Supposedly a group of women and about 20 soldiers dragged her to safety from this public sexual assault of unspecified detail (some reports have called it “gang rape,” but I’ve seen no claim of that). This was six days ago.
The story is an international sensation. Yet we’ve heard absolutely no information except that contained in CBS’s press release (via Associated Press):
Separated from her crew in the crush of the violent pack, she suffered what CBS called “a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating.” She was saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers, the network said.
All these witnesses, all these heroes — not a single word out of any of them? Maybe they’re twittering and blogging in Egyptian and it just hasn’t hit the English-speaking world yet?
I’ve been scouring the Internet for days, and nothing. Does anyone have any links to help out?
The manosphere is full of the expected crap about how she deserved it (you know, because she’s a woman hanging around Muslims, a woman with a job, a woman with blond hair, a woman) but nothing else. My concerns are forensic. If my suspicious are at all founded, then and only then will I consider it fair to expound about how I think Lara Logan sucks as a reporter in ways completely unrelated to this. If my suspicions are unfounded, then please, please direct me to the relevant information.
And, no, I don’t consider the fact that she’s reportedly been in the hospital for four days proof she was sexually assaulted. She could have injuries from other sources (lots of reporters got clobbered over there). And if a person as famous and wealthy as Lara Logan wants to stay in the hospital for four days, I doubt doctors are going to kick her out.
Here’s an interesting tidbit further down in the AP story:
However, in the final days, and especially after the battles with pro-Mubarak gangs who attacked the protesters in Tahrir, women noticed sexual assault had returned to the square. On the day Mubarak fell, women reported being groped by the rowdy crowds. One witness saw a woman slap a man after he touched her. The man was then passed down a line of people who all slapped him and reprimanded him.
So it’s not as if people just stood by and accepted this. But maybe Logan just wasn’t as lucky.
About the Author
24 Responses to Why haven’t we heard from any of Lara Logan’s rescuers?
Leave a Reply
please enter your email address on this page.
From reading between the lines I get the impression that the attack fell somewhat short of actual rape.
As for the lack of twitters and blogs from her rescuers, it could be that it’s mostly men in Egypt who engage in such forms of communications. And the soldiers are likely under orders to keep silent.
I was fairly surprised by the story. I thought that gang rapes are typically fueled by alcohol or committed by gangs in the broad sense, not mobs. One guy might want to rape the woman, but if he doesn’t know whether the guy next to him will join in or cut his throat, he’ll probably restrain himself. A rapist is in a very vulnerable situation to anyone beside or next to him. Though it is entirely possible the perpetrators were a broad-sense gang.
Also, how exactly can you tell the difference between a ‘pure’ beating and one with a sex/power intent?
“Also, how exactly can you tell the difference between a ‘pure’ beating and one with a sex/power intent?”
Rob, in this case I don’t care. Many reporters were beaten; only she is receiving a huge outpouring of support and an enhancement in her journalistic cred — which has long been lacking — because of a sexual attack. It may have been a mere groping, but the ambiguous terms allow readers to infer it was much worse. I don’t believe being grabbed or groped would have resulted in such massive attention.
“And the soldiers are likely under orders to keep silent.”
Peter, why do you think this would be? They are heroes. Their rescue would help counteract the bad publicity this has brought upon the Egyptian male public, particularly the Mubarak protesters.
And as for men being the ones who Twitter, blog, comment to the press, etc., well — supposedly there were hundreds of witnesses. Many of them were no doubt male, and certainly not all were participants.
Interesting Village Voice article on why it matters if she was actually raped or not. It quotes the New York Post quoting an unnamed source who said it was “not a rape.”
Yet the wording of the press release allows people to infer that she was. This needs clarification.
Well, apparently Al Jazeera has chosen to completely ignore the story.
But you’d think CBS could make short work of the perps by offering rewards for turning them in.
It certainly seems like the crowd was only able to get to second base with Lara, which I will admit must be unpleasant.
Maybe they’re twittering and blogging in Egyptian
I don’t know if you were trying to be clever, but the official language in Egypt is Arabic. The way you said it, it sounded like they were using hieroglyphics.
I don’t know if you were trying to be clever, Mike, but the term is “hieroglyphs.”
