25 thoughts on “Scary Missionary Article”

  1. It is so awful this happened to these poor women. I hope they are finding some healing at this time.

    Rick, it’s not in all of Africa, and it isn’t all Africans. There are very good people in Africa, there are good justice systems in Africa, and then there are not so good. Just like here or most places.

  3. “Africa is a messed up place.”

    I’ve heard they have one of the highest murder and rape statistics in the world. Seems pretty messed up from my sheltered Canadian point of view.

  4. Africa as a whole? Or specific countries?

    We have to remember, Africa is not one country, it is a continent of MANY countries. And yes, there is a lot of turmoil in many places in Africa, but I would like to see comparable statistics to other continents, not single countries.

  6. Good page, but that page is based on murder rates per capita.

    I’d love to see another with gross murders/deaths. I would bet that more people die in Africa (by unnatural or preventable causes) every year than any other continent.

    Sexism, corruption and tribalism are the rule, not the exception.

    It is the dark continent indeed.

    I would love to be corrected on any of the speculations that I’ve made. Truly, I would.

  9. Can’t make sense of comment 6. Why does rick prefer a gross murder number to a per capita statistic? Virtually all that tells you is which country has more people. Murder exists everywhere; to figure out where things are actually more dangerous, you have to look at the per capita rates, not the gross numbers.

  10. I also find it unwarranted that these crimes get turned into an indictment of an entire continent. Do you seriously think no sisters have been raped in other parts of the world? If the report said it had happened in Canada—which is certainly not a rape-free nation—would we all be shaking our heads about what a “messed-up place” Canada is? Or North America?

  11. ltbugaf, are you seriously saying that a country with more people will have more people dying than a country with less population, but who are in a constant state of tribal war?

    That was my point in #6.

    In regard to the indictment of the entire continent; I have yet to see a region in the world less stable than Africa as a whole.

    My original outrage when reading the article was that in a place that required assistance from the outside world, some people in the country would prefer to bite (or rape) the hand that feeds them.

  12. Rick asked “…are you…saying that a country with more people will have more people dying than a country with less population, but who are in a constant state of tribal war?”

    Of course, I’m not saying that, but I don’t expect rick to stop putting his own words in my mouth.

    However, on to answer the question: Whether the country with more people will have more peole dying really depends on whether the country with more people is also in a state that causes a high death rate. For instance, the murder rate in Russia is phenomenally high—yet no one is telling us what a messed-up place Eurasia is.

    The whole reason per capita statistics are more important than raw numbers is just that—to tell us whether one place is actually more dangerous than another. The United States experienced more murders than South Central Los Angeles last year, but South Central L.A. is more dangerous than the USA as a whole. Rick already knows this, so I don’t see why he’s fighting me about it.

  13. I believe Charlize Theron (a native South African) was appearing in PSA’s there about the evils of rape, etc. I would suppose it’s quite common, and doubt any statistical information would back it up due to lack of reporting.

  14. Hmm. There are PSAs about rape in the US, too. So which country has more rapes? Shall we see which one has more PSAs? Is that a reliable measure?

  15. There are estimates that 25% of women in the United states have been raped as children or as adults. I used to doubt such estimates. However, as more women are more open now about discussing such things, my anecdotal experience in talking with women, and talking with professional counselors, I now believe the 25% estimate to be on the low end.

    I can’t pinpoint the source, but I also remember reading that the per-capita rate of rape in Canada was higher than in the US. I’ll go look up the FBI stats for the US if someone can find the per-capita rate of rape for Canada.

  17. So there are two components to the analysis.

    Did a rape occur?
    Was it reported?

    That’s a tough one for the statistician. It’s pretty hard to get hard numbers for the second portion.

  18. I’ve never seen a PSA about rape in the U.S. Not saying they don’t exist–but I do watch a lot of TV.

    I also doubt a major movie star appeared in the U.S. PSA.

  19. The latest rape PSA I watched in the US featured a very prominent actor, David Schwimmer. This has no relevance, however, in determining whether one place is more dangerous than another.

  21. I lived in Arizona during the 80’s and research was being conducted to try and
    determine the reasons why a higher percentage of Eagle Scouts in Mesa, Arizona were raping women compared to other parts of the country. Mesa has a very high percentage of LDS compared to other places.

    One of the possible reasons the study was looking at was if the LDS rules on sex were a factor in the rapes.

    I have been under the impression Canada was a liberal country. Why would Canada have such a high rape index? More than twice the USA.

  22. “Why would Canada have such a high rape index?”

    Maybe because women actually REPORT the crime in Canada?
    Part of these stats can be attributed to the victims perception of a chance at justice and the comfort level of reporting the crime.

    That’s my impression anyway.
    Maybe I’m just in denial…but I doubt it.

  23. I believe Rick is correct.

    “One of the possible reasons the study was looking at was if the LDS rules on sex were a factor in the rapes.”

    Interesting, since rape is a violent crime and not a sexual one.

  24. “Mesa has a very high percentage of LDS compared to other places.”

    Not compared to Utah where the incidence of rape is lower.

  25. Is “Pewman” the latest ID of Bill/George?

    I’d love to see actual evidence of this supposed study into rapes by Eagle Scouts.

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