Tanya Stephens Says Verbal Attacks On General Ling A Symptom Of Rape Culture
Tanya Stephens has listed accusations of lying, public victim-blaming and shaming laid against victims of rape who come public, as the fundamental reasons she will never reveal the name of the artist who sexually assaulted her some 30 years ago.
“Everytime when smaddy call a name, meck mi tell you what happen suh far when people call name: somebody encourage some victims – real victims, fi come out and call name. An di whole a di feminist dem tun ova pan dem. Feminist enuh, weh supposed to fight fi woman rights enuh, tun ova pan dem and seh dem a some crosses and weh dem do wrong. Dem nuh fi call name,” Tanya argued.
“Yuh know how much time me pass pon road and woman look pon odda woman and seh ‘den look pon di clothes weh she have on, when man hol dem and rape dem yuh caan even seh nuttn’,” she recounted.
She added: “Yes, you can say something odda dan dat what you saying. Dat what you saying is part of the reason why men still do it because they know a pussy like you a guh meck excuses fi dem and pretend seh di reason why dem dweet is anything odda dan di fact seh dem a waan criminal. Rapist! Dem a one deviant! Suppm wrong wid dem,” she said.
Like Tanya, similar concerns about the attitudes of many Jamaican women towards rape victims were expressed in August 2019 by Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte, a former sexual offences prosecutor and judge.
Malahoo Forte declared at the time that women do not make suitable jurors in rape cases.
“One of the things I learned as a prosecutor, in empanelling a jury, don’t choose women on a rape case, because women judge other women so harshly when it comes to sexual matters,” the AG had said, in an article carried by the Jamaica Observer.
The Attorney General had said people have a tendency to first believe and then disbelieve rape reports, as “doubt creeps in once attempts are made to take the matter to court”, with people wondering whether “the woman had brought it on herself”.
At the time she had said that the Government had gone beyond the tabling of the Sexual Harassment Bill, as even before the atrocities get to “the physical attack, there is often the verbal, the psychological, the emotional attack”.
On Friday during her Instagram live session, Stephens had said that she was more discerning than those who had been harassing her and demanding she reveal her attackers’ identity. She made it clear she would continue to keep her cards close to her chest.
“Oonu tink mi a eediat? Suh oonu a look somebaddy now fi have another lawsuit suh dat a rapist can get some money outta di victim hand? Oonu a eediat? Oonu teck mi fi fool? Mi seh mi naw call no bomboclaat name and a dat mi seh. Stop badda mi. If mi did feel so moved fi have a repercussion come outta it, repercussion woulda ‘reppacush’. Suh oonu can relax,’ she declared.
On Monday morning in the aftermath of General Ling coming out to identify herself as the person at the centre of the name rape allegations laid against Richie Stephens, the These Streets artist pointed out that the public response to the Singapore-based beatboxer was no different than what other accusers experienced before.
“General Ling called a name. They attacked her. I didn’t call a name… guess what? They still attacked me. THAT is rape culture. Fuck ever one of you. Rapist fi get bullet,” she wrote on Instagram on Monday morning.
She went on to point out though, that whilst many people believe that victims are hapless souls who lack the courage to exact their own brand of justice, this is not the case in all circumstances.
“Please understand that not all ‘victims’ are helpless. Keep triggering them…until eventually they trigger you. Wouldnt that be some shit? If the victims started hunting their predators??? Run run run Shensea voice” she wrote.
“To every victim of rape… YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, and so does your rapist. The system was set up by rapists to accommodate rapists. To break your spirit and silence you. Society is complicit because it is comprised of rapists, families and friends of rapists, and rape victims in denial/suffering from a form of Stockholm Syndrome,” the Gangsta Blues singer said.
She also warned persons about jumping to defend people whom they are merely acquainted with, or are not around 24 hours of the day, but also contended that this could also be an indication that they might just be ‘birds of a feather’ anyway.
“The people who speak in the loudest voices in defense of alleged predators either don’t know them or condone their misdeeds,” she said.
“Before you say ‘This is a good person…’ pretend you are in the airport standing beside somebody else’s bag. Sure, you see them with that bag all the time, but did you watch them pack it? Are you next to them all day 365 days of the year? Custom officer asks…what’s in that bag? Do you swear on your life that bag is harmless? You don’t f_cking know, do you? Say less,” she ordered.