Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["Kaplan, Claire (cnk2r)" <>]

This incident is one of many over the years that can be very instructive and an opportunity for advocates to request a meeting with the paper's editorial staff.  This issue received broad national attention in the 1990's when the editor (a woman) of a major newspaper put out a call to any survivor who might tell her story using her name as a way to dispel the notion that there is any shame in being a survivor.  The editor, a feminist, was trying to illustrate that the right to publish names is not only an issue of free speech, but also one of making the issue of sexual violence real to the uninformed.  She made a very good point, but at the same time, advocates such as myself (and I was running a national organization at the time so found myself in this position) were saying that yes, it is important to remove the shame, but not before the conditions that promote victim-blaming are addressed.  

The presence of FIRE is incredibly annoying, although they aren't always awful.  They went after one of my web pages a few years ago, and while I was furious, in the end I hardly had to change anything (at the behest of the administration)--only about three words.  I don't think their agenda is really about free speech and telling the truth; if it was, they would go after Fox News constantly.

That being said, it's a tough question, as both arguments have merit.  It's easy to be theoretical about how to handle this situation but the reality is far more pressing. In this case, as we know, survivors are frequently harassed, threatened, driven to drop out or move, and more. (Although it's very encouraging that her friends and the Greek community had her back!)  I agree with John; writing a letter to the editor is key, but so is educating the staff.  The paper must have guidelines and a code of ethics; seems to me that local advocates could set up a training with the staff to give them some ideas as to how to address this particular question.  It's too bad that the survivor had this experience; I just hope that this can be turned into something productive.

Claire

Claire Kaplan, Ph.D.

Director, Sexual & Domestic Violence Services

UVA Women's Center

(434) 982-2774 Voice

(434) 982-2901 Fax