21 March 2011

Dead women more valuable than live ones

Consider the difference between these two stories:

Corpse of woman assaulted - man convicted


Living woman, in hospital, assaulted by health care professional - man convicted

Guess which one got two years and which got 3 months. Go ahead. Guess.

It makes me sick. It's clear that in the case of the dead woman, the judge just couldn't find a way to say that she brought it on herself. It is completely evident that the lives of living women are not valued in Canadian law. We are treated as complicit to these crimes. Sexual assault is treated as an act of impulse control failure by men who just find women too beautiful to resist instead of the acts of domination and terrorism that they are.

3 comments:

Ignorance said...

Not directly related to this topic, but have you heard of the grassroots protests against blaming the victim in cases of rape/sexual assault?

Luna said...

No. Tell me more.

Ignorance said...

I don't think I could explain it better than these two quotes:

When a police officer from Toronto went on a routine visit to Osgoode Hall Law School to advise the students on personal safety, little did he know that he would unwittingly inspire a movement that has caught fire across Canada and the US.

"You know, I think we're beating around the bush here," Michael Sanguinetti began, blandly enough, as he addressed the 10 students who turned up for the pep talk. Then he said: "I've been told I'm not supposed to say this – however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised."

Fast forward three months from Sanguinetti's unfortunate remarks, and a movement that was born in riposte to his loose talk has now gone international. "SlutWalking" is attracting thousands of people to take to the streets to put an end to what they believe is a culture in which it is considered acceptable to blame the victim.


From http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/06/slutwalking-policeman-talk-clothing

On January 24th, 2011, a representative of the Toronto Police gave shocking insight into the Force’s view of sexual assault by stating: “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”.

As the city’s major protective service, the Toronto Police have perpetuated the myth and stereotype of ‘the slut’, and in doing so have failed us. With sexual assault already a significantly under-reported crime, survivors have now been given even less of a reason to go to the Police, for fear that they could be blamed. Being assaulted isn’t about what you wear; it’s not even about sex; but using a pejorative term to rationalize inexcusable behaviour creates an environment in which it’s okay to blame the victim.


From http://www.slutwalktoronto.com/