Using sexuality as a weapon

Amnesty International has reported there was systematic use of rape to retaliate against the Rohingya in Myanmar. Why rape? Rape turns acts of sexual intimacy into acts of violence and domination.

I am fortunate I do not live each day in fear that my town will be invaded by men who will try to use a sexual act to control my destiny. But we are being dominated and controlled by men using our sexuality against us in other ways. Rather than being seen as adults with equal rights and freedoms, the fact we are capable of bearing children has become a rallying point for men who care to dominate us.

Access to birth control and reproductive health in all its forms is controlled by men in the state and federal legislatures. These men are doing what the retaliating soldiers in Myanmar are doing: using a sexual act to control women.