Childhood: A Cultural Study of Sexuality and Violence

 

Tampa, Florida.  Seven year old Amanda Brown was discovered missing from her bedroom when her mother went to check on her at 6:00 am on September 11, 1998. She stood 4'4" tall and weighed 45 lbs. She had scars on her forehaead. Amanda was last seen wearing a blue and white nightgown. Amanda's mother, Kathyrn Hartman met a 52 year old man by the name of Willie Crain Jr. at a bar. Two evenings later Crain invited Kathyrn and Amanda to his trailer.  She recieved a phone call and when she hung up she realized that Crain had taken Amanda into his bedroom and closed the door. She found Amanda between Crian's legs and Crain's arms wrapped around her. He was drunk. She seperated the two and went home. Crain followed her, wouldn't take the hint to leave, and laid down in their bed. Kathyrn took a valium for her back pain and fell into a deep sleep. The next morning Crain and Amanda were gone. Her body has never been discovered , but police suspect Crain, who is a commercial fisherman by trade dumped her body into the bay where he set his crab traps. Police discovered blood consistent with Amanda's DNA along the toilet rim and on tissue in the toilet at Crain's trailer. Crain had served more then six years in prison beginning 14 years ago for raping five girls, all roughly Amanda's age..   Amanda was raped and murdered. Why? It is easy enough to identify the perpetrator, to study him and thousands of others like Craine in America, profile them, post their pictures on web sites, lock them up in the pen or execute them. What isn't easy to understand is what the origin of violence towards children is, and why it is seemingly so prevalent in circum-Medittaranean cultures.  What does sexual violence towards children have to do with patriarchal cultural systems, sexual repression and oppression, corporal punishment of children and wives, highly valued virginity, percieved innocence of children? These pages explore the question of cultural origins of sexual violence towards children.  First I explore contemporary cases in the American media: abductions, homicides, rapes that have been in the news. Then I go back into history, exploring cultures in which sexual violence is rare or non-existent, as well as cultures with high levels of sexual violence. The goal of course is to help create a world where children can grow up in a non violent world, something suggested by the picture  "Best Freinds" at the top of this page.  This has been an on-going research project over a three year period. Links will be added as research is completed.

Index

Valiree Jackson	Erica Baker	Karen Grajeda	Lizette Galaz Memorial