BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

by Christina Boyle A young woman brutally raped in a Queens subway station says her heart was broken when a judge threw out her suit against two transit workers who ignored her cries for help. Speaking for the first time since the ruling, Maria Besedin said Thursday she never expected the toll booth clerk and train conductor who witnessed the 2005 attack to be heroes and put their own lives in danger. But, she said, they didn't even call 911, or yell, "Stop!" Besedin hoped to have her day in court so a jury could decide if the MTA staffers were negligent for only alerting central command.She believed her case would make the system safer for all users. "I'm honestly still in shock," she said of Queens Supreme Court Justice Kevin Kerrigan's decision Tuesday to quash the suit. "It's so hard for me to process this whole thing because I just really wanted everyone out there to be safe, to never have to experience anything like I did." The petite...

RAPE VICTIM PARDONED "Reportedly" the Saudi woman sentenced to 200 lashes because she APPEALED? Has been pardoned. The judges say she was "having an illicit affair." Um... how did the men who jumped her and her friend in the car KNOW they were having an affair? Was there a sign on the window? Or is that another misogynistic excuse? She and the man in the car deny an affair and continue to deny it. I have a number of male friends. JUST friends. (I don't date because my PTSD is so profound now I stay away from any sort of emotional involvement.) Male friends have driven me to doctor appointments and hospital appointments - as well as sat with me in the hospital or while having a test done. Does that merit raping me and them? In Saudi Arabi it does. Not a place I want to visit. Ever. Rape is a serious crime. This woman and man have to live with the shame, memory and fear for the REST OF THEIR LIVES. Rape is intimate violence. You never fully recover m...

STEINBERG: Still An Animal After All These Years I picked up my paper this morning with a mix of "this figures" and "how sick can one man be"? running through my head. You'd think now that I have been a Domestic Violence Advocate for almost 3 full years now I'd be used to these sort of stories. Believe me, this remorseless, selfish bullpocky from abusers never changes. Never. And I hope I never cease being shocked by the audacity of some of these abusers. Here's the list of the most common excuses I hear (at least 25-35 times every week) from abusive men about their victims: - she's just a 'scorned woman' (this is the MOST common) - she's jealous of my new girlfriend - she needs to get over it and move on - she's exaggerating - she's crazy - she's the abuser not me ( I'd say this is at least #3 if not #2) - she's making it all up - she needs to get her ego in check - she pushed me to it - it's not as bad she...