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Feminist author Germaine Greer has sparked widespread condemnation for saying most rapes did not involve any injury and were “just lazy, just careless, just insensitive”.
The 79-year-old also called for an overhaul of the criminal justice system, saying rape should be punishable by 200 hours of community service instead of jail.
Ms Greer made the controversial comments on Wednesday at the Hay Festival, an annual literature event in Wales.
The Female Eunuch author said the “official position” that 70 per cent of rape victims suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder in comparison with 20 per cent of military veterans was ridiculous.
“At this point, you think, what the hell are you saying? That something that leaves no sign, no injury, nothing, is more damaging to women than seeing your best friend blown up by an IED is to a veteran?” she reportedly said.
Ms Greer also said she understands the crime, having been raped as a teenager.
“I was violently raped days before my 19th birthday. I was beaten half-unconscious,” she reportedly told the audience as she argued that a rape victim’s life wasn’t “destroyed”.
“We haven’t been destroyed, we’ve been bloody annoyed, is what we’ve been. I reckon 200 hours of community service will do… would do me. I suggested a long time ago that maybe a little tattoo would be a good thing. Maybe an ‘R’ on your hand. I’d prefer it on your cheek."
The second-wave feminist targeted the legal treatment of those who bring rape allegations before a courtroom.
“This is a mess, it’s a big mess. And it’s getting us worse than nowhere. Because it’s one thing to be raped, but it’s another thing to try to get the person who outraged you brought to justice and then be totally discredited," she said. “That humiliation must be even worse than rape.”
Germaine Greer has been called a "bad feminist" following her recent talk on rape. Source: Getty
Ms Greer also said, "most rapes don’t involve any injury whatsoever.”
“We are told it’s one of the most violent crimes in the world… Bullshit. Most rape is just lazy, just careless, just insensitive,” she was quoted to have said.
“Every time a man rolls over on his exhausted wife and insists on enjoying his conjugal right, he is raping her. It will never end up in a court of law.
“Instead of thinking of rape as a spectacularly violent crime – and some rapes are – think about it as non-consensual, that is, bad sex. Sex where there is no communication, no tenderness, no mention of love. We used to talk about lovemaking.”
Ms Greer is publishing her full argument on rape in a new book, due out in Australia in September.
'Horror and rage'
Her comments have sparked outrage, with social media users expressing "horror and rage".
"Can't really begin to express the horror and rage I feel about Germaine Greer's remarks about rape," Buzzfeed editor Patrick Strudwick Tweeted. "How on Earth could an academic be so f***ing ignorant about the psychology of trauma? It's Trumpian."
"This is twisted," writer Will Black wrote.
"I call for Germaine Greer to stop calling herself a feminist. Because she very clearly isn't," English history professor Tanja Bueltmann wrote.
Australian TV personality Lisa Wilkinson said,"it's time for Germaine Greer to shut up".
Newscaster Chris Smith described Ms Greer's comments as some of the “most appalling and disgusting, vile things that have ever come out of her mouth”.
If you or someone you know needs help or information about sexual assault or domestic violence, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit the website at 1800respect.org.au.
