BOSTON — Here’s a story that illustrates the chasm between how France and America handle men, women and rape.
The French elite are outraged over what they see as American vulgarities surrounding the treatment of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF chief and putative 2012 presidential frontrunner, accused of raping a 32-year-old Sofitel chambermaid in Manhattan last weekend.
Among the "barbaric" American practices under critique by Parisians: showing photos of the accused in handcuffs; marching him through a scrum of photographers on the way to court; and pillorying him tabloid style—the NY Post called him "a horny toad,” for example. As GlobalPost has reported, French law restricts some media coverage of alleged perpetrators prior to conviction, including publication of images showing the accused in handcuffs, to preserve the dignity of the innocent.
Despite their outrage, the French press is blatantly committing what American journalists regard as a cardinal sin of rape coverage: violating the anonymity of the alleged victim. » | David Case, GlobalPost | Monday, May 23, 2011
GLOBALPOST: French outraged at American justice system's handling of Dominique Strauss-Kahn: France takes presumed innocence seriously, especially for someone of the IMF head's stature. » | Mort Rosenblum | Tuesday, May 17, 2011
