In light of recent discussion in the news of how Sydney police are not making public instances of rape in local communities, I thought it a good time to point out some serious deficiencies in how rape is being dealt with in the court system, hoping that you who read this will think about what you can do to create a safer community for your family, friends, co-workers and yourselves.
There are a few things that men and women should know about how rape is being treated by the NSW Criminal Courts. First, if you are wearing skinny jeans it is “difficult to believe” that any man could have removed them “unless the wearer’s assisting, collaborating, consenting”.
This was the argument advanced by defence counsel Paul Hogan (and was a topic of serious consideration by the jury… who later acquitted the male in May 2010 despite compelling oral and medical evidence of rape).
See article: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/rape-of-woman-in-skinny-jeans-not-possible-20100430-tzai.html
As of 2007, a 10 year old girl can consent to rape
Justice Sarah Bradley suspended the sentences of 3 of 7 gang rapists who raped a 10 year old girl in the Cape York community saying that the girl “probably consented”… despite the ‘official’ Australian position that a girl cannot legally consent to sex until the age of 16.
This is not the first time that this particular Justice has showed an intolerably lenient approach to rape in Indigenous communities.
This trend has also been picked up by the UK. See this case where a paedophile who raped a 10 year old girl was given a very light sentence in 2007 because the girl was dressed in a “sexually provocative manner”: http://hoydenabouttown.com/20070626.685/ten-year-old-girl-asked-for-it/.
A perpetrator of one of the most brutal and violent cases of aggravated sexual assault was granted parole in May 2010. Gang rapist MRK was convicted for nine counts of aggravated sexual assaults in company at 17 years of age (read: multiple counts of gang raping young girls).
After serving a mere 8 years in gaol he was released two years before completing his sentence. And despite being one of Australia’s most violent rapists in a country where migration law allows deportation of immigrants when such deportation is in the public interest, he will continue to enjoy the privileges of being an Australian citizen, with full enjoyment of the rights and freedoms of a free person in Australia after his parole expires.
See article: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/freed-gang-rapist–will–be-monitored–parole-20100504-u5oh.html.
What you can do about it:
Take a stand: email your Local Government Member
You can find the email address of your LGM here (as well as the Australian Local Government Women’s Association… who should be more than interested in these sobering facts): http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_LocalGovDirectory.asp?index=4
There people are elected to respond to your concerns. I personally am concerned that hundreds of reported rapes are happening in Sydney suburbs without my knowledge and when a claimant is brave enough to go to trial the claimant faces this sort of precedent.
For the safety of your family, friends, girlfriends, wives, daughters, granddaughters, please take 2 minutes to tell your member that you are concerned and that you expect results. They will act if you expect them to act: this is the point of our representative government system.
Jessica Kinny
Wonderfully written piece, and it’s such a shame that this sort of thing happens.
I’m hoping this doesn’t happen to me if there is enough evidence for my case to go to court.