"And, of course, understand that by the very definition, you can’t rape your spouse," Donald Trump's Special Counsel Michael Cohen said as reported by The Daily Beast.
This is in regards to Trump's ex-wife Ivana who said that she was "raped" and felt "violated" by Trump, but she later said, not in a "criminal sense." Cohen goes on to say that this was merely "emotional rape," and that this should not be taken literally. Not only did Trump and Ivana's 1990 divorce case involve a "gag order" which kept her from discussing their marriage without Trump's permission, her lawyers claim "that in the three years preceding their divorce Donald Trump, 'has increasingly verbally abused and demeaned [her] so as to obtain her submission to his wishes and desires' as well as 'humiliated and verbally assaulted' her." This information was reported by The Daily Beast.
Once again, we have a case of a white, middle-aged, elite man talking about women's bodies as if he knows what he is talking about. Remember when Former Missouri Congressman Todd Akin said, “If it’s legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down," in 2012? Well, this is pretty similar, as both heinous statements are ignorant and cringe worthy.
As you could probably guess, Trump is no better when it comes to matters of sexual assault. Take this 2013 tweet for example. He believes it is something that is inevitable, and obviously doesn't care about women.
If Cohen had a clue about what consent is, he'd know that in fact, it is possible for a person to be raped or sexually assaulted by their spouse. Notice how Cohen says "by the very definition," as though he's positive he knows what the definition of rape actually is. For some reason, consent is a difficult subject for some to grasp, but trust me, it's simple.
By definition, a person gives consent when they permit, approve or agree. Consent is when a person verbally says "yes." If someone is physically making advances or initiating something, that is a form of nonverbal consent. Otherwise, the person is not giving consent. If the person verbally says "no," is unconscious, gave consent before, but is not consenting at the moment, or even if they don't say anything, they are not giving their consent.
If there is still confusion, below is a video on consent in regards to tea posted on Upworthy.
"If someone said 'yes' to tea around your house last saturday, that doesn’t mean that they want you to make them tea all the time. They don’t want you to come around to their place unexpectedly and make them tea and force them to drink it going 'BUT YOU WANTED TEA LAST WEEK,' or to wake up to find you pouring tea down their throat going 'BUT YOU WANTED TEA LAST NIGHT.'"
In addition, below is a comic from Everyday Feminism that will help you navigate consent in everyday situations.
According to The Huffington Post, Cohen has since apologized for his "inarticulate comment" that was said in a "moment of shock and anger" when Trump was being accused of rape. Ivana Trump recently said, "I have recently read some comments attributed to me from nearly 30 years ago at a time of very high tension during my divorce from Donald. The story is totally without merit."
Whether Ivana is covering up for Donald, I cannot say, but Cohen has no excuse for perpetuating rape culture, especially in the form of marital rape. We are trying so hard to eliminate the mentality that men dominate women, especially husbands over their wives. This is still a huge issue all over the world, and is a matter that should never, ever be validated. It's crucial to continue these types of conversations to prevent more people from perpetuating rape culture.
Visit the National Domestic Hotline for more information and resources.
