More controversy over rape rhetoric in the U.S. after a judge claimed that because the victim didn't put up a fight during her assault, it wasn't legitimate rape.
"I'm not a gynecologist," said Judge Derek Johnson, whose 2008 comments have only now come to light, "but I can tell you something—if someone doesn't want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down. The body will not permit that to happen unless a lot of damage is inflicted, and we heard nothing about that in this case. That tells me that the victim in this case, although she wasn't necessarily willing, she didn't put up a fight. And to treat this case like the rape cases that we all hear about is an insult to victims of rape. I think it's an insult. I think it trivializes a rape."
According to an article in the UK Independent, the Californian judge also gave a lessened sentence for the rapist in the case, to just six years, because he claimed the rape was "technical" and not "a real, live criminal case."
The man had reportedly threatened to "mutilate the face and genitals of his ex-girlfriend with a heated screwdriver." Before raping her, he also subjected her to violent threats and beat her with a metal baton.
"... the judge's remarks reflected outdated, biased and insensitive views about sexual assault victims who do not 'put up a fight.' Such comments cannot help but diminish public confidence and trust in the impartiality of the judiciary," wrote Lawrence Simi, chairman of the states Commission on Judicial Performance.
Although Judge Johnson has since apologized for his statements, which are a staggering reflection of how rape is perceived by some of the highest members of the judicial system, he's still on the bench.
What do you think of Johnson's comments?
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