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Gardaí are appealing for the public’s help following a sexual assault in Howth. They are currently investigating a sexual assault that reportedly occurred in the early hours of Saturday, November 23, 2019.

The assault is believed to have taken place in the Sutton Cross area near Howth.

Gardaí are now appealing for anyone who may have information, particularly anyone who may have travelled on the Dublin Road, Sutton, Dublin 13 between 3:30-4:10am who observed any suspicious behaviour, or any road users in the area who may have camera footage to contact Raheny Garda Station on 01 666 4300, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

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Hollywood actress Demi Moore has revealed in her new memoirs that she was raped at just 15, according to The New York Times.

The star, now aged 56, will reportedly recount horrible details regarding the sexual attack in hew new book, Inside Out.

The autobiography will span from her troubling childhood to her hugely successful film career.

Moore will also describe what life was like while married to high-profile actors Bruce Willis and Ashton Kitcher, as well as raising her three daughters.

Demi described how penning the memoirs made her feel "very vulnerable" as she shared the intimate details about her life.

The US actress explained that the cathartic process was to help her "rediscover" herself; “It’s exciting, and yet I feel very vulnerable,” she told The New York Times .

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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“I had to figure out why to do this, because my own success didn’t drive me. It’s more of an awakening than a comeback."

Demi also revealed her secret heartbreak as she apparently blamed herself for suffering a miscarriage while dating Ashton Kutcher.

The Charlie's Angels actor admitted she lost a baby girl six months into her pregnancy when she was 42 back in 2005.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Demi and Aston remained together for another six years before they separated in 2011 and divorced a year later.

The Indecent Proposal star also documented her experience of balancing her Hollywood career with raising three daughters.

Demi shares 31-year-old Rumer, 28-year-old Scout and 25-year-old Tallulah with her ex-husband Bruce (now 64).

Feature image: Instagram/@demi_moore7

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Former JLS star Oritsé Williams has spoken out for the first time about being "tormented" by a rape accusation for the past three years.

The 32-year-old was accused of raping a fan in 2016 after a show in Wolverhampton, and was charged with the offence in September 2018.

The singer was unanimously cleared of rape in May of this year by a jury in Wolverhampton Crown Court after two hours and 17 minutes of deliberation.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The star spoke about his ordeal on Good Morning Britain today, revealing that he couldn't find work for the last three years;

"It's been horrific," digressed Oritsé. "I haven't been able to work for three years. I had this accusation hanging over my head every single day from when I woke up to when I went to sleep. It's just completely tormented me.

But I had two choices, let it drag me under and destroy me or stay strong and hope the truth would come out, which it eventually did," he continued.

"The worst moment has been the effect it's had on my family. I tried to protect my mother for the whole thing. When you’re in the public eye you can’t stop it."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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He added; "My family as so loving. I've had so much unconditional love and support from them all and my friends.

"Even now public and my fans have been amazing. Come out and openly supported me. It has been trial by social media."

Oritsé spoke about the sympathy he has for those who call for anonymity in rape trials, telling the GMB hosts;

"I absolutely would have wanted my name to get cleared as quickly a possible and move forward with my life with my family. We have to continue to encourage real victims to come forward. There has to be consideration on both sides."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Oritsé has been working on his song-writing while hiding from the spotlight over the last three years;

"I’ve had a lot of time on my hands over the last few years. I've been reconnecting as a song writer and immersing myself in my music. I believe I've written some of the best songs of my life in this period.

"I’ve poured my heart out into these songs, bled all over them. At some point when the time is right I want to share them with people."

Oritsé’s £3 million mansion burned down in a suspected arson attack only days after his acquittal.

Image: Twitter/@LondonFire

He had handed over the house to his ex-girlfriend after their break-up, but was still devastated by the arson attack;

"I had so many amazing memories there with my family and friends. Seeing what happened to somewhere I once loved was devastating. There’s an ongoing police investigation so hopefully we will get some answers."

Oritsé’s bandmate Marvin Humes said his friend is “getting his confidence back” after his acquittal, and the three-year ordeal ended in the “right result".

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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He told The Sunday Mirror: “He is working on himself at the minute and getting his confidence back. I have no doubt that whatever he goes into next, he will do great.

“He’s doing really well considering he has moved on from a terrible three years, a horrible three years, and he has come out the other side with the right result. He is getting on with his life and moving forward," Marvin added.

