In the News: West Palm Beach Rape

I've attached a news article to the title if you want to read more.

There are numerous articles floating around about this particular attack. Also, it seems that the adult victim in this story is willing to be identified in the media and has taken the opportunity to give interviews.

The victims lived in a public housing complex. A complex known for crime.

A couple tidbits that I found particularly disturbing - beyond the horror of the assault itself - include the fact that the Bush administration has recently done away with funding specifically for policing public housing. I know that the government is all to happy to pat themselves on the back and rally voters on the stats of how many more police are patrolling our streets. How can they, in good consciousness, cut funding to some of our most vulnerable? Public housing residents are often simply sitting ducks for crime. Everyone knows that these apartments are populated by lone women and their children or the elderly. Since when did being poor mean that you didn't deserve the same protections we all take for granted?

And, in one article - not the one linked to this entry - a fellow resident of the housing complex is quoted as saying "so a woman got raped, big deal. There are other crimes to worry about."

I know that people will give themselves false security by distancing themselves from victims. But, I can't help but think that her statement is a reflection of how disenfranchised women and poor people have become in our culture. Really, it seems that the poor, and especially poor women, have become invisible in our society.