OCR Text |
Show H A E L I U Y T H A C N H L C I OPINION tmo THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW MrCMSS Rape Education Is One Part of Solution As most college students hopefully know, rape is one of the most prevalent and significant problems on university campuses, ar.d the larger world, today. As a matter of fact, FBI statistics reveal that one out of every four women will be raped at some time in her life, Solutioiui to this complex problem are obviously going to be difficult to find. They will require a muitidisciplinary approach and a iis sophisticated understanding of a problem society really doesn't have a firm handle an right now. Both long- - and short- term solutions will flow, however, from education. That Is why events like ihc Greek Council's rape awareness seminar, held Monday, are so invaluable. Not only did lecftirers Bryan Woolridge and Monica Maio s U student and U alumna respectively give students a more complex understanding of rape and its nature, they also gave some solid idvice for how women can avoid becoming rape victims. Both are equally important. Cy disesct'mg rape aad rapists' motivations, students, particularly men, are hopefully able to identify within themselves and their peers troublesome traits indicative of rapists. That knowledge is the first step in a process of that will hopeful' lead to a supe - -- self-reflecti-on 17. S. X' rior value systemone that values women and their independence. solution. This Is the long-terin the meantime, though, women cannot afford to sit idly by and wait for dangerous men to finally see the light. By educating women abou: rapists and their methods, Woolridge and Maio gave women the tools they need to prevent getrfitg raped. For example, they discussed Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate and rophynol, bcih dru&j commonly ysed by rapists to imnsobiL-twomen. Sad'y, wuinen fleed to know about the dangers of accepting drink from men ar ban or to other situations. Many women who know that feel as bough they can take a diiak Kffift s trusted friend at a party, though.' Lamentably, ihat Is not the casa. As Maio said, only about 20 percent' of raplrts don't know their victim?. The others are TO Mcvl mSAMypf . . m : O e , I i .acquaintance, perpetrated by. friend or family member pexpjb h whom the victim trusted, is unfortunate truth that wowtrt in our society trtust rvigi-.a- nt rr-ca- u if, they gutfirl ig&tsmpe. - The Greek Council deserves credit for educating fraternity arid sorority members about the horrors of rape and hv fo avcia LETTER TO v f yv.. - o III THE EDITOR Is the Issue Morality or Love? Editor You should really work on getting a more liberal staff. would just like to remind Steven Rose that immorality is a very individual idea; what he finds immoral is not immoral for all people. I am amazed that he actually refers to the issue on hand as an "immoral debate." Mr. Rose obviously thinks he is a very moral person, but I wonder why? I personally think it is "immoral" to judge anyone on their beliefs, sexual preference, race, gender, etc. But about the issue at hand: unmarried couples adopting. I havA-har- d time understanding why this is such a hot topic. Shouldn't anyone, regardless of marital status or sexu al orientation, be allowed to have a family? It is not an issue of "morals," but one of love. As anyone can testify, the person we fall in love with is beyond our control Love is a very unscientific and unpredictable occurrence. It doesn't matter if the partner is of the same sex or religion or race, but that it is love. And anyone who has love to share should be allowed to share it I do not mean to sound naive when I say this, but isn't love the primary issue here? The focus should not be on the sexual orientation of the parents, but whether or not they see LOVE, page 7 thm. Hopefully, iis efforts were not in vain. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on the Opinion Page is one based on vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect. Material defamatory to an individual or group because of race, ethnic background, gender, appearance or sexual orientation will be edited or will not be published. Should Support Women's Rights Treaty KATHRYN COWLES Chronicle Opinion Columnist week is Women's Week. The U has activities for every day from panel discussions on women and violence to jazz concerts. You'd think, by the look of things, that women's rights, some as basic as the right to freedom from violence and for equal pay and work ratios, were at the forefront of United States politics. You'd think that, but you'd be wrong. Just before Spring Break, the Hinkley Institute of Politics hosted a panel on the CEDAW petition of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. President Jimmy Carter signed CEDAW in 1979, then passed it on to the Senate for ratification. But after 20 years, the