“One thing about us boys, everyone knows how close we are and we give each other support in any situation. We are like family.”

Feature image: ITV

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Riverdale star Camila Mendes has opened up about surviving sexual assault while she was attending college in the US.

The actor appeared on the cover of Women's Health this week, discussing the emotional meaning behind her one and only tattoo.

The inking features the words "to build a home" along her ribcage, and Mendes has yet to speak about its reference until now.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The 25-year-old credited the tattoo with her memories of moving around a lot during her childhood, as well as a "very, very bad experience" in college.

“I got the tattoo after my freshman year. I had a very, very bad experience; I was roofied by someone who sexually assaulted me,” she told the magazine.

The feeling of safety itself can epitomise home for many people, not just a place or a town: "If you don’t have that literal box, you have to create it in your habits.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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She has found a sense of comfort over time by putting herself first and self-care; “Whenever I feel like I’m going through something difficult, I think about what I can do physically for myself.

"People sometimes put working out first and don’t give their bodies rest. I’ll always choose sleep first. I think it’s just so underrated.”

“I danced for seven years, from age 4 to 11," she added. "Then I did musicals as a kid, then so much of acting school is movement classes and connecting your breath to your body. Activity has always been an important part of my life."

Feature image: Instagram/@camimendes

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An investigation has been launched by Gardaí over an alleged sexual assault at Electric Picnic in Stradbally last weekend.

The supposed incident happened on Saturday, August 31 at the music event in County Laois.

A garda spokesman confirmed in a statement that officers are investigating the report and are continuing to support the victim.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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A spokesman added: "Gardaí are investigating the report of an alleged sexual assault of a female that is reported to have occurred on Saturday 31st August in the Stradbally area of Co Laois.

"Investigations are ongoing."

Gardaí also revealed yesterday that they were dealing with 453 'reported incidents' of illegal drug use at the annual event.

Six offences involved public order, along with one sexual crime, one minor assault, one theft, one arrest of a man for possession of an offensive weapon and four arrests for driving under the influence.

Of the four arrests involving driving, three were drug driving and one was intoxicant driving.

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Gardaí in Cork are appealing for witnesses in relation to an investigation into an alleged serious sexual assault on a woman last Saturday, August 24. 

Gardaí wish to make contact with anyone who was in the Connolly Road or Vicars Road area between 4am and 7am on the morning of August 24, 2019 and noticed anything suspicious.

They are also appealing to possible motorists who may have dash-cam footage to please contact investigating Gardaí at the incident room at Togher Garda Station.

The incident allegedly occurred in the vicinity of Ballyphehane in Cork during the early hours of the Saturday morning.

Anyone with information are asked to contact the Togher Garda Station on 021-494712, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any local Garda station.

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Consent classes will be rolled out in secondary schools and sports clubs nationwide after the success of the college campus workshops.

The Irish Examiner has reported that the number of students attending the Smart Consent workshops in colleges skyrocketed by more than 600 percent, partly because of high-profile rape cases.

Pádraig MacNeela and Siobhán O’Higgins, from NUIG’s School of Psychology (who developed the workshops) said the programme has been altered to suit the age range of secondary school students.

Pádraig MacNeela spoke about the creation of the classes;

“We’ve started to redevelop workshops and test them out in schools, working with parents being on board and being the allies you want them to be.

“It’ll be the same type of conversation approach that has been happening in colleges, except there is a full redesign of materials to speak to school age, so far it seems to be a good fit," he added.

The proramme is set to launch in schools in early 2020, but several schools have already gone through the workshop. 

“We’ve worked with five or six schools so far, piloting the programme, where we have gone in to talk about consent," said Siobhán O’Higgins.

“It’s allowed us to see if this format, the workshop type programme, will work. We’ve been to schools in Limerick, Dublin, and Galway. We worked with parents first, it was actually the parents who wanted this in the schools and then the schools said they wanted it too.”

Sexual education in Irish secondary schools is taught under the relationships and sexuality education (RSE) programme, but varies hugely depending on the school.

The Department of Education and Skills have stated that every school can choose their own way of teaching the programme, which means that many students have received next to zero sex education.

What little sex education was offered in other schools solely touched on science, rather than contraception, consent and emotional relationships.

Siobhán O’Higgins has said that they must act strategically when choosing what schools receive the new workshop in 2020.

