~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE WASH RAG published by Women Against Sexual Harassment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Available on-line ASAP at http://members.tripod.com/~WASHRAG/page27.html along with earlier issues ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Issue 8, Number 1 February, 2000 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contents Domestic Violence in Law Enforcement Harassment in the Schools Follow Up On Jessie Ventura When You Are The Victim Targeting The Top Around The World Sexual Harassment in the Military Potpourri ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Domestic Violence in Law Enforcement ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On February 13, 60 Minutes carried a report about domestic violence among law enforcement officers. The former Police Chief from Portland, Oregon, Penny Harrington, quoted a survey of police officers which concluded that 40% of police officers surveyed admitted to spouse abuse. Admitted. She has founded “Women in Law Enforcement” to address issues like this one. The report charges that these officers are protected by the “blue wall of silence” which discourages the investigation of any charges against law enforcement officers. A Los Angeles policeman, Victor Ramos, had threatened his wife. He subsequently killed her, her boyfriend and finally himself, after no action was taken to take away his weapon or investigate the charges against him. As a consequence, Bob Molaly investigated the department, and found that none of the Los Angeles officers who were accused of domestic violence had been arrested or prosecuted. When he threatened to sue, the city settled with him, but in violation of the settlement, he gave his files to the media which did a series of stories about the problem. Katherine Mader of the city investigated and agreed with Bob’s conclusions, but when the city started to look for the source of the leaks, he admitted that he and he alone was responsible. He is now looking at prison time for violating the terms of the agreement. From Randy Henderson, we hear that a Donna Fails won her case against the Colorado Department of Corrections. She says that there are several more legal actions against Joe Paulino coming up, and although he was demoted from Warden, he got to keep his warden’s pay. I did write to the Governor of Colorado at Mary’s request to ask him to stop supporting this person who is costing the State of Colorado so much money in damages. He did respond that the state does not tolerate sexual harassment, but I have not heard anything further from Mary about him being fired and losing his retirement, which is when I will start to take the State of Colorado seriously about their stand on harassment. Although the New York Times has never carried any articles about the repeated sexual harassment of female employees in the Colorado prison system, it did carry an extensive article (it took five pages to print it off) about the sexual harassment of a male guard, Mike Hill, who claimed that after he had sex with a sergeant, she told other staffers and female inmates about the fact that he was missing one of his testicles. This led to anatomical gossip which humiliated him. Both have left their jobs with DOC. This harassment is trivial compared to what the female guards were exposed to. I must say that the elevation of this matter over the harassment of female guards in the Colorado Prison System has left me with disgust at the New York Times’ selection criteria for stories to cover. I refuse to convey his charges further because the Times never gave any space at all to complaining women. What is amazing, is that Hill says that he took time off after the matter became public, and on the day he was supposed to go back, he “just started bawling.” Because those who harass women are always claiming that women make too much about the harassment, that comes across as amusing. I guess personal remarks about men must be more painful than those about women. And these guys are supposed to be tough and mean? He sounds like a pansy to me. In a New York Times article of November 26th, New York City’s harder line on police misconduct is discussed. Sexual harassment is stated as one of the most common causes of charges against police officers. The police union is fighting the department’s tougher line stating that it is trampling on member’s rights. A New York Times article of December 19 discusses the importance of female judges in television dramas like LA Law, Judging Amy, The Practice, Family Law and Law and Order. Sexual harassment is mentioned as a common theme on these programs. One Law and Order segment is mentioned, when a female judge is shot, and it is found out that her husband is responsible. She refuses to acknowledge his guilt. She feels that she drove him to the action by being successful. Makes me want to puke. The attempts to reform prisons to stop violating prisoners rights is mentioned by a New York Times article of December 21, 1999. The State of Michigan is being sued in a class-action lawsuit by female prisoners in the state. Sexual groping or aggressive harassment by a guard would not be covered by the suit, as they do not cause bodily injury. Doesn’t that give guards a license to grope and aggressively harass female prisoners? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Harassment in the Schools ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Towards the end of January, Sioux City televisions stations KMEG and KTIV gave extensive coverage to a lawsuit against the Sioux City Education Department by Marcia Prine. She had worked for the department for twenty years, but during recent years, she had become the victim of harassment by fellow employees. This involved rude sexual comments, asking her for sex, stealing personal items and threats against her family. Robin Ford, a co-worker testified about an event where a crude nude drawing on a car was said to be just like Marcia. The decision on February 2 gave her $159,000.00 for back pay, medical expenses and compensation for mental suffering. The jury called it a hostile workplace. She will receive further payments to compensate her for pay lost while she looks for another job, the amount of which has yet to be determined. I was very encouraged by the coverage given to this story, as it is very hard to get information about some actions in the area of sexual harassment, and most cases receive only cursory coverage if any. James Austin, former Principal, admitted that he had not paid enough attention to her complaints. The November/December issue of Family Education Today included an article about “Sexual Harassment at School.” One of the points made is that those who have contact with children should be good role models and not engage in sexually harassing behaviors. I’m sure that in Sioux City, there were young people in the schools who saw and took note of the treatment of Marcia Prine. A whole new generation of harassers was being born. An article on page 1 of the B section in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader on February 2 reported that a survey of the state’s teenagers found that sexual harassment of girls was down from 47% and 65% in 1997 to 38% and 56% in 1999. But then, at the end of the article on page 10 of the B section, they report that the survey showed that those reporting they were “forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to,” (isn’t that called rape?) was up from 9% to 10%. I find rape to be the ultimate sexual harassment, right below murder on the scale, and feel the numbers were hidden when they were negative. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Follow up on Jessie Ventura ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ever since Jessie Venture’s asinine comment that because the pilots at the Tailhook convention “put their lives on the line every day,” their harassment of fellow female officers was “no big deal.” Ever since I read this, I have made an attempt to determine whether being a pilot flying off a carrier was more dangerous than being a woman in a relationship. I have been able to get data from the Navy regarding the injury and fatality of Naval pilots, as well as the total number of Naval pilots. In the year 1999, there were just 13 Naval pilots killed or lost at sea, and 14 were reported to have injuries from major to partial or total disability. In twenty years, there have been 410 fatalities of pilots, and 201 injuries in the same categories. These figures include Marine pilots. I just have to say that this is the most amazing safety record I can imagine. Flying a jet off a carrier is the most innately dangerous occupation I can think of short of going up in a space vehicle. If someone ordered me to do it, I would lay on the ground in the fetal position and whimper. I congratulate the Navy on its superb safety record for its pilots. Information about how many pilots there are in the population was a little bit harder to come by. The Navy compiles its statistics on safety by hours flown, which would be useless to me for comparison to women in relationships. But they did give me the figure of 6,748 pilots and 3,581 flight officers (Navigators?) as of November 30, 1999. These figures do not include Marine pilots. Because the data for 1999 on death and injury was compiled between October of one year and October of the next, I believe that it would not be unfair to use the figures I got for 1999 with those from the population for November 1999. Normally, statistics have a variance of 2%, and I would expect a higher variance because the figures for population came slightly after those for death and injury, but as the Navy told me up front, the number of pilots changes from day to day, and you would never have a figure that was totally correct. In addition, the population figures do not include Marine Corps pilots while the death and injury figures do, so the percentage figures would be even lower than I have calculated. I really think that in responding to Jessie Ventura, we should be allowed some leniency in correctness. He is the valedictorian of sloppy thinking. Unless all of my mathematical acumen has gone out the window, it would appear that the Navy has a mortality rate of .0019264 or .19%, and an injury rate of .0020746 or .2%. What that means is that in the year ending October, 1999, there was one death for every 519 pilots and one injury for every 482 pilots. But when a Naval pilot has a problem, there are a whole litany of safety devices to protect and aid him. I have had access to a survey of intimate violence done by the Justice Department in 1996. According to it, 8 in 1000 women over 12 were the victim of such violence. There were 1350 murders and 837,000 incidents of violence. That is not against women in relationships, but all women. The report states that 2 women in 100,000 between 22 and 44 were murdered, then states that the highest rate of intimate violence affects women 16 to 24. Violence against poor women was 10x the rate against rich women. 2/3 of black women and 1/2 white women report intimate violence. I don’t want to trivialize the loss of Naval pilots, but the sheer scope of the domestic violence statistics makes Jessie Ventura’s statement ludicrous. I will continue to research this and get more current figures. