Surviving Assault: Larissa Phillips' Story

The modern feminist response to rape is failing women, and it is failing victims of rape most of all, writes Larissa Phillips.
In "Toward Ruin or Recovery?" Larissa Phillips shares her own experience of rape in Italy in 1993 and reflects on the recent allegations made by Celeste Marcus against Yascha Mounk. Marcus, managing editor of Liberties journal, detailed her recovery from an alleged sexual assault in an essay. She later accused Mounk of being her rapist. Phillips questions the validity of Marcus's accusation and criticizes the modern feminist response to rape, which she believes focuses too much on victimhood and vengeance rather than practical solutions and empowerment.
Phillips discusses the evolution of the feminist movement's definition of rape, noting its expansion to include non-violent forms of coercion and manipulation. She highlights the controversy surrounding the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses and the skepticism expressed by some, like Katie Roiphe, regarding the accuracy of statistics and the portrayal of women as helpless victims. Phillips then recounts her own rape experience in Florence, Italy, emphasizing her resistance and the lack of utility in the advice she had received about how to respond to such situations.
Ultimately, Phillips argues that the feminist narrative around rape has become counterproductive, focusing too much on victimhood and not enough on empowerment and practical solutions. She calls for a reevaluation of the discourse surrounding sexual violence to better serve the needs of victims and promote genuine recovery and prevention strategies.
Read Larissa's article here: quillette.com/...
Read by Iona Italia.
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[@druharper]

Harrowing. Quality material from Quillette again.
I recall an incident when I exited the Tube in London late at night many years ago. The Tube exit tunnel was about a block long, it was late, few people about. Then I noticed a woman about 50 yards away, about half way down the block-long exit tunnel, she looked back... and then started running. My immediate instinct was to look around for who was chasing her, but she was alone in the tunnel, and then it dawned on me, was it me she was scared of?! I was stung by the implied accusation. It never occurred to me what women must think of when alone at night in these type of situations, I just thought London was safe, but that's a naive mistake. Women must be cautious. She could not know my character, I was a stranger. It was a striking revelation to me a the time. Since then, I make a point of being aware of this and will try to make women feel at ease, cross the street away from them, hang back a bit longer, anything to allay her fear.
All people need be cautious, of course.

[@hreedwork]

Tough topic. Handled well. Thank you. 👍🙏🙏🙏

Thanks for the article and for the reading. Really, thank you very much

[@maxinewarnest894]

In the 70's there was a poice man who was breaking into women's houses at night and raping them. Only the last of his victims survived. She didn't fight. All of the women that fought died after the rape. Every situation is different. Sometimes it is best to fight but sometimes it is best to not fight..

[@mathish1477]

Stunning work, the fine author and Quilette too

[@angelotuteao6758]

I’ve always agreed with Paglia’s realism- decoupling sex and power is naive. Much of the disconnect inherent in today’s ideological orthodoxies is due to the imposition of utopian templates. The human condition has no cure …