The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma.
Judith Lewis HermanRead
... in practice the standard for what constitutes rape is set not at the level of women's experience of violation but just above the level of coercion acceptable to men.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the societal standards of defining rape, which often prioritize male perspectives over women's experiences.
Judith Lewis Herman's quote critically examines how societal norms and legal definitions of rape are influenced by men's perspectives, often dismissing women's lived experiences of violation. It suggests that the threshold for what constitutes rape is skewed, as it focuses more on acceptable levels of coercion rather than recognizing the full extent of women's violations, thereby questioning the justice and moral implications of such standards.
Themes
RapeConsentViolenceGenderSocietyCoercion
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on gender-based violence, this quote could be used to illustrate the flaws in current legal definitions of rape.
More from Judith Lewis Herman
All quotes βThe legal system is designed to protect men from the superior power of the state but not to protect women or children from the superior power of men. It therefore provides strong guarantees for the rights of the accused but essentially no guarantees for the rights of the victim. If one set out by design to devise a system for provoking intrusive post-traumatic symptoms, one could not do better than a court of law.
Judith Lewis HermanRead
Over time as most people fail the survivor's exacting test of trustworthiness, she tends to withdraw from relationships. The isolation of the survivor thus persists even after she is free.
Judith Lewis HermanRead
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