The office of ContraCelsum has been shaking over the past few days with bouts of belly laughter--which is, as we know, the best medicine. We have been told in harridan-esque tones that we in New Zealand have a "rape culture". Well knock us down with a feather duster. We didn't see that one coming.
A rape culture. What on earth is that? Whence its origins? Where is it to be found? Does it come from from a particular ethnic group or immigrant ethnicity that just happens to sanction rape as part of their legal tradition? Apparently not, because no particular ethnic, nor cultural group has been identified by the protagonist as having a culture of rape. It's not a valued or traditional practice in British culture, Irish culture, Australian culture, or Chinese culture as far as we are aware. Some may have said Indian culture celebrated rape in some circumstances, but recent legal cases against rapists in that country weaken that argument. We are also aware that honour rapes take place in Islamic societies with the objective of removing shame from a family or village or town. We grant that comes pretty close to an actual culture of rape.
But in New Zealand? So far, no evidence exists of such cultural practices here. Thus we have no idea what is meant, or being referred to.
Clearly, rape occurs. But last time we checked it was a crime and people are still getting arrested, charged, convicted, and imprisoned for rape. So, hardly a culture of rape, then.
What then can be meant by the allegation that a culture of rape exists in New Zealand? Take a parallel. Theft occurs in New Zealand. Does that entitle us to conclude that there is a culture of theft in this country? Are there ethnic and cultural groups which value the purloining of other people's property (presumably those outside the cultural group)? Not to our knowledge.
But maybe there are groups which in their cultural practices and engagements encourage rape and prize it as an achievement? Yes, there are. We call them gangs, criminal gangs. But what is all the fuss about? We have known that for decades. The criminal gangs also have a culture of violence in general, and of theft, drug production and distribution, and so forth. Thus far, the protagonist is stating the mundane, if she is referring to the Mongrel Mob and Black Power when she asserts that there is a culture of rape in New Zealand.
What then is meant with this denunciation of New Zealand having a culture of rape? Granted there is a criminal element which has, and will, commit rapes. But to decry a "culture of rape" is as empty and void of significance as to allege that we in New Zealand have a culture of theft, or brawling, or drunkenness--which is to say that some people steal, brawl, or get drunk. But we somehow get the impression that our protagonist does not have criminal gangs or criminals in general in mind when she speaks of a "culture of rape" in New Zealand.
No, that's clearly not what is being meant, at all. What then? How about a definition:
Violence does not occur in a vacuum. There are very real reasons why sexual assault is happening in our country every day. This is because our society normalises, trivialises and in both obvious and subtle ways condones rape. This is called rape culture.So, the culture of rape refers firstly to society normalising rape. "Normalising" means making something the ordinary, everyday experience of life. Like breathing or shopping at the local food store. Do we really regard rape as common and plain and everyday-ordinary as breathing and shopping? Really? What planet is this person from? Last time we checked, the police do not arrest people for breathing or shopping at the supermarket. Rape is a criminal offence precisely because we do not normalise rape.
As for trivialising rape, as is alleged, this too is a nonsensical claim. Society would be guilty of trivialising rape if it regarded it as no more significant than playing a game of marbles on the sidewalk. Similar observations could be made about the claim that New Zealand society condones rape. Which society? What people? We have lived in New Zealand for a long time and have never, ever found that to be true. Name one civic leader, one academic, one church leader, one politician, one magistrate, anyone who has stood up to claim that rape is OK, it's holy, just, and good. We cannot think of one, past or present.
But the allegation is that New Zealand society condones rape in obvious ways--that is, right-in-your-face ways. This is such a bizarre claim that hilarity is the only appropriate response, once the amazement ebbs. It's like asserting that the moon is obviously made of green cheese. Only a wag or a comedian would make such a statement--and of course the audience would know it was being conned or set up.
But, says the protagonist, we also condone rape not just in obvious ways, but in subtle ways. What ways might they be? Who knows. They are apparently so subtle that only the cognoscenti can detect them. In which case, they can be ignored. We believe that such outlandish, extreme, emotive, and meaningless allegations about rape actually achieve what what they portend to protest against. Such nonsense trivialises and makes ridiculous what is a capital crime. If everybody does it, who cares at the end of the day. It's of no import nor significance. That's the inevitably destructive and damaging outcome of such extremist, nonsensical, inflated, exaggerated claims.
The protagonist has "proved" too much. Mockery awaits all who weave and traffic in such miasmal foggings.
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