treaty hasn't even made it through committee, thanks to the stonewalling of Sen. Jesse Helms, who will not even recognize compiled signatures of state representatives who favor the treaty. g tradition of Adhering to the failing to sign any international petition for human rights, the U.S. continues to refuse to sign the CEDAW petition. About 165 countries, more than of the members of the United Nations, have ratified the convention's petition. This long-standin- two-thir- GIVES wAt The U.S. is the only industrialized nation that has not signed. And yet the American government professes to care about human rights. Signing CEDAW would require the U.S. to make only minimal efforts to eliminate discrimination against women, thus enabling them to enjoy civil, political, economic and cultural rights. CEDAW asks that women have equal rights to work, pay benefits and safety conditions. It prohibits discrimination against women in political activities and requires a minimum marriage age. And if the U.S. feels it just can't strive for this level of equality for the women who live in its borders, let alone the world, it has the option to qualify any shady areas of the petition. If the U.S. were to sign a qualified version of CEDAW, the U.S. military would not have to put women in combat, and women would not be ensured paid maternity leave. So what's the big problem? Many U.S. citizens are worried about the government signing anything, even a human-right- s treaty. The U.S. should not be legally bound to a petition, they say. What if Americans change their minds? But when the petition states that women should have basic human rights, what kind of message is the U.S. sending, not only to other countries, but also to its own female citizens? Implied in the very nature of our refusal to sign CEDAW is the suggestion that women might not deserve equal rights. How ridiculous. I like to think the basic human rights of 50 CHRONICLE OPINION EDITOR percent of the population are something about which we should not be Upon signing, the U.S. would only be legally bound to provide a report every four years detailing its progress towards equality. How painful is it to progress? Many other people assume that the U.S. is ahead of most industrialized nations in the area of human rights and therefore has no need to sign a petition. This is simply not the case and even if it were, the U.S. should sign because it serves as an example, like ii or not, to the rest of the world. But in fact, our own Utah State Legislature recently passed a number of bills that are threatening to women, which Tamara Baggett outlined in the CEDAW panel. The most glaring example of sexism is House Bill 29. Federally, President Bill Clinton signed the Welfare Reform Act which limits the amount of time a person can stay on welfare to 60 months. Utah has taken this a step farther by limiting the months to 36. However, recent studies, some from the University of Utah, have found strong connections between women on welfare and abusive situations. Women leave abusive situations for their own safety, as well as for the safety of their children. They are forced to go on welfare, but few people would argue they are better off in the abusive situations. This year, House Bill 29 proposed to give women escaping abusive situations an extra year on welfare still less than the national limitto rebuild their lives and find jobs, houses and insurance. Not only did the bill KATHRYN COWLES wishy-wash- y. LETTERSCHRONICLF.UT.AH.EDU not pass, but some legislators actually had the nerve to say that women would purposely seek out abusive situations in order to get that extra year of help. Essentially, those legislators are saying that women would get someone to beat thein up on a regular basis so they could stay on a demeaning and mesger welfare system for a little while longer. Another piece of legislation, House Bill 3.4, would have extended stalking laws so that women who are not married to or living with the men who are stalking them could get protective orders. It didn't pass. Seriate Bill 9 never even got out of the rules committee. It would have helped women with some coverage of birth control through their companies. Right now, Viagra for men is covered, yet birth control is not. These are just a few of the injustices directed toward women from Utah's last legislative session. Those who say women 2re not in danger of inequality in the U.S. are naive at best. At worst, they realize the injustices but refuse to act, perhaps because they think women should not be able to choose their own roles, but should always conform to tradition. Tradition sounds a lot less friendly when put into context for instance, rape of married women by their husbands was traditionally health-insuran- ce legal in the U.S. Utah was the last state to pass a law protecting women from this crime. see CEDAW, page 7 561-704- 1 |