"There is no point going in and talking about consent in a school who haven’t had good RSE, with students who don’t understand their own bodies. Talking about consent like that is just adding on top of the confusion.

“Parents are afraid to talk to their children,” she said. “It’s very difficult now to be a parent. I do a bit of a workshop on consent with parents and we ask: ‘Was it consent?’ ‘Yes?’ ‘No?’ Sometimes it’s not always clear.”

More than 4,000 college students have taken the voluntary workshop since it first launched in 2015, which includes all sexual orientations and gender identities.

Consent is about respect and how we treat others, and many health professionals have said that the workshops need to reach younger people, before they hit college.

The programme makes sure to include the role of alcohol and drugs in consent. Organisers say they now plan to work with various networks and groups to reach young people aged 16 to 24-years-old.

A review of relationships and sexuality education is currently being carried out, with the draft report complete and open for public consultation until October 2019.

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Actor and model Josh Kloss has accused Katy Perry of sexual misconduct at a roller-skating rink after he starred in the singer's Teenage Dream music video.

Kloss described an uncomfortable interaction with Perry, saying that she exposed his penis to a group of people in 2010. Writing to Instagram, he wrote;

“It was Johny Wujek’s birthday party at moonlight roller way. And when I saw her, we hugged and she was still my crush."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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"But as I turned to introduce my friend, she pulled my Adidas sweats and underwear out as far as she could to show a couple of her guy friends and the crowd around us, my penis. Can you imagine how pathetic and embarrassed I felt?”

Kloss recounted another experience on set for a music video, where Perry allegedly referred to kissing him as "gross". He claims that Perry's representatives also stopped him speaking about his time with the singer, and answered interview questions for him.

“I just say this now because our culture is set on proving men of power are perverse,” Kloss wrote. “But females with power are just as disgusting. After I met Katy, we sang a worship song, Open the Eyes of My Heart. She was cool and kind."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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"When other people were around she was cold as ice," he added.

"Now I was pretty embarrassed but kept giving my all, as my ex was busy cheating on me and my daughter was just a toddler, I knew I had to endure for her sake. Katy invited me to a strip club in Santa Barbara. I declined and told her “I have to go back to hotel and rest, because this job is all I have right now”.

"So for all her good she is an amazing leader, her songs are mainly great empowering anthems. And that is it. I continued to watch her use clips of her music videos for her world tour and then her DVD, only highlighting one of her male co-stars, and it was me

"I made around $650 in total off of Teenage Dream. I was lorded over by her reps, about not discussing a single thing about anything regarding Katy publicly. And in a couple of interviews, they edited and answered for me.

"Happy anniversary to one of the most confusing, assaulting, and belittling jobs I’ve ever done. I was actually gonna play the song and sing it on ukelele for the anniversary, but then as I was tuning I thought, f*ck this, I’m not helping her bullsh*t image another second."

He later added further comments to his Instagram, sharing a photo of doctored interview questions.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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"The fear sticks with you, when you are censored to protect someone else’s image. But in return treated like a prostitute and exposed in front of a group of her friends and other random people. Then you are shocked and you block it out, because you watch the face of children being uplifted by positive music she sang.

"Folks I am putting us both out on display to increase and enlighten everyone. I don’t want money for this, Many of you project your own ambitions. I don’t want fame from this," Kloss concluded, adding that men aren't the great evil of the world but power itself corrupting people, regardless of gender.

Katy Perry has yet to comment on the accusation.

Feature image: YouTube/Katy Perry/Instagram/@aqsocialmedia

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Gardaí have gathered a list of names of those who they're trying to track down in Co. Kilkenny after three juvenile girls were sexually assaulted in Wexford last weekend.

Detectives believe that these individuals may have been directly involved in the attack or were with a number of men who carried it out on Sunday night. More than one man was apparently involved.

Gardaí are investigating claims that at least one 14-year-old girl was raped, and two other girls sexually assaulted. A specialist child interviewer has been hired to conduct the interviews.

A manhunt is ongoing in the Kilkenny area for a number of young men who Gardaí want to question about the attacks, which allegedly took place in the holiday town of Courtown Harbour, Co. Wexford.

The alleged incident happened shortly around midnight in the Burrow area, and the complainants are all young teenage girls. Gardaí are asking anyone who may have information to come forward.