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When You Are The Victim ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sometimes, the truth becomes more clear through fiction than through the truth itself. A King of the Hill episode on December 4 had Hank being “humped” by a dolphin at a sanctuary after he scratched its belly. His niece takes a picture and he is totally humiliated when she shows it to people. Afterwards, she gets a job carrying drinks at the golf course next door, and is sexually harassed by the patrons. When Hank catches one of the men sexually harassing his niece, he throws him in with the dolphin, scratches the dolphin’s belly and then stands back and watches people taking pictures of the harasser being “humped” by a dolphin. The dolphin is then returned to the ocean where it will presumably have other dolphins to “hump.” We’d like to see a similar fate for those who have sexually harassed us. It is encouraging to see sexual harassment discussed in a format like this, as the program is probably watched by a lot of teenagers and young people. I usually clean up the kitchen while it is on, but when I realized what the subject was, I stopped and sat down and watched. We received an e-mail from Rhonda Cook, who is working on a book on sexual harassment, and this is what she had to say. “Earlier this year, I finally ended nine years of hell. All through my ordeal, I felt as I were responsible for what was happening and had no power to change it. I felt “stuck,” just floating around in la-la land while my thoughts were being manipulated. I felt as if I had no one to turn to, and there is very little written about “real life” sexual harassment and how to deal with the problem and your feelings. The last six months of my ordeal were the worst, but when I found out it was happening to two other women in my department, I found my strength by uniting with them to do something about it. Justice definitely was not served in our case, however, we did make the perpetrator’s life hell (along with the company owners) for a while. And I do believe he has suffered somewhat financially also. I do know that I have been scarred for life because of what I went through. I have yet to get another job because I am being particularly careful what circumstances I put myself in. Plus, I live in a small town and I have to live in fear of coming face to face with the perpetrator, his wife and/or family (who don’t know the real story and who probably wouldn’t believe it if they did.) Plus, because of the way everything was handled, I am supposed to remain quiet about everything, so I have to be careful of what I say or do.” From Anne of tiptoe, I received this regarding an article that Anne had read in the Denver Post: “It is my contention that violence in our society worldwide — school terrorism included! — stems from violence and abuse in the home, in its many forms. However, newspapers — dailies and weeklies in my Pacific Coast community — will not accept “been there, done that,” from those of us who have been through it. The Daily World of Aberdeen, Washington, for example (the only daily available by door to door delivery) which publishes Kathleen Parker’s blaming-the-victim diatribes, refuses to consider my “Grimmly Reflecting” columns on the subject. Newspapers cowardly perfer to “protect” the abused from publicity . . . Even those of us who have come out of the domestic violence closet because our lives remain in danger and we no longer have anything else left to lose. My response has been to drop newspaper subscriptions (periodically skimming through those available at our branch library) and publishing information not otherwise available on the subject on my Web site, http://www.willapabay.org/~anne/abused1.htm.” A book reviewed in both Time of January 31 and US News and World Report of February 7, claims to be a authoritative look at the evolution of rape. It claims that rape is a natural means of reproduction. Published by the MIT Press and authored by Biologist Randy Thornhill and anthropologist Craig Palmer, it is not possible to ignore a publication like A Natural History of Rape as much as we might want to. They contend that animals do exactly that, and say that in order to avoid rape, women should not dress provocatively. They disagree with the hypothesis that rape is about power and domination not about reproduction. Both magazines are very critical about this approach, and find that the offspring of rapists would be less cared for so less likely to survive in the early days of evolution. What is particularly offensive about Thornhill and Palmer’s contention is that they feel that boys should be taught that their urge to rape is natural but should be controlled. Barbara Ehrenreich of Time gives little credibility to this approach, and feels like I do, that women wearing low necklines should be safe in public places. If we follow Thornhill and Palmer, we will all soon be wearing veils and have to walk ten feet behind our husbands like the women in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. An early February Law and Order, Special Victims Unit, had an interesting characterization. They are trying to solve a rape case that has been dormant because the statute of limitations is close to running out, and new evidence has linked several rapes that had been thought to be separate cases. The detectives go to interview the original investigating officer. His recollections were basically the male stud version of rape: she wanted it, she was lucky to get it and only was complaining because she had second thoughts the day after, even though the rapist entered her bedroom by breaking in, the victim was maced before he left and remained traumatized five years later. With police officers who have this attitude, it is hardly surprising that rape has remained an under-prosecuted crime. But it is encouraging that television programs as popular as this one are bringing this attitude out in the open. By putting those words into a fictional setting, it becomes obviously ludicrous and crude. Sometimes, the best example is a bad example. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From The Editor My apologies for the lateness of this issue. My computer was infected with the Melissa Virus shortly after the first of the year, and it took me most of January to get it back up and catch up with day-to-day activities. The good news is that I did not lose any data in the process. