#658 - Peace & Life: Sex Abuse/No Nukes/Executions - April 21, 2023
Sexual Abuse: Blaming the Victim
This April 10 Washington Post article discusses reports on a remarkably troubling aspect of sexual abuse: the “sexual-abuse-to-prison pipeline.” The term was coined in a 2015 report, and now there’s a follow-up recent report from Georgetown University. Problems include that girls running away from abusive homes are arrested for truancy, and girls being sold by traffickers are locked up for prostitution. While progress was made after the first report on addressing this, as the recent report documents, there’s still so much more that needs to be done. Crime victims who need help are instead re-traumatized, and the abusers get the wrong message.
Addressing this problem, in addition to having its own merits, is crucial to abortion prevention. Sex traffickers use abortion to keep their victims marketable and the money flowing in. As Steven Wagner put it, “If someone is being trafficked — which is to say, under the domination of a pimp/trafficker — she is by definition unable to provide informed consent to an abortion or to a regime of contraception. The victim has no voice in this decision.”
As for other cases of continual sexual abuse of minors, there are many known cases, and probably many more unknown cases, where the abuser was able to cover up the crime by taking the victim to the abortion clinic.
So in addition to sending the wrong person to jail in sexual abuse situations, too many in our society expect these young women to accommodate the abuse at an abortion facility, rather than being offered a way out so that they’re no longer being abused.
No Nukes
In the U.S. House of Representatives, there is now legislation called H.Res.77 - Embracing the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We’ve covered this treaty quite a bit, as it got enough nations ratifying it and it went into effect on January 22, 2021 – a date with particular significance to us, of course.
Unfortunately, as could be expected, nations that actually have nuclear weapons aren’t among the signatories, and they and their mainstream media outlets have been ignoring it. Still, it has some impact on banks and finances and other matters. Having a bill in the U.S. Congress can help those of us in the U.S. in advocacy and stimulating debate in communities and among legislators. Our U.S. readers who’d like to contact their representatives can call through the Capitol Hill switchboard: (202) 224-3121.
Those Facing Executions
Here are clemency petitions hosted by Death Penalty Action:
Breaking news - execution date withdrawn to consider more evidence, but the case isn’t over:
This case also has good news – the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor to seek DNA evidence to establish his innocence, but the case isn’t over:
Our Latest Blog Post
For the first time in a long time, we have no posts in the queue. We’re pleased that we’ve had over 50 authors write for the blog. We offer $50 for accepted posts to encourage our supporters to take the time to write one. So many topics can covered. Please let your creative juices flow! Here are the guidelines.
Quotation of the Week
Ellen McCormack
"She's Running 'to Defend the Unborn'"
San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle, February 29, 1976
Abortion is put forth as a solution for the poor, but I think the poor want better housing, more jobs and food on their tables. I don't think aborting their babies makes them any happier. I think it probably contributes to their misery.