More than anything, this case highlights the sheer... -

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More than anything, this case highlights the sheer absurdity of the double standard with which we treat male victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Changing the verdict solely because of the victim’s genitalia is like switching a grand theft auto charge to petty theft because the car happened to be blue when the thief really wanted a green one.

Swedish Man Cleared of Rape Charges Because His Victim Had a Penis

Here’s the story: A Swedish man beat attempted-rape charges when it was revealed that his victim was actually not biologically female but a transwoman with male genitalia who was undergoing hormone therapy. And even though the 61-year-old attacker admitted to following the woman with clear intent to rape, violently assaulting her and tearing off her pants and “grabbing at her crotch,” he will receive a lessened assault charge — because the woman’s penis “invalidates” the rape.

Moreover, this case and its media coverage reveal how Swedish transgendered people are dismissed. Oddly, only the attempted rapist referred to the woman, who was undergoing treatment to “reach the right identity,” as “she,” but not out of altruistic reasons. The Local’s coverage calls her a “‘woman,’” scare quotes included, and insists that she was “actually a man.”

Full post on HyperVocal.

07/5/12