The parents apparently reported to Gardaí that the girls were sexually assaulted on Sunday morning, and three girls made official statements to specialist officers. They were also brought to a sexual assault unit for treatment.

The girls are originally from the Dublin area, according to The Independent, and the attacks allegedly happened close to the beach in the north Wexford seaside village.

Gardaí were last night desperately trying to make contact with a number of suspects based in Kilkenny, and the area where the attacks allegedly happened were sealed off on Sunday while an exam took place.

"Each of the alleged victims was subjected to a different type of sexual assault," a senior source said last night.

"The alleged victims are fully co-operating with the investigation which is being treated in the most sensitive way," the source added.

Gardaí are particularly appealing to anyone who was in the Burrow area between 10pm on Saturday night and 2am on Sunday morning who saw any suspicious behaviour to contact Gardaí in Gorey on 053 943 0690 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

Gardaí are not releasing any further information “due to the sensitive nature of the incident” but a senior source described the claims as 'credible'.

A garda spokesperson said: “Owing to the nature of the alleged incidents and ages of those involved we will not be commenting further at this time.” Enquiries are ongoing, but no arrests have been made so far in the case.

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The constant sharing of intimate images of women without consent shines a light on how women are seen in our society: things to be looked at, owned and consumed. Objects.

In the #MeToo era, naive groups of people often declare that the treatment of women as purely sexual objects for men to consume is long gone. Other groups say this treatment has never even existed, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Some even say women deserve their personal images shared without consent; if they took the picture in the first place, they were asking for it.

Following numerous incredibly painful rape cases in this country, healthcare scandals which throw female lives away and the Repeal movement, women have had to face emotional trauma in the Emerald Isle. Rape culture is alive and well in our society, yet most have been desensitised to it.

Every few days, a reminder rears its ugly head to show us what we can’t forget, to nudge us into submission and point out the fact that women today still have to protect ourselves at all times and we can’t forget it.

Today’s reminder comes from a Reddit page by the charming name of ‘Irish Sluts’. TheJournal.ie reported that a page was sharing intimate images of young women without their consent online, with sexually explicit commentary by the website’s users. No doubt derogatory language was chosen about the women’s body and appearance.

“The content includes portraits of families, social media posts, and images of women walking in public or in the gym, but there are also nude photographs taken in more intimate settings. Details of where the women live and where they attend college or school are also posted on the site,” it was reported, with the Garda Síochana confirming. Members of the group also made sure to request ‘nudes’ from counties all over the country, mentioning specific women by name.

One woman said that she was alerted about her image being used in the group when a male friend saw it in a WhatsApp chat and alerted her, she told TheJournal.ie. “I got a call from a friend of mine who said that my photo was being sent around lots of WhatsApp groups,” she said.

Speaking anonymously, the woman said she felt violated and “nearly got sick” when she discovered the Reddit page. The Gardaí can’t carry out much action unless you’re underage, and the advice is to actually contact the group itself to solve the matter. So essentially there is zero authority who can regain control over the private images of you and return them to the owner, making the internet an even more dangerous place.

This isn’t the first incident, of course, and it won’t be the last. ‘Revenge porn’ is alive and well; the habit of using sexually explicit images of an ex partner in order to use against them with malicious intent, such as posting them online or sending them to an employer.

A friend of another victim of this site told TheJournal.ie: “I’m not under any illusions that these types of things go on in parts of the internet, but this is very Ireland orientated and I can’t get my head around the fact that it happens so blatantly on a mainstream site like reddit that has businesses advertising on it, etc. People are posting personal details on some pictures, names, addresses, etc. It’s not sitting right with me that these girls can be put in this type of physical/mental danger without them knowing especially given some of the other things in the news cycle in the last few days.”

Brendan Howlin, Labour leader, has said that Ireland is extremely far behind when it comes to dealing with the issue of revenge porn. The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill aims for a six-month prison sentence upon conviction, but is still before the Oireachtas. While time is ticking, the internet is abusing images of women all over Ireland.

Literally the only law protecting against the distribution of images such as these without permission is contained in the Non Fatal Offences Against The Person Act. There is a subsection of this act which deals with harassment but no specific laws in place to guard against revenge porn or unconsensual sharing of personal or explicit images.

What does this say about how the men of Ireland see us?