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Targeted Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I recall that when I first came back to South Dakota, I was struck with the realization that I was being targeted for harassment but most of the women I knew were not. I was terribly hurt by this, and struggled to recognize why this was. The only reason I could come up with was because most of them were under to average achievers, and I, having a BA in German and Math, having lived, worked and traveled in Europe on my own, and worked in Northern California as a programmer/analyst and consultant before I burned out and came back to South Dakota, was more of an achiever. It seemed to me then and it still does, that I was being targeted for harassment because I was potentially a role model for other women. I had to be put down in order to protect the male controlled culture. It seems funny to me now, but I broached this subject with acquaintances, who found it ridiculous. While it was a break-through to me, it was a really big put-down for them. I severed relations with them, of course. They would and frankly could not offer me any support. During January of 2000, Mystery on PBS had several episodes called “Touching Evil.” in one, the group is pursuing a serial rapist who is finally caught and convicted. But afterwards, the rapes start up again. But there is a difference. The original rapist attacked women with a similar appearance, blond, blue-eyed, attractive women, and he always took a lock of hair and left them in a specific condition. The second was attacking women who were in responsible positions, rather than those with a specific appearance. Eventually, he is identified as the newspaper reporter who had written stories about the original rapist and by interviewing the original rapist, it is discovered that the reporter actually took lessons from the rapist, and he is eventually located and arrested. I really think that many men are not traumatized by women who are high achievers, but those who are display heinous vindictive behavior towards them. I suspect that this behavior can be blamed for some of the rapists who work on college campuses. Their sole intention is to eliminate the brightest and most promising of the young women studying there. If that were not enough to sate my “I told you so” ego, I found a note I made back in November about a Law and Order, Special Victim’s Unit episode in which the unit closes in on a rapist that subsequently starts stalking one of the detectives, Olivia, and it is determined that all of the victims of his rapes have at some time taken control over him including a former girlfriend who dropped him, a women who had prosecuted him, etc. You will never know how grateful I am that this is finally coming to light. It is frightening to me to think that my daughters, granddaughters, and their offspring, who I am sure are much smarter than I ever was, could be victimized as I was. Once law enforcement, even in a fictional setting, begins to address what is behind many rapes and murders, there is a chance that the behavior may be recognized early enough to prevent the abuse. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Around The World ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ America’s Most Wanted on December 18 had a segment about women from Eastern European countries being lured into coming to the US to be models ending up as sex slaves. They said that this enterprise is being masterminded by the Russian Mafia. The women are beaten, they have no phones in their hotel rooms, and they are prevented from leaving. Law enforcement is trying to get control of the problem. On Times Square in New York City, women working in what are called “run through” strip shows were freed by law enforcement. In Chicago, five women held by the Russian Mafia were freed. One has to feel compassion for those women who have been exploited in this way. One Eastern European woman who has been successful as a model in the US has come out against the practice. But there is more to it than this. The reason that the Russian Mafia is doing this is because they can’t find enough American women to fill their needs. The consequences unless it is stopped will of course be the lowering of standards for American women. So it must in any case be brought to a halt.. Nash Bridges on January 7 of 2000 had a story about the trade in Asian women for sex slaves. It was somewhat startling to see this group of tough San Francisco detectives, who rarely show much compassion for the crime victims, so emotionally shocked by the plight of the women who had been victimized. Katlin, played by Jasemine Bleeth, undercover as a trader, recoiled in horror at being shown the Asian women in cages. From Japan, the New York Times of December 21 carried an article about the Governor of Osaka, Japan resigning because of sexual harassment complaints by a 21 year old college student who had been a campaign worker for him. The governor, Isamu Yamada, at first denied the charges, then agreed to pay a large civil settlement, and finally resigned. This has been a great triumph for Japanese women. Yoriko Madoka, who is also a member of the upper house of the Parliament, called it a “major step” for women’s rights in Japan. Several women’s groups as well as lawyers who are involved in the sexual harassment issue have said that this outcome would encourage more women to come forward with sexual harassment charges. Until ten years ago, the term “sexual harassment” had not come into usage in Japan, but during the past two years, the number of cases has increased dramatically It was a pleasure to hear from one of the women who signed up for the International List in Beijing, Kazuko Watanabe, of Japan. She says they organized the National Network against Sexual Harassment in 1997 after the scandal at Kyoto University, which she lectured about in Beijing. They lobby the Minister of Education and have a hotline for victims. She gave a presentation at international conferences including CASH and the International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women held in Norway in 1999 and Australia in 1996. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sexual Harassment In The Military ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Times ran an article on December 3, 1999 about a drill sergeant, Yoosuf Asad, in the Army who was charged with making sexual advances to women in his platoons at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He pled guilty to avoid a court martial and was sentenced to 44 months in prison, demoted from sergeant to private, stripped of both pay and pension. That convinces me that the Army is taking the problem of sexual harassment seriously. The article recaps recent Army stories that feature sexual harassment: Sgt. Major Riley C. Miller, charged with sexually assaulting the soldier who was his driver. Maj. Gen. John J. Maher 3rd, former vice director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, demoted and forced to retire as a colonel for having affairs with wives of subordinates. The Miles Foundation, which is keeping tabs on sex crimes by men in the military, has items about a US Army soldier who is being held in Germany after the homicide of a girl in Kosovo. Prior to the incident, the people in Vitna had complained about the frisking of young girls by soldiers. The Army claims they have no knowledge of such incidents nor of any complaints. They also have an item about a Pvt, Brad Erdahl, of Fort Gordon, Georgia who has been accused of killing and sexually assaulting a Britt, Iowa woman in 1999. He apparently joined the Army after the incident. When this matter came to light, he was being investigated by the Army for assaulting a female airman with a knife on January 3, 2000. Visit us at our website at http://members.tripod.com/~WASHRAG/index8.html/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Potpourri ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Locally, I have a note that Kathy Freeman of the School for the Deaf in Sioux Falls had accused John Greene of the School of sexual harassment. This was on the KSFY evening news on October 12, 1999, but I have had not further details about it. Similarly, I have a hasty note about a John Morrel worker who has sued the company for sexual harassment and won, but no details about that, either. The World Organization Against Torture has made a report on Violence Against Women, a review of which was in the January, 2000 Nebraska Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Coalition Newsletter. The report includes all forms of violence against women including domestic violence, female genital mutilation, forced prostitution and honor killings. It was based on a survey which included 78 countries. The report calls domestic violence a universal problem that spans “national and socio-economic borders and cultural identities,” and charged that problems in prevention and prosecution of batterers makes domestic violence a “persistent obstacle to the promotion and advancement of women’s rights.” Although there are often laws, they frequently are not enforced. On the subordination of women, the report claims that violence against women is often based on social traditions which place men in positions of dominance. Men maintain that position by force, intimidation and fear. The report calls on officials in governments to stop regarding domestic violence as a family matter and normal in family life. They ask that women be given safe haven in shelters and hospitals. They ask the UN and NGOs to work to eliminate violence by getting laws passed and enforced to protect them. The web site for this organization is www.omet.org. The cruise industry has been accused of ignoring charges of sexual harassment by employees. The New York Times carried an article about this problem on December 24, 1999. The Council of Cruise Lines has adopted Work Rules for Cruise ships. It includes a stipulation that employees cannot be subjected to physical, sexual or verbal harassment. A November 21, 1999 article in the New York Times discusses the dismissal of a veteran inspector in the US Customs Service who is being fired after printing six months of records of searches of passengers which show that the customs service searched many more black passengers in Atlanta than any other race. She has accused the customs service of sexual and racial harassment. The November 23, 1999 issue of the New York Times carried an article about allegations of sexual harassment of workfare participants. Both New York City and New York State law prohibit it. An item from Anne of tiptoe, reports that Juno.com has been sued for sexual harassment twice by women who formerly worked there. Ruby Starr reports that at a disposition in her case, the Federal Judge leapt across the table and ripped papers out of her hand that she had brought along to refresh her memory regarding dates. He informed Ruby that anything she brought into the room belonged to him. She doesn’t know if they were returned to her attorney. It sounds like an attempt to intimidate her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interesting contacts: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ World Organization Against Torture Publisher of "Violence Against Women: A Report" http://www.omet.org DAWN — Domestic Abuse Women’s Net anne(bleep)willapabay.org http://www.willapabay.org/~anne/dawn.html Miles Foundation — Tracks domestic abuse in the military Milesfd(bleep)yahoo.com http://www.militarycity.com for the article “The War At Home” SESAME, Inc. (Survivors of Educator Sexual Abuse & Misconduct Emerge) SESAME believes the power imbalance between a teacher and a student of any age creates a climate that can facilitate sexually exploitative behavior by the teacher, behavior that is psychologically equivalent to incest. sesame-w(bleep)taconic.net http://members.tripod.com/~sesame3/index.html Women Against Sexual Harassment (WASH) Regional Directors ta_shi(bleep)dtgnet.com http://members.tripod.com/~WASHRAG/page31.html WE’RE ON THE WEB http://members.tripod.com/~WASHRAG/index8.html/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This on-line version of THE WASHRAG is being sent to you free. A print version can be obtained by subscribing. In the US, send $10.00 to Women Against Sexual Harassment, P. O. Box 164, Canton, SD 57013-0164. Outside the US, send $20.00 to join. For a sample issue, send a #10 sized SASE. For a Publisher98 print module, e-mail ta-shi(bleep)dtgnet.com E-mail comments can be sent to ta_shi(bleep)dtgnet.com. 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