The Vanderbilt Rape Case

[Content Note: Rape culture.]

In June 2013, four former Vanderbilt University football players participated in the rape of a 21-year-old female student, who was unconscious during the assault, and then orchestrated a cover-up of the crime. Here is a good primer on the case, which has a timeline at the top of the page and a story by the extremely knowledgable Tony Gonzalez below.

After many long months, the trial of two of the men charged with the assault began yesterday. If you want to follow along with the trial (and I direct you to all of these resources with the note that the material may be triggering):

* You can watch a live feed of the courtroom here.

* Follow the #VandyTrial hashtag on Twitter.

* Follow Tony Gonzalez's live tweeting of the trial.

This is a really visible case, getting a lot of attention because it combines the issue of campus rape with the issue of male athletes who rape. There has already been a metric fuckton of rape apologia around this case, and there will be even more as the trial moves forward.

Already, my favorite (ahem) thing from the trial is one of the defense attorneys seeking a mistrial after the prosecutor detailed the facts of the case. It's so darn unfair that the facts of the case are allowed in court, because that makes it so much harder for these poor accused men to get access to the usual swift acquittal for perpetrating sexual violence against a woman.

Goddamn.