Sarah Deer > Quotes

“Rape is more of a fundamental threat to self-determination of tribal nations than the drawbacks federal reform could ever be. Rape and child sexual abuse are directly related to most of the social challenges tribal nations face, and when people are hurting, they cannot effectively govern themselves or provide guidance and support for the children in the community.”
― Sarah Deer, The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America

“Ignoring sexual violence may sidestep painful realities, but silence is also one of the most insidious weapons invoked by rapists. Survivors experience tremendous shame and guilt, which is compounded by the secrets they must keep to survive. Where”
― Sarah Deer, The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America

“Using the word epidemic to talk about violence in Indian Country is to depoliticize rape. It is a fundamental misstatement of the problem. If this book does nothing else, I hope to demonstrate why rape in the lives of Native women is not an epidemic of recent, mysterious origin. Instead, rape is a fundamental result of colonialism, a history of violence reaching back centuries.”
― Sarah Deer, The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America

“In this antiquated framework, prosecutors (and victims) had to demonstrate extreme physical force, which usually required proof of extreme physical resistance. For example, the 1980 Texas rape law required that the victim “resist to the utmost” or with “such earnest resistance as might reasonably be expected under the circumstances.” It was common for juries to acquit alleged rapists because the victim was not sufficiently injured, determining that she could not truly have been forced if she did not fight back. Physical force is, of course, uncommon in cases of sexual assault. Perpetrators generally use other kinds of nonphysical force, such as coercion and threats.”
― Sarah Deer, The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America

“...Women should not feel pressured or obligated to share their story in a public forum unless they are ready. At times, the American anti-rape movement has suggested that survivors must "break the silence" or that they otherwise have political obligations to pursue justice for rape victims. Given that many Native women have chosen silence as a true means to survival, the choice not to speak out must be honored as much as the choice to speak out.”
― Sarah Deer

“Rape is the manifestation of removing choice and should not be perpetuated in the quest for justice. Stories are the intellectual property of the survivors.”
― Sarah Deer, The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America