Even to this day, when asked about the slaughter and repression carried about by General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War and in the years that followed, the standard reply from many Spaniards is that atrocities were committed on both sides. But in this relentlessly harrowing read, British historian Paul Preston provides, page after page, factual, documentary accounts of the systematic policy introduced by Franco early on in the war to rid the country of the red menace and to install a reign of terror among the few that might still contemplate resistance. This was accomplished through disappearances, and in many cases, the murders of entire families, along with theft of young … [Read more...] about The Spanish holocaust
Rape
Acquaintance rape: the trauma and shame of a hidden crime
“When I realised what he was going to do, I froze and the panic immobilized my body. I realised I couldn’t fight back. I am 48 kilos; he was 1.90 meters tall and very strong. I tried to scream but my voice wouldn’t come out, who could come rescue me? I suddenly saw myself floating above the room out of my body.” These are the words of Silvia (which is not her real name), who was raped by a man she had been dating for two months when she told him she wanted to break up. Besides the trauma of the experience itself, she then found herself in a quandary when it came to reporting the crime. “I thought about going to the police but would they believe me? He raped my in my own house, used a … [Read more...] about Acquaintance rape: the trauma and shame of a hidden crime