• Home
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Date/Time
  • Login
  • Subscribe

logo

  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economics & Finance
  • World
  • Arts & Books
  • Life
  • Science
  • Philosophy
  • Subscribe
  • Events
Home
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • Politics
  • Economics & Finance
  • World
  • Arts & Books
  • Life
  • Science
  • Philosophy
  • Subscribe
  • Events
  • Home
  • Magazine

Why Germaine Greer is wrong on rape

The latest book from the great feminist thinker is a total muddle

by Jessica Abrahams / September 17, 2018 / Leave a comment
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email
Feminist icon Germaine Greer

Feminist icon Germaine Greer

According to Germaine Greer, rape is not an “extraordinary act carried out by monsters.” Instead, it is a commonplace act, far more likely to happen at the hands of a thoughtless partner than those of a violent stranger. For the most part, it also goes unpunished. Only a tiny number of cases reach the courts. Those that do usually fail, and often create additional trauma for the victim. We need to find a new approach.

Greer, a giant of feminist thought and a rape survivor herself, has also become one of the movement’s most controversial thinkers, alienating herself from a new generation of feminists via a stream of controversial assertions. The controversy in this long essay lies not in her claim that non-consensual sex is far more routine than we care to think. That point is widely accepted: the #MeToo movement has sparked conversations about consent that confirmed it. The problems with the criminal justice process are also well documented.

It is Greer’s conclusion that is troubling: if rape is so common, and prosecution so futile, we need to stop treating it as an exceptional crime. Punishments should be reduced to encourage juries to reach guilty verdicts. Restorative justice—mediation between the perpetrator and victim—should be pursued more often, allowing women to reclaim the narrative of their experience.

In this muddle of an essay it is not always clear why Greer believes this. At times, she points to problems with courts or confusion around consent. At others, she seems to question whether rape is such a traumatic experience at all, placing it on the spectrum of “bad sex” and suggesting it is the discourse around rape, rather than the act itself, that causes the damage. Bizarrely, she also discusses the existence of “rape fantasies” among women, although why these are pertinent to the treatment of real-life rape is not clear. On the back cover of the book The Independent says: “Greer dares to think the unthinkable.” True, but not everyone would take it as praise.

On Rape by Germaine Greer (Bloomsbury, £12.99)

 

YOU’VE HIT THE LIMIT

You have now reached your limit of 3 free articles in the last 30 days.
But don’t worry! You can get another 7 articles absolutely free, simply by entering your email address in the box below.

When you register we’ll also send you a free e-book—Writing with punch—which includes some of the finest writing from our archive of 22 years. And we’ll also send you a weekly newsletter with the best new ideas in politics and philosophy of culture, which you can of course unsubscribe from at any time







Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information.

Click to learn more about these interests and how we use your data. You will be able to object to this processing on the next page and in all our communications.

1470306965df5afe6997054.89117193

Go to comments

Related articles

"Men are trash": the surprisingly philosophical story behind an internet punchline
Arianne Shahvisi / August 19, 2019
The revelations of MeToo and the rise of strongman leaders has turned the internet...
The Prospect Podcast #96: Inside Simone de Beauvoir’s philosophy
Prospect Team / August 30, 2019
How the philosopher with a theory of becoming became herself
Share with friends
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email

Comments

No comments yet

Prospect's free newsletter

The big ideas that are shaping our world—straight to your inbox. PLUS a free e-book and 7 articles of your choosing on the Prospect website.

Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information. Click here to learn more about these purposes and how we use your data. You will be able to opt-out of further contact on the next page and in all our communications.

This Month's Magazine

Perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus.

A pint with Mr Wetherspoon, the wisdom of Clive James, inside the new arms race. Plus: A short story by Kamila Shamsie, and the new ideas for 2020

Subscribe

Most Popular

  • Read
  • Commented

Six reasons why the Left need not despair

How did the Conservatives win?

What was the general election turnout? (And four other statistics to know)

Will Boris Johnson reshape the Whitehall landscape?

How cowed judges could let Boris Johnson break the law

Boris Johnson unbound: A British tragedy?

3 Comments

Ivan Rogers on Brexit: the worst is yet to come

3 Comments

John le Carré's post-Cold War vision is shot through with a sense of longing

2 Comments

How dare those signed up to hard Brexit lecture Labour on the economy?

2 Comments

Six reasons why the Left need not despair

2 Comments

About this author

Jessica Abrahams
Jessica Abrahams is a journalist exploring gender, global development and foreign aid. She is deputy editor at Devex and former production editor at Prospect
  • Follow on:
  • Twitter
More by this author

More by Jessica Abrahams

Julie Bindel's new book challenges our assumptions about the "oldest profession"
September 12, 2017
Everything you wanted to know about fourth wave feminism but were afraid to ask
August 14, 2017
How to increase voter turnout
May 19, 2017

Next Prospect events

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club - David Lammy

    London, 2020-03-19

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club - Jack Shenker

    2020-02-17

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club - Amelia Gentleman

    2020-01-27

See more events

Sponsored features

  • Delivering the UK's invisible infrastructure project

  • Future of Aid: the full report

  • A forest fund for the future

  • A new humanitarianism for the modern age

  • The future of sustainable economic development

PrimeTime

The magazine is owned and supported by the Resolution Group, as part of its not-for-profit, public interest activities.

Follow us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • RSS

Editorial

Editor: Tom Clark
Deputy Editor: Steve Bloomfield
Managing Editor (Arts & Books): Sameer Rahim
Head of Digital: Stephanie Boland
Digital Assistant: Rebecca Liu
Production Editor & Designer: Chris Tilbury
Commissioning Editor: Alex Dean
Creative Director: Mike Turner
US Writer-at-Large: Sam Tanenhaus

Commercial

Commercial Director: Alex Stevenson
Head of Marketing: Paul Mortimer
Marketing and Circulation Executive: Susan Acan
Head of Events: Victoria Jackson
Events Project Manager: Nadine Prospere
Head of Advertising Sales: Adam Kinlan 020 3372 2934
Senior Account Manager: Patrick Lappin 020 3372 2931
Head of Finance and Resources: David de Lange

  • Home
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Acceptable Use Policy
© Prospect Publishing Limited
×
Login
Login with your subscriber account:
You need a valid subscription to login.
I am
Remember Me


Forgotten password?

Or enter with social networking:
Login to post comments using social media accounts.
  • With Twitter
  • Connect
  • With Google +
×
Register Now

Register today and access any 7 articles on the Prospect’s website for FREE in the next 30 days..
PLUS find out about the big ideas that will shape our world—with Prospect’s FREE newsletter sent to your inbox. We'll even send you our e-book—Writing with punch—with some of the finest writing from the Prospect archive, at no extra cost!

Not Now, Thanks

Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information.

Click to learn more about these interests and how we use your data. You will be able to object to this processing on the next page and in all our communications.

×
You’ve got full access!

It looks like you are a Prospect subscriber.

Prospect subscribers have full access to all the great content on our website, including our entire archive.

If you do not know your login details, simply close this pop-up and click 'Login' on the black bar at the top of the screen, then click 'Forgotten password?', enter your email address and press 'Submit'. Your password will then be emailed to you.

Thank you for your support of Prospect and we hope that you enjoy everything the site has to offer.

This site uses cookies to improve the user experience. By using this site, you agree that we can set and use these cookies. For more details on the cookies we use and how to manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy.