Torture of Iraqi Prisoners Evokes Painful Memories for New York Author

Nine years after being blind-folded and raped, journalist- author Lori Robinson relives her ordeal through the recent military scandal and implores for honest dialogue and movement toward an abuse-free society

NEW YORK, NY (PRWEB) May 21, 2004 -- Lori Robinson is a polished, composed and adept lecturer when it comes to discussing her 1995, rape in Washington D.C. On any given speaking engagement, Lori articulates her rape with effortless composure, describing her ordeal the night she returned to her apartment and was accosted by two men with guns who blind-folded her and then proceeded to rape her. She regularly reads excerpts from 'I Will Survive: The African American Guide to Healing from Sexual Assault, a book she wrote about the enduring legacy of sexual assault on women, and details the most horrific chapter in her life with ease--until now.

With recent news accounts and images of Iraqi prisoners enduring loathsome acts of physical torture and sexual assault, Robinsons current lecture series has brought back to life her own ordeal.

There is something about these particular images of people, these prisoners who were blind-folded, bound and tortured that brings back every awful memory from that night," said Robinson who wrote her book to help rape survivors confront the scars of sexual violence and help them become emotionally, mentally and spiritual strong and healthy despite their ordeal. Generally speaking, Ive experienced a tremendous amount of emotional healing since my attack and yet Im taken right back to that night in D.C. with each new photo from Iraq."

Robinson hopes that with the current barrage of news stories, which are beginning to shed light on the U.S. troops treatment of the prisoners, will spawn some serious nationwide discourse about sexual violence. The research in her book gives credence to the harrowing nature of sexual assault, calling it one of the most traumatic crimes there is" and points to rape as a form of torture that serves to in denigrate and break down the spirit of the victim by having them question their own humanity.

What the book also underscores is that black women who are victimized by rape, suffer the double indignity of both the trauma of the initial assault and the subsequent devaluation of their worth in the larger society. Despite being raped at a higher rate than their white counterparts, black women are far less likely to report the crime and are far more likely to be confronted by racial bias in the criminal justice system. The book cites studies, which show that judges generally impose harsher sentences for rape when the victim is White than when the victim is Black. The behavior of White jurors indicates a similar bias.

The historical and continuing struggles of the African-American community against bias and sexual victimization have shaped African-American attitudes and responses to sexual abuse today. ...'I Will Survive is a compendium of information, advice, solutions and serious plea for the community to seriously look at the historical frame work of rape within our communities," says Robinson. As long as we ignore the connection between how black men and women feel oppressed by white society..., we cant begin to end sexual violence in this country or abroad, let alone begin to talk about it. What I hope to do," she added, is to get us all talking."

About the author:
Lori Robinson is a journalist and rape survivor whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, Essence, The Crisis and The Source, among other publications. Also an educator, most recently taught media at Universidad San Francisco de Quito Ecuador. A former editor at Emerge: Black Americas Newsmagazine, her honors include National Association of Black Journalists awards and the International Black Womens Congress Inspirational Award.

I Will Survive: The African American Guide to Healing from Sexual Assault
By Lori Robinson
Avalon Publishing Group
ISBN: 1-580050808-8
Price: $15.95
Publication: March 2003
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