Most of us will be able to distinctly recall the infamous Belfast rape trial involving four Ulster Rugby players; Stuart Olding, Paddy Jackson, Rory Harrison and Blane McIlroy. Whether you were team I Believe Her or not, the language used in the WhatsApp group featuring the four men about the alleged victim and Irish women in general was beyond disturbing.

Image: JOE.ie

Toxic masculinity, entitlement and objectification reeks from texts such as these, but why does society continue to believe that wealthy, white, heterosexual young men with privilege are incapable of rape and sexual assault? They discuss women as sex objects for their fetishization, and why wouldn’t they go any further than that? Humiliation is the first step to dehumanise a person. Once someone is dehumanised enough, it becomes easier and easier to mistreat them.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The #UCD200 became a huge scandal that spawned an investigation after claims of a Facebook group involving 200 UCD students who were sharing nonconsensual sexually explicit images of women without their knowledge were made public. The investigation found no evidence, but one of the most noteworthy aspects of the incident was how easily believable it was. This happens to women every single day, I have lost count of friends who have had private and intimate images of themselves shared without their consent; myself included.

The language used by Irish men is mirrored in the sexual assault trials and courtrooms; the recent Cork case involving a young woman who accused a man of raping her in an alley had her underwear used as evidence against her. A female barrister held up a lacy thong, and claimed that only a woman who WANTED to have sex would wear something like that.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Women are often the ones tearing down fellow women with language; toxic femininity is alive and well. We have been taught to compete with each other to win the attention, the approval of men. 

The language used to describe women, to portray them as either seductive prostitutes or prudes, ‘sluts’ or nuns, feeds the narrative that what you wear, how much you drink, and your sexual past plays a part in your victimhood. You can’t be a victim if you were asking for it, according to the courts of this nation.

Acquittal doesn’t mean innocence, as anyone who has experienced the Irish sexual violence criminal justice system understands more than they should have to. Why wouldn’t Irish men speak of women in such terms, when they won’t ever have to experience any consequences? Why wouldn’t they join in the lad banter, the ‘locker room talk’ if it leads to a boost in their pride, their status, their brotherhood?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Words have power, they have meaning. Language leads to action, action leads to harm, and most of the time the harm is suffered by Irish women. Why? The patriarchy, toxic masculinity, rape culture; all of it allows Irish men to feel a level of invincibility which encourages them. In Dublin, many of the ‘elite’ schools are segregated by gender; men and women at a young age with privilege only interact on nights out, at school discos most of the time. With alcohol and not many clothes covering them, women are deemed as useless without their looks, but a woman who is sexually provocative is a ‘slut’, a ‘whore’, ‘asking for it’. We are presumed guilty until proven innocent, handed double standards we can never beat, and fear for our safety the second it turns dark, much to the obliviousness of men.

Of course, rape and sexual assault occur where men are the victims, and find it incredibly difficult to speak about or get help due to the culture of masculinity where being a victim is shamed. Only by spreading awareness, and actual facts as well as sexual consent training and sexual education can we reduce the horrifying statistics.

I was given a single self-defence class at school. Just one. The main thing it taught me was that in the instance of rape, you are to yell the word, ‘fire’, because only then will someone come to offer aid.

A viral post on Facebook by a user named Drew McKenna shared a passage from Jackson Katz’ book named The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help. A prominent social researcher, he decided to test his audience on the ways which they protect themselves on a daily basis from sexual assault. The results were alarming, but not surprising.

The reaction from the male side is especially interesting;

“He first describes the reaction on the male side. “At first there is a kind of awkward silence as the men try to figure out if they’ve been asked a trick question. The silence gives way to a smattering of nervous laughter. Occasionally, a young a guy will raise his hand and say, ‘I stay out of prison.’ This is typically followed by another moment of laughter, before someone finally raises his hand and soberly states, “Nothing. I don’t think about it.'”

Of course, the women could talk all day about how they defend themselves from the threat of rape or sexual assault. “As the men sit in stunned silence, the women recount safety precautions they take as part of their daily routine.” The replies were then arranged into a list, contrasting with the male answers. From holding your car keys between your fingers, never leaving drinks unattended, using a male voice on an answering machine, not wearing headphones in public, not using car parks or parking in dimly lit areas, not meeting a man in private on dates- it paints a horrible picture of the normality of female self-protection, and the total lack of awareness from the male point of view. More men than I can say have refused to walk me home, brought me a drink without watching what men around him were doing to it, spoken in a disgusting manner about women; all without realising that they were causing harm.

