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Rape isn’t a ‘violent crime’, just ‘lazy, bad sex’: Germaine Greer

May 31, 2018

The feminist's latest shocking comment related to sex. Source: Getty.

Germaine Greer is known for making outrageous public statements, but her latest comments about rape are possibly her worst yet.

The controversial ‘feminist’, 79, has sparked outrage after reportedly claiming rape isn’t a “violent crime”, but instead “lazy, careless and insensitive” and just “bad sex”.

According to multiple news outlets, she called for punishments for rape to be lowered to just 200 hours’ community service and perhaps an “R” tattoo on the attacker’s hand or cheek.

Speaking at the Hay Festival, she is also said to have questioned whether victims can really suffer from post-traumatic stress, while comparing it to war veterans who have watched their “best friend blown up”.

“We are told that it is a sexually violent crime, an expert like Quentin Tarantino will tell us that when you use the word rape you’re talking about violence, a throwing them down… it is one of the most violent crimes in the world. Bull**t Tarantino,” she reportedly told the shocked audience.

She’s then claimed to have added: “Most rape is just lazy, just careless, just insensitive. 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.

"I was raped… but it didn't kill me."

Germaine Greer talks about her experience of sexual violence in the latest Ways to Change the World podcast. pic.twitter.com/UTjxvmq73L

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) May 25, 2018

“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.”

She told the festival that radical change was needed, as sexual assaults have become a huge problem as the legal system can’t cope with them – with each case coming down to the issue of consent.

The academic also opened up about her own sexual assault when she was 18, admitting she was repeatedly punched and ordered to say “f*** me”. She never reported the attack to police, and according to The Guardian, she told the audience of the shock incident: “I don’t think I did [say f*** me], but maybe I did. How would that look on my mobile phone in court saying ‘f*** me’?”

She is claimed to have added that she still doesn’t feel “angry enough” towards her attacker, and instead feels ashamed.

Elsewhere, Greer – who was at the festival to publicise her forthcoming book On Rape – also questioned a statistic stating 70 per cent of rape victims suffer from PTSD, compared to 20 per cent of war veterans.

“What the hell are you saying? Something that leaves no sign, no injury, no nothing is more damaging to a woman than seeing your best friend blown up by an IED is to a veteran?” she reportedly added.

Greer called for courts to concentrate on the violence in obviously violent sexual assault cases, saying they should attract bigger sentences, rather than having long trials in which women are humiliated. Meanwhile in her book, she claims the crime of rape itself should be replaced by a wider assault law, to include sex offences in varying degrees of gravity.

She concluded of rape victims: “We haven’t been destroyed, we’ve been bloody annoyed is what we’ve been.”

Understandably, the comments have sparked outrage, and a spokesperson for Victoria Centres Against Sexual Assault (CASA) told Starts at 60 that tattooing an “R” on someone is unlikely to have any benefit.

“For a lot of people rape is traumatic because it comes with a lot of feelings of powerlessness and not being able to feel safe. For some women, there’s a serious fear that they will be killed. That then ties in with you feeling quite unsafe for a long while in your life,” the spokesperson said.

“It’s not a simple topic, it’s a very complex topic… I can’t think she was being serious about tattooing someone’s forehead. That is not a useful way to make someone change their behaviour… It could lead to them being even more dangerous.

“We really need more campaigns telling victims ‘this is not your shame, it’s the shame of the person who perpetrates the behaviour’. You shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk about it, and it’s not a sexual crime it’s a violent crime with a sexual way of carrying it out. It is a violent crime.”

They added: “I think high profile people saying things like this makes it very difficult for victims who have found their assault particularly traumatic. I don’t think that’s a useful thing for women to do.”

One social media user wrote: “It’s been quite clear to me for some time now that Germaine Greer doesn’t actually like women. And that would include herself.”

Another added: “Can’t really begin to express the horror and rage I feel about Germaine Greer’s remarks about rape. But apart from anything else, how on Earth could an academic be so f***ing ignorant of the psychology of trauma? It’s Trumpian. Any remnants of credibility are surely now shot.”

And one wrote: “Germaine Greer is everything a feminist is not. Disgrace of a human being.”

Starts at 60 has contacted Germaine Greer’s reps for comment. 1800RESPECT declined to comment on Greer’s statements.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.