Maor Brochman vs. Yanki Goldhaber: 'Not Every Trauma Is Rape'
After Goldhaber claimed he suffered 'rape' due to sexual extortion involving private correspondence and intimate photos, Brochman spoke out against the terminology. 'I am not, God forbid, belittling what he went through,' she clarified in her video.
Reality TV participant Yanki Goldhaber (23) revealed last week that he was a victim of "rape" — a sexual extortion that he says shook his life. The statement spread across social media and received numerous reactions, until he was forced to clarify that, God forbid, he did not undergo physical rape. However, on Tuesday, reality TV participant Maor Brochman (36) decided that the clarification was not enough and issued her own statement: when concepts like "technological rape" are invented and compared to physical rape, boundaries are blurred.
In a video she uploaded to her Instagram account, Brochman opened by saying:
"I am reading what Yanki wrote. Now, if he really underwent sexual extortion, threats, manipulation, exploitation online — this is a severe injury, worthy of all condemnation. No one deserves to live in fear or under threats. But there is something that bothers me very, very much. The use of the word 'I was raped' in this context is wrong, friends. Sexual extortion online is a crime. Distributing intimate materials is a crime. Threats are a crime. Emotional and sexual exploitation is a crime. But not every injury is rape. When concepts like 'technological rape' are invented and compared to physical rape, boundaries are blurred. For countless women, men, and children who have been harmed, this word represents sexual coercion, penetration without consent, violence, deep trauma, and severe physical and mental consequences that will accompany them for the rest of their lives. You cannot take the word 'rape' and expand it so that it includes every severe injury, just because the feeling was one of helplessness. And I, God forbid, am not belittling what he went through."
She further added: "Not every trauma you have experienced is rape. We must not blur the meaning of the term 'rape'. If every severe injury is to be called rape from now on, then eventually the concept will lose its heavy meaning. And we need to talk about sexual extortion, about digital violence, and about exploitation online, and talk about it with all the severity. But they are not the same thing as physical rape, do not compare them."
This comes after the reality TV participant released a series of stories in which he revealed that he was a victim of extortion surrounding content and intimate conversations he allegedly conducted. After he declared that "rape is rape — both physical, God forbid, and technological," and noted that he "lives in terror every single moment of this life," he later clarified:
"I will never in my life let any person get close to me. What did happen is that I reached a situation where I talked to a profile that looked like a woman, and it reached very intimate conversations. And in one moment everything turned upside down and threats started against me. If I don't transfer money, etc., they will publish my correspondence and photos."
