Rape // Current

Defending explicit pornography as art

Ben Westwood is a pornographer who believes that if we didn't make such a big deal out of porn, and allowed it to exist... more

abbym0308
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Condition Critical: voices from the war in East Congo

"Hundreds of thousands of people are on the run, fleeing a war that rages in eastern Congo, in the provinces of North and... more

JanforGore
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Man cleared of rape because he was sleepwalking

A women was asleep at home when a friend's husband, who had been a guest at a barbecue, walked into the bedroom and started... more

TravG73
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Christ-like anti-rape poster row

An anti-rape poster showing a naked woman in a Christ-like pose has has been condemned as blasphemous by conservative politicians... more

saverio
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Gang of 9 rape girl aged 14

The nine youths face a lengthy time in custody for their part in the shocking gang rape attack, on a 14 year old girl, the youths,... more

afridi
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Rape victim stoned to death in Somalia was 13, UN says

NAIROBI, Kenya - The United Nations said Tuesday that a Somali stoned to death by Islamist militants after she had been accused of... more

synclaire
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Congo troops 'looting villages'

There were reports of women being raped during the looting, he said. Troops in eastern DR Congo have been battling rebels loyal... more

bedeboop
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Female soldiers more likely to be raped than killed in action

A House subcommittee is set to shed new light on the problem of sexual assault in the military today, when it will hear testimony... more

TravG73
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Suicide or murder? Three years after the death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Iraq

Three years ago, on July 19, 2005, Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was found dead in Balad, Iraq. Her body was found in a tent belonging to the private military contractor KBR. She had abrasions all over her body, a broken nose, a black eye, burned hands, loose teeth, acid burns on her genitals, and a bullet hole in her head. The Army labeled Johnson’s death a suicide. But her parents never believed that story. They think she was raped and murdered and are now demanding a full congressional investigation into their daughter’s death.

AMY GOODMAN: Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson would have turned twenty-three this month, but three years ago the African American teenager from Missouri was found dead in Balad, Iraq, just a few weeks short of her twentieth birthday.

Her body was found in a tent belonging to the private military contractor Kellogg Brown & Root. She had abrasions all over her body, a broken nose, a black eye, burned hands, loose teeth, acid burns on her genitals, a bullet hole in her head. The Army labeled LaVena Johnson’s death a suicide. They told her parents she died of “self-inflicted, non-combat injuries.”

But her parents never believed that story. They think she was raped and murdered and that the Army’s investigators ignored physical evidence that would have proved this. The Johnsons are now demanding a full congressional investigation into their daughter’s death.

We invited the military to come on the show; they declined. The Criminal Investigation Command told us that “facts are facts.” They stand by their investigation that concluded LaVena Johnson’s death a suicide.

I’m joined now from St. Louis, Missouri by Dr. John Johnson and Linda Johnson, the parents of slain Iraq veteran Private LaVena Johnson. They claim that she was killed. Again, the military says it was a suicide.

We’re also joined by a former Army Reserve colonel, Ann Wright. She served in the US Army for twenty-nine years, was also a US diplomat for sixteen. She resigned in March 2003 in opposition to the war in Iraq. Ann Wright joins us on the phone from Dallas.

We welcome you both to Democracy Now! I want to start with Linda Johnson. Can you tell us about why your daughter went into the military and how you learned that she had been killed? Three years ago, on July 19, 2005, Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was found dead in Balad, Iraq. Her body was found in a... more