Wikipedia allows either…
Due to the current chaos in Egypt, I’m putting my suspicions on hold. I’ve never reported in the Middle East and don’t know the logistics. But I’m going to be looking closely for corroboration over the next week.
I’ve heard that long before recent events, foreign women who were dressed in even slightly revealing manners often found themselves targets of unwanted verbal and, occasionally, physical harassment in Egypt.
I don’t know if you were trying to be clever, but the official language in Egypt is Arabic. The way you said it, it sounded like they were using hieroglyphics.
Egyptian sources report ‘two scarabs, an Ankh, and an Anubis…’
[Comment redacted]
[Comment redacted]
Sheila wrote: Why are you and Kirk trying to discredit my post by making boorish comments? I don’t want my views lumped in with people like Nir Rosen. If this indeed happened to her, it’s terrible, not funny. I’m trying to invite legitimate questioning as to whether this really happened as CBS described it.
“I’ve heard that long before recent events, foreign women who were dressed in even slightly revealing manners often found themselves targets of unwanted verbal and, occasionally, physical harassment in Egypt.”
Peter, no quarrel with that. The question is whether it happened to Logan, and was it as bad as suggested in the CBS press release.
I mean, it’s also true that women get raped in Central Park. But not TV reporter Heidi Jones, who falsely claimed a man tried: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/wabc_weather_gal_in_rape_lie_cops_Dt6rDzCTktzVPJ049g2YlO
I finally got redacted! Yea!
When I stay up late, I get goofy. However,I don’t think my redacted comment was “boorish.” It’s just that I don’t understand what your point is with the post, so I decided to have some fun with it.
And I still don’t understand your point. After all, Lara Logan isn’t the first reporter to get attacked over there. (Anderson Cooper?) Other than the fact that the media may have hushed up the story in order to maintain sympathy for the protesters, I’m not sure how this is even a story.
Glad you’re raising questions about it.
Why have none of the rescuers come forward?
What does sexual assault entail?
Why did CBS sit on the story?
What did LL’s crew see?
Any time any sort of news story or political development is protected under the guise of ‘privacy’ I become skeptical. There is no need to protect Lara Logan’s privacy in this matter – even if she was sexually assaulted – because, frankly, she gave her body over to the story. Now, give us the details.
Um, Kirk, how much more obvious could I make it that the lack of info makes me suspect Logan is lying or exaggerating? But that doesn’t make it OK to joke about sexual assault. This is why most women hate discussing it in any but the most credulous and sympathetic terms, and feel obligated to side with any woman claiming it no matter how much we may privately dislike her. It’s because guys like you think it’s hilarious and deserved.
But that doesn’t make it OK to joke about sexual assault.
People joke about rape all the time. Hell, I remember an episode of Family Guy where Peter got sexually assaulted by a bull. (Something I didn’t find funny.)
Just because it happens to a woman doesn’t make it any worse. And it doesn’t make it suddenly off-limits, either. You want to be the equal of a man, then line up and accept your paddling like everyone else.
This is why most women hate discussing it in any but the most credulous and sympathetic terms, and feel obligated to side with any woman claiming it no matter how much we may privately dislike her.
Then why are you calling Lara a liar?
It’s because guys like you think it’s hilarious and deserved.
Smear much? Again, you’re the one calling Lara a liar. All I did is make two jokes, only one of which had anything to do with rape.
You’re the misogynist here, not me.
Kirk, you treat me a lot differently, and more crudely, than you do any men. This isn’t about being one of the guys. If she’s a liar, she’s a liar. But even though she’s a shitty reporter, if it happened, even to her, it’s not funny. It’s sad. It makes me feel bad because I wouldn’t want it happening to me. That shouldn’t be hard to understand. For you, it is. You’ve got a weird, awkward, hostile, cluelessness to you when it comes to women that probably explains why you’re still alone.
I’ve read a couple statements from other people in the square that night (not witnesses to her claimed attack), and their accounts of the supportive atmosphere increase my suspicions.
What do they say?
They didn’t see anything like what happened to Lara Logan, and they felt safe. It’s about halfway down in my lengthy follow-up post.
Yeah, I saw that. More and more interesting.