'Ban Grindhouse rapist doll'

2007-05-04 17:24

Anchorage - Alaskan lawmakers are taking aim at a toy doll based on a character from the new Quentin Tarantino movie Grindhouse.

State Rep Anna Fairclough is leading a charge to get retailers across the state to boycott the action figure based on the Rapist No 1 character from the ultra-violent movie.

Already nine lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, are co-sponsoring a resolution denouncing the doll, which Fairclough says desensitises the public to rape.

"We're not seeking to ban the doll, because everyone has a right to express themselves," Fairclough said. "But a doll like this shows a lack of respect for victims of sexual assault."

Alaska has the highest per capita occurrence of sexual assault among the 50 US states

Fairclough is the former head of a rape-crisis centre and advocacy group in Anchorage.

The doll is being sold as part of a series of action figures from Grindhouse, in which Tarantino plays the character Rapist No 1.

The movie also features a female character, who uses an M-16 gun as a prosthetic leg.

The dolls are available on various websites for about $15. It is unclear if any Alaska retailers are carrying the toy.

Sexually violent crimes

Alaska appears to be the first state to take action against the Rapist No 1 doll.

Alaska has ranked among the top five states in the United States for rape and sexual assault for 27 out of 27 years, according to national statistics.

A recent report by Amnesty International found that sexually violent crimes in rural areas of the state were a particular problem, with Alaska Native and American Indian women being 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than other US women.

"The number one problem is that we tolerate it," said Peggy Brown, executive director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

"A doll like this normalises rape in a state where we have a serious problem with perceptions on what is and isn't sexual assault."

The bill passed out of committee and now waits for a full House vote before it moves on to the state Senate for debate.

- AP