Let’s follow up on the Mel Gibson story from last week. While many blogs and news sources have condemned Gibson’s actions, pointing out exactly why he should be held accountable and calling out the media for ignoring domestic abuse, or defending Oksana Grigorieva’s recording as a means of self-defense, there’s still plenty of victim-blaming to be had. The Today Show said Grigorieva was acting passive-aggressive to push Gibson, Forbes Women described his behavior as “human,” Gibson excused himself of blame in saying that quitting smoking had made him “crabby,” and as for the tapes, Dan Abrams doesn’t think they were recorded legally. And to further complicate matters, it now looks like Grigorieva is under investigation for extortion. Yes Means Yes contemplated Gibson’s case along with Al Gore’s to ask simply, “Is this the face of a monster?” They remind us that whatever our disbelief that a beloved public figure could do such a thing, “We have to be willing to accept that if he did, he’s not the person we thought he was, and he doesn’t deserve our support.” Speaking of which, two more of Gore’s former masseuses have come forward to report abuse. Jaclyn Friedman writes at The Nation how the media should report on the case. And as if we needed more celebrity drama, Michael Lohan has also been charged with harassment and allegedly threatened to kill his fiance.

In more victim-blaming, the BBC reported on a rape at a music festival by describing what the victim was wearing and encouraging women to stay with their friends (which clearly didn’t work, as another rape was reported shortly after, though festival officials say they’re unrelated). Lawrence Taylor’s wife also made sure to kick her husband’s victim while she was down, saying “good girls don’t run away,” “that’s what happens when you run away,” and the real charmer, “How in the heck do you rape a prostitute.” There’s more calling out the “good girls don’t” argument over at Yes Means Yes.

In police matters, abyss2hope lays out Milwaukee’s failures in addressing sexual assault and their plan for improvement, while highlighting Rochester, MN‘s enlightened attitude towards victims. A New York EMT was charged with a string of assaults (including – trigger – sodomizing an 11 year-old girl at gunpoint), and the Curvature reports on a story that highlights both police abuse and dating violence.

On the technology front, Jezebel takes a look at an online game that thrives on female subservience, and a 12 year-old girl took to Facebook for help during her sexual assault. abyss2hope points out: “Technology can be a useful tool for those being assaulted and it can be useful for bystanders. If technology is exploited fully by all non-offenders that may cause some offenders to have more fear of detection.” However, technology can work against a victim – here’s one instance of a rape that was filmed and cast live on the web…but not reported.

In other news, The American Prospect takes on the “epidemic” of false rape allegations, abyss2hope reports on a new study that challenges stereotypes of adolescent sex offenders, Full-Frontal Activism points out the parallels between intersex “treatment” (often performed without consent) trauma and sexual assault trauma, and the Curvature reports on a devastating story from our military. Finally, an excerpt from Jessica Stern‘s new book confronts the memory of her rape (mega trigger warning here).

I’d like to end by asking what you think of this recent news story about “deceit rape” – an Arab man who lied about being Jewish for sex (and is now jailed in Israel) – is lying about one’s identity a form of rape? Leave your thoughts below.

Amanda is the author of the blog The Undomestic Goddess.