Shirts Against Domestic Violence

October 22nd, 2012 [ Tags: , ]

This story got buried in the comments so I thought I’d share it here. Take it away Firework the Comic:

A few days ago you had a cool post on women’s incomes in STEM careers. I run a safe-space tumblr for women and someone let us know that in Connecticut, a court ruled that a man who raped a disabled woman who could not audibly demonstrate lack of consent (in other words, was physically incapable of saying no) would not be punished because in Connecticut, women are consenting unless proven otherwise. Here’s the link.

This isn’t about feminism. This is about us women reading this and feeling like we got a punch in the stomach. So I designed a couple of T-shirts that demonstrate the message of “I do not consent” succintly. They’re on redbubble, and all proceeds from the sale will be donated by paypal to domestic violence shelters in the contiguous US, which are closing due to lack of funding. I make $4 on a $25 t-shirt at redbubble, and if I exceed the monthly threshold of $20 in profit, I get a payout the next month. All of the money from these shirts will be donated to shelters for women.

here are the shirts (click the thumbnails for purchase):

another, simple design is coming later. If you could spread the word about these tees on your blog, that would be fabulous. But if you don’t want to that’s okay too.

Thanks a lot,
– Firework the Comic


  • http://beesbuzz.biz/ fluffy

    So wait, that means that in Connecticut someone could make the claim that the woman didn’t withdraw consent because she was drunk/drugged/otherwise made unable to do so?

  • Grant

    Well, no, it actually means that the prosecutor grossly screwed up the case by charging the rapist under the wrong statute, then compounded that error by totally failing to introduce supporting evidence. See, eg, http://apublicdefender.com/2012/10/04/supreme-court-hates-disabled-people-and-eats-children-for-lunch-probably/ . So what it means is that there’s a dumb-ass prosecutor in CT, and that if you happen to draw that prosecutor you might get away with rape.

  • Firework the Comic

    I’ve heard from people who are scared to live in CT now. I don’t know much about law but it scares me that this could happen so near us.

    To Jamie:
    Thanks a lot. I don’t expect to be able to donate much but even if I’m able to donate like $30 to a women’s shelter from this I’ll feel a bit better.

    Also, bubble tea is like a symbol of happiness for me, so this comic is perfect. You pleasantly surprised me yet again.

  • thisfox

    …And in the “ultimate do-not-wear to the first date” category of clothing, the prize goes to…