ABSTRACT
This chapter describes two different crimes against women; one that occurred more than 30 years ago thousands of miles away and another that is taking place today on the doorstep of our nation’s capital. The former atrocity was the 1994 genocide in Rwanda; the second, human trafficking, is a current-day travesty happening before our very eyes. In both cases projective identification comes into play: people project their hatred onto women they do not know while justifying their behavior.
In the case of the Hutu men who raped Tutsi women, they allegedly did so because they thought these women looked down on them. By raping, degrading, and humiliating them, they got back at the Tutsi women for what they perceived was their superior attitude. They rid themselves of feeling they were inferior by projecting this sense onto the women. By raping them, the men stripped them of their dignity and worth.
The other crime discussed in this chapter is human trafficking, in which people abduct others, immobilize them with literal and psychological toxins, and proceed to use and abuse them. To rid themselves of any sense of wrongdoing, these perpetrators talk themselves into thinking that everyone is benefiting, including their captives.
