Joscelyn Transpiring on Nostr: Power. SA and DV is always about power. People often assume this means it’s about a ...

Power. SA and DV is always about power. People often assume this means it’s about a person getting pleasure from domination and control of others. It can be, but it often isn’t even that. Frequently, it’s about the power in our systems that structures vulnerability to this violence.

Why are lgbtq+ youth more likely to experience SA and DV? Because predators and perpetrators know that the system will enable that violence and protect them. Why are the poor more likely to be victims of crime of all kinds? Because the structures of our society make it crystal clear that violence against the poor will be treated differently than violence against the rich, and we structure work, material goods, and more in a way that requires them to make themselves structurally vulnerable. Why do fascists want to make women more dependent upon men? Because that constructed dependency will enable their SA, DV, and other acts.

It’s also worth noting that many people who have been victims themselves will be perpetrators against others they have power over because power teaches us to be violent.