All men believe they are good.

“I moved on her like a b****, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married. “I did try and f*** her.”

“You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the p****. You can do anything.”

Many Irish men like to believe that Donald Trump is an anomaly, something to be laughed at, not feared. Irish women know better. The vast majority of us can report that we’ve been sexually harassed, one-in-four of us will report being sexually assaulted compared to one-in-71 men. A report by Union of Students Ireland (USI) in 2013 found that 1 in 7 people will experience some form of unwanted sexual contact during their time in college. The reports of femicide this year are equally terrifying, with the majority of cases occurring where the perpetrator was a husband, boyfriend or partner of the woman killed. 

The line between harassment and assault is easily crossed. Words are just the beginning.

Feature image; Everyday Feminism

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Nearly 1,000 people in Ireland were treated in sexual-assault units in 2018, according to new data. 

This is a shocking increase of almost 10 percent in 2017, which is quite the jump. 20 children under the age of 14-years-old were treated after sexual assaults last year alone.

Ireland has six sexual-assault treatment units, where people may present themselves after an attack.

The sexual-assault treatment units are located in hospitals in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Mullingar, Waterford and Letterkenny.

There were 865 presentations at the six units in 2017, but this rose to 941 in 2018 according to the latest details released under the Freedom of Information Act.

In Mullingar Regional Hospital, 203 sex-assault victims were treated in 2018 alone, which is a worrying 17 percent increase.

Noeline Blackwell, the chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, isn't taken aback by the sharp increase across the nation.

"People are more ready to recognise that these are units which are specifically dedicated to dealing with victims of sexual assault," she said.

"You don't have to be referred there by the Gardaí, people don't even have to have an examination for court purposes there if they don't want to but they certainly will get the medical help that they need and a recognition of the trauma of the sexual assault as well."

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre recently called for increased funding to deal with the "epidemic of sexual violence" in the country. In 2018, 13,949 people contacted the organisation.

This means that around 270 people per week contact the 24-hour helpline, with over 13,300 calls every year.

94 percent of people treated in Ireland's six units last year were women, with 6 percent being men.

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Oh Nicki/Barbie/Chun-Li/Onika or whatever it is that you prefer to be called.

While I respect a woman who infiltrated and somehow dominated the male rap game, I  have some MAJOR issues to discuss. Yes, we all danced to Starships back in the day, but it's time to get real.

Our roast beef with the rap queen includes having a convicted murderer and sex offender as her new beau, collaborating with a gang member who used a naked 13-year-old girl in his music video, and the Asian stereotyping. 

While Minaj has been praised and lauded for her ability to remain powerful and confident in an industry which, in general, uses completely misogynic and homophobic lyrics to perpetuate toxic masculinity, there are other cards at play here.

Specifically her consistent collaborations and relationships with violent men.

The internet has descended into chaos on Monday over the Instagram posts which Minaj uploaded of her new boyfriend, Kenneth Petty.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The controversy over her new Instagram-official relationship was predominantly due to his criminal record; TMZ are claiming that Petty is a registered sex offender with at least two convictions under his belt.

Prosecutors claimed that he attempted to force a girl into engaging in intercourse with him using a sharp object in 1995, when he was 15 and the victim was 16.

This led to a first-degree attempted rape conviction and his name stuck on the sex offender list for life, seeing as he is 'moderately' likely to be a repeat-offender. Yeah… that's pretty damn scary.

Minaj's new man served almost four years in a NYC state prison for the attempted rape, and served another seven years for a first-degree manslaughter conviction after he shot a man several times.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Oh they wanna talk? Let’s give’m smthn to talk about.  *Shania voice*

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On her account, Nicki was forced to disable the comments section after her fans understandably went into absolute meltdown.

Instead of addressing the whole problematic debacle, she captioned the post; "Oh they wanna talk? Let's give them something to talk about." Um, okay, why don't we talk about safety? Like, not dating a criminal?

Sexual violence and domestic assault is still rife in society, with Times Up and the #MeToo movement only showing the tip of Hollywood's iceberg.

The music industry has it's own qualms to tackle regarding violence against women; R Kelly remains the most notorious example of alleged predators who are still being given a platform.

When Chris Brown viciously attacked Rihanna in 2009, his career continued to thrive, despite the outrage and shock which ensued when graphic images of Rihanna went live all over the world.

