault victims — 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons from Canada and 15-year-old Audrie Pott from California — recently committed suicide after their classmates bullied them with information about their alleged gang-rapes.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/04/23/1907651/michigan-high-school-rape-culture/?mobile=nc

Forest Hills Central - Right in my backyard.

[benld74]

1. The story, the coverup, the classmates reactions identical to others across the country

pathetic!

[Orrex]

2. I've never heard of such a thing!

Oh wait. I mean we hear about cases like this all the time. Disgusting!

the principal discouraged her from filing charges because he was worried that would hurt her rapist’s chances at getting recruited to play college basketball.

How often do we hear of school principals advising high school athletes not to commit rape because it would hurt the victim's chances at a normal goddamn life?

***crickets***

[Rex]

3. This is a crisis.

This is way too common place in public schools and it needs to stop. The adults enabling this behavior need to be fired ASAP.

[Initech]

6. Crisis??? More like an epidemic!

This is happening way too often now and it's sickening that school after school is protecting the assholes. Lock 'em up. If our for profit prisons need prisoners here's a good place to start.

[Rex]

8. I spent a few years teaching in a public high school

and some of the things I learned in that short time, convinced me to find work elsewhere. This hero worshipping of SPORTS has GOT TO STOP. Coaches telling their students they can do anything they want to and some of the coaches doing whatever they wanted to and getting away with it. While the administration looks the other way.

It was disturbing to find out how broken the system really is. It is NOT the students, but the adults that manipulate the kids and the system to cover up crime. It is an epidemic. The adults empower these boys into believing they can do anything and not be held responsible; I kind of think it is a reflection of our out of control - take no responsibility - nation/govt we live in.

And they are going to grow up and rape as adults that had adults looking the other way or telling them it is okay.



And of course that has nothing to do with all the other problems in public schools...but IMO it is the biggest crisis we have in schools next to absurd standardized testing and malignant school boards.

[Initech]

11. Believe me I've seen bullies at their worst. I know.

That's why I'll never work in a school either. Our system is broken and you can't really place blame anywhere (*COUGH* Reagan) but it definitely needs to be fixed.

[Rex]

13. Yeah you got that right, RWR.

I still am not sure who did more damage to this country, Ronald Wilson Reagan or George Walker Bush jr. They have such a long list that it would be a neck and neck finish.

The entire system need an overhaul and not the type Bill Gates wants to give it; but a social overhaul with more classes on relationships, peer pressure and bring back health! It is embarrassing that grown adults are embarrassed about that subject in schools!

If parents really find an elective offensive, they can make sure their kid does not take it.

End of story.

[raccoon]

12. It's happening now, yes, and undoubtedly happened a lot in previous decades as well, only now it's

being reported.

And of course that in no way excuses the perps or the school officials.

[Initech]

4. Grr. Those pigs deserve to lose their right to play basketball.

It truly sucks when shit like this happens and the administration protects the scumbag's right to be scumbags. Throw them in jail and lose the key.

[geek tragedy]

5. What rape culture?

Maybe after a few dozen more stories like this, people will realize that these aren't isolated incidents.

[Rex]

9. How can anyone deny there is a crisis in this country?

I don't think they can deny what their eyes see or read about daily for very much longer.

[Comrade Grumpy]

14. Sensational stories like this paint one picture; the actual stats paint quite another.

This is from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. It shows the rate of rape and sexual assault declining dramatically in recent years and uses victimization surveys--not rapes reported to police--as the measure.

http://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4594

Female Victims of Sexual Violence, 1994-2010
Marcus Berzofsky, Dr.P.H., RTI, Christopher Krebs, Ph.D., RTI, Lynn Langton, Ph.D., BJS, Michael Planty, Ph.D., BJS, Hope Smiley-McDonald, Ph.D., RTI

March 7, 2013 NCJ 240655


Presents trends in the rate of completed or attempted rape or sexual assault against females from 1995 to 2010. The report examines demographic characteristics of female victims of sexual violence and characteristics of the offender and incident, including victim-offender relationship, whether the offender had a weapon, and the location of the victimization. The report also examines changes over time in the percentages of female victims of sexual violence who suffered an injury and received formal medical treatment, reported the victimization to the police, and received assistance from a victim service provider. Data are from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households.


Highlights:

From 1995 to 2010, the estimated annual rate of female rape or sexual assault victimizations declined 58%, from 5.0 victimizations per 1,000 females age 12 or older to 2.1 per 1,000.

In 2005-10, females who were age 34 or younger, who lived in lower income households, and who lived in rural areas experienced some of the highest rates of sexual violence.

In 2005-10, the offender was armed with a gun, knife, or other weapon in 11% of rape or sexual assault victimizations.

In 2005-10, 78% of sexual violence involved an offender who was a family member, intimate partner, friend, or acquaintance.

Press Release

PDF (1.4M)

ASCII file (34K)

Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 26K)

Help for using BJS products

About the Source Data

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

To cite this product, use the following link:
http://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4594

[Rex]

15. So you want me to believe those statistics to what I've seen firsthand?

What experience do you have in the education field?

[demmiblue]

16. A BS degree from the MRA School of Gender Studies. n/t

[Iggo]

20. Almost googled it.

[jeff47]

17. Your stats don't change that picture

There's nothing that requires the number of rapes to go up in order for this problem to exist.

What's new is we're actually hearing about these incidents, instead of the "good girl" quietly accepting the abuse.

[LanternWaste]

21. What then is the precise and relevant difference between the two pictures...?

What then is the precise and relevant difference between the two pictures...?

[Fumesucker]

18. Because it's been going on forever

In a lot of particularly small towns whose only claim to fame is the sports teams this kind of thing happens when you have corrupt adults in charge of young athletes and that is entirely too common.

[tblue]

7. Here's their contact info.

We must shame this school. Really. Let's let them know we are aware and we are not going away.

http://www.fhps.net/centralhs/contact-us/

[Whisp]

10. nah, let's talk about opening or not opening doors.

that's about as deep as some here can get about the freaking epidemic of rape.

there is always an excuse or reason to disbelieve that this is going on - from frightening graphs and charts about the horrific prevalence of rape that are 'incorrect' but their graphs that rape is actually in decline are, of course, correct.

rape underground.

[redqueen]

19. K&R