11 yr-old incest/rape survivor gets vilified by an Immigrant NYC community

We all read (and got upset) by the NYTimes skewed coverage of the Texas Gang Rape of an 11 year old Latina last month, today the Village Voice takes a look at the incestuous rape of an 11 year old in Spanish Harlem, perpetrated by her own father – a community activist and Cinco de Mayo parade organizer – and how his sympathizers have created an ugly smear campaign to publicly vilify her.

This horrible crime puts both his daughter and his wife (also being targeted) at the vortex of sexual politics within the Mexican community but also speaks volumes of the heavily biased sexualized culture and power structure of machista Latino culture at large.

“This girl is being crucified in public,” says Cecilia Gastón, executive director of VIP Mujeres, a Manhattan-based organization that helps victims of familial violence. “A young girl should not be treated this way in public. The adults should be behaving a different way. Something very private is being handled on the Internet and that’s not right—especially because of the sexual nature of the crime.”

We need to defend this little girl and stand behind her!!!

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