Indonesian Supreme Court Candidate Says Women Enjoy Rape

In a world divided by conflict and difference, it’s beautiful to see that people from different cultures, and countries across the world can share something in common: really fucked up ideas about rape.

In the United States, we can boast of Todd “legitimate rape” Akin and Richard “rape-pregnancies are intended by God” Murdock. But we shouldn’t become too cocky about our own rape-related misogyny. Because there’s some really impressive stuff going on in all parts of the world. Take for instance, Daming Sanusi, a candidate for the Indonesian Supreme Court. On Monday, during a parliamentary commission hearing to determine if he was a fit for the top court, he was asked whether the death penalty should be applied in cases of rape. His response?

“Consideration needs to be taken thoroughly for the imposition of death penalty for a rapist because in a rape case both the rapist and the victim enjoy it.”

Ladies and gentlemen, the mind of a legal scholar!

As news of Daming’s comments spread, so did calls for him to be removed as a candidate. Tuesday, Ridwan Bakar, a spokesman for the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, said, “We ask legislators not to give the judge position to Daming, as he had offended people`s feeling by uttering inappropriate statement.”

But, ladies, no need to get your panties all up in a bunch. The candidate claimed in a news conference that he was just nervous and making a joke. And, let’s be honest, nothing breaks the ice like some good old-fashioned rape-victim-mocking jokes. Am I right? Is this thing on? I mean, what is the deal? Not only was he just messing around, but Daming was totally unaware that what he was saying could offend anyone: “I made the remark without realizing it can harm people’s feeling.” I mean, in his defense, it’s not that hurtful to make fun of rape victims and say that they find pleasure in trauma, degradation, and brutality. Grow a thicker skin, people!

Despite Daming’s air-tight defense, things don’t look too good for this jurist-joker. Politicians have distanced themselves from him, The chairman of the parliamentary commission called his comments inappropriate, and members of the commission from the Prosperous Justice Party recommended against selecting him. As we learned from Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, when you have political aspirations, making inappropriate comments about rape can “shut that whole thing down.”