Bulletin Board v255

5 Reasons Why Feminists Don’t Say Much About The Horrors Of Prison Rape — We’ve heard a lot about rape culture on college campuses and seen quite a few highly determined domestic violence and sexual assault advocates fighting on behalf of those who are affected. But it’s hard not to conclude that much of their dismay toward the culture of rape and violence possesses a degree of gender bias that should concern us all. One thing that is consistently off the radar screen is the issue of prison rape.

Bullfinch: Board’s error as abuse review saw 50 boys counted as girls — BOYS at risk of being targeted for sex by gangs of men in Oxfordshire are being forgotten, say support workers. A Serious Case Review into child sexual exploitation (CSE) case Operation Bullfinch, published earlier this month, identified 373 child victims who may have been sexually exploited across the county. The report said they were all girls but it has now transpired nearly 50 of them were boys.

Comics Like Batgirl Shouldn’t Require a ‘Good Feminist’ Seal of Approval — A backlash against a Batgirl comic book cover some perceived as sexually violent has caused the cover to be withdrawn — leading to a backlash against perceived censorship. Sexism in popular culture is a valid concern. But when feminist criticism becomes an outrage machine that chills creative expression, it’s bad for feminism and bad for female representation.

Court hears saga of abuse and Brockton victim’s resilience — His childhood was a nightmare — and he had to face his monsters one last time. The victim watched in Brockton Superior Court Monday as his aunt and uncle pleaded guilty to repeatedly assaulting him over the course of nine years, beginning when he was 7 years old.

The female teachers getting away with sexual abuse — Married teaching assistant Emma Webb has been spared jail for sleeping with two pupils – because she has already served time for being sexually active with five other male students at her school. The mum-of-two, 44, encouraged two teenage boys – 15 and 16 – to skip school so they could have sex with her at her family home.

Few Have Faced Consequences for Abuses at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq — Photos of Iraqi prisoners tethered to dog leashes and electrical wires dominated the news when they emerged in 2003 and 2004. The abuse scandal centered at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad aroused bipartisan shock at home and embarrassment abroad. But more than a decade on, the images and the calls for accountability have faded.

Former soldier accused of sex abuse tells trial young boy became a “nuisance” — A former soldier accused of indecency towards two boys told his trial yesterday that one of the lads looked up to him, but later became a nuisance and made up “fanciful” stories. Barry Gunn, 37, now a builder and mechanic, denied abusing one boy at various locations in Appin, north of Oban, over a five-year period when the boy was between the ages of eight and 13, from 2004 to 2009.

Hundreds Of Illinois Prison Staff Allegedly Choked, Beat, And Sexually Assaulted Inmates — A class action lawsuit filed Thursday alleges more than 232 members of an Illinois’ Department of Corrections unit called Orange Crush sexually abused and beat inmates during routine “shakedowns.” According to a complaint filed by the attorneys bringing this lawsuit, at four separate facilities, Orange Crush officers told prisoners to undress completely, lift their genitals, spread their buttocks open, stick their hands in their mouths.

IPCC announces probe into claims Met Police covered up Westminster sex abuse scandal — The police watchdog has formally announced it is investigating claims that Scotland Yard covered up child sex offences because of the alleged involvement of MPs and police officers. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it is investigating 14 referrals detailing alleged corruption in the Metropolitan Police, which relate to child sex offences from the 1970s to the 2000s, after the move was disclosed by The Telegraph.

Male suicide scandal: UK men are paying for a system that drives thousands of them to death — Suicide is the leading cause of death of British men under 50 years of age. Over a quarter (26%) of men who die between the ages of 20 and 34 take their own lives, and 13% of deaths among men aged 35 to 49 are self-inflicted. The figures for women are 13% and 5% respectively. The state is responsible – through its actions and inactions – for many of the crises that lead men to kill themselves.

‘Male victims of sexual abuse are treated as secondary’ — It was supposed to be a sign that sexual violence against men was being taken seriously. But just over a year after the Government announced a male rape support fund – with £500,000 set aside exclusively to provide counselling for men who have been affected by sexual abuse – support groups are being forced to cut back on basic services.

Michigan Teen Found Locked In Basement, Boy Isolated For So Long He ‘Created A Family Of Stuffed Animals’ — A Michigan teenage boy was found locked in the basement of his home by his adoptive parents, Livingston County police maintain. The 16-year-old boy was reportedly so isolated due to being forced to live in the “uninhabitable basement” that he created a “family” from discarded stuffed animals stored near him.

Salvation Army failed to halt child sex abuse: Australian inquiry — The Salvation Army failed to protect children from brutal sexual and physical abuse in four of its Australian homes, and instead punished them for complaining, a national inquiry ruled Tuesday. A Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in Australia began hearing evidence last year into shocking allegations of abuse at four Salvation Army homes for children, between 1965 and 1977.