The reaction to XXXTenacion's death, instead of focusing on the fact that he admitted to stabbing nine people, and was on trial the week of his murder for assaulting his PREGNANT ex-girlfriend, the response was to mourn him as a hero.

The ex-girlfriend Geneva Ayala's harrowing testimony was obtained by Pitchfork, and detailed a pattern of intense psychological, emotional, sexual and physical abuse and assault by XXXTenacion.

Nicki could have criticised such a problematic man in her own industry, or even have kept quiet, but she expressed her sorrow at his passing instead;

“XXXTentacion may not have been the biggest artist, but his murder hurt us like we knew him, or like we were the biggest fan.” 

Of course, none of this is Nicki Minaj's fault. That goes without saying, yet her continued support for infamously harmful men such as Tekashi69, Kenneth Petty and XXXTenacion needs focus.

The Young Money artist was in a relationship previously with hip-hop mogul Nas, who had an extremely toxic relationship with R&B legend Kelis. The Milkshake singer recently claimed that Nas abused her during their marriage, and that Rihanna played a part in their divorce.

While these claims haven't been proven, it does appear to be a pattern that Minaj enters relationships with controversial male figures, who seem to embody toxic masculinity.

Her latest collaboration with Tekashi69 is another bone of contention, her defence of a man who is since imprisoned on racketeering charges, possession of firearms and armed robbery. 

Tekashi69 legitimately pleaded guilty to being involved in a 2015 sex act with a 13-year-old girl, which he filmed and posted online, so there's no denying his criminal scumbag status.

Yet Nicki Minaj collaborates with him on their hit single FeFe and on another track for his new album, Dummy Boy. The lack of concern is rather alarming, TBH. 

"Danny, I love you and am praying for you, your Mother, daughter & her Mom during this time," Minaj said in an Instagram caption dedicated to the rap artist following his arrest.

Many of her fans are presumably young and highly impressionable, who see the rapper as an influence whose actions are worth paying attention to, hence the concern over willingness to align herself with harmful men.

Issues with race and homophobia have also followed Minaj throughout her career, most recently in regards to her latest album Queen.

The rap goddess was accused of homophobia following the release of song lyrics on her new musical offering, with lines consistently using slurs such as 'sissies' and 'f*ggots'.

LGBTQ+ advocates criticised Minaj's choice of words on Twitter;

“I am a gay man who grew up being taunted by words like ‘fag,’ ‘homo,’ ‘sissy,’ and ‘fairy,’” wrote Mark Zustovich.

“These are more than just words that offend and deeply hurt people who identify or who are struggling to identify as LGBTQ — they are designed to make boys and men feel ‘less than’ or feminine, as if having feminine characteristics is something shameful. On the contrary, we as men should be embracing that more.”

Let's not forget the Chun Li Challenge, which clearly perpetuated Asian stereotypes in pop culture.

The #ChunLiChallenge went viral, and featured rapper Asian Doll (who isn't Asian…) sporting chopsticks in her hair — an act which is considered extremely disrespectful in Japan.

The rapper has referenced geisha and samurai in previous tracks, and Nicki (real name Onika) has also cosplayed as a “Harajuku Barbie” persona.

The use of harmful rhetoric in rap is well-documented, including within the albums of Drake, Chingy and Childish Gambino.

Asian writer David Yi commented that;

"The way people are interpreting the #ChunLiChallenge with signifiers like double buns and chopsticks as hair accessories is yet another instance of people co-opting another culture with impunity."

*Sighs* It doesn't take much to do some research into other cultures for the purpose of understanding and respecting them, especially when you have millions of fans from that part of the world, Nicki.

All in all, I question Nicki Minaj's disturbing willingness to align herself, collaborate and have romantic relationships with violent men, as well as her ignorance of other cultures and sexualities.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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She's 35, she's a grown woman and can date whoever she wants, but she must remember the power which she has over her fans.

Her influence is unquestionable- he’s appeared on nearly 100 singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, each of her albums have amassed five million sales and she has become a household name, despite working in a world that degrades women constantly. 

Not to mention society's obsession with only supporting one female rapper at a time, either Nicki or Cardi B, despite hundreds of male rappers saturating the music industry.

Yet the question has to be asked, is Nicki Minaj contributing to the normalisation of male predators and cultural appropriation?

At the moment, she's the farthest thing from an inspiration to me. 

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