Incriminating No-one

I’ll quote this article in its entirety:

Dunedin police are investigating the sexual assault of a young woman in the centre of the city last night.

Police communications inspector Alan Weston said the woman was attacked about 2.50am.

See? It’s not that hard to report that it actually happened.

And it doesn’t incriminate anyone, neither the accused nor the woman who was raped.

Men? Responsible for their own actions?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4284751a10.html

The woman, who has name suppression and who made a liar of Mr Rickards’ former Rotorua CIB boss, John Dewar, was going to tell the disciplinary tribunal that Mr Rickards and Shipton had sex with her in and on police cars in Rotorua in the 1980s.

John Dewar is an adult in full possession of  his mental faculties (although his ethical ones are obviously another matter). He made the decision to lie, no-one else.

This is the same sort of mentality that says that if a woman wears skimpy clothing and flirts then she’s clearly irresistable, and of course a man has simply no choice but to rape her.

It’s a really obvious one, but…

… he’s been charged with rape, not with having sex. Rape charges, not sex charges please.

I’m back

Apologies for my absence. I went overseas, and when I returned got caught up in work and political activity. Thanks to all of you who’ve kept reading ( I was pleasantly surprised to see the site meter) and expect some posts from me over this long weekend.

Announcement

My working hours suddenly and rather unexpectedly doubled and to top it all I’m going overseas shortly. So I’ll try and catch up on some of my backlog over the weekend, but be aware that posting (at least from me) will be somewhat infrequent over the next month. But I’ll be back…

A Verdict

Finally a guilty verdict. It’s not enough, not by a long, long way, but it is something. And in a fight as hard as this one, I’ll take pretty much any piece of good news.

I think little could have made me happier than seeing those photos of Louise Nicholas with just the biggest smile on her face. I don’t use the word inspirational lightly, but in this case it’s wholly appropriate.

On Saturday we held a stall and gave people the opportunity to write letters of support to her. And to put it mildly, it made it clear that I am not the only one feeling that way.

Not her fault

Teen forced into car, pack-raped by trio

Stuff.co.nz and Waikato Times | Monday, 6 August 2007

Police in Morrinsville are investigating the pack rape of a teenager at the weekend. The 16-year-old girl was walking home alone along Page Street in the early hours of Saturday morning when she was approached by three men in a dark coloured station wagon.

The teenager, who had been reportedly out drinking with friends, was forced into the vehicle and raped by all three men.

Now I might be able to forgive the “early hours of Saturday morning” comment as a non-judgemental statement. But there is absolutely no excuse for saying she was out drinking with friends, particularly when the writer doesn’t appear to know whether this is true or not.

But this article in theHerald is even worse:

Teen pack-raped near home

Police say the pack rape of a teenage girl in Morrinsville should serve as a warning that women should never walk home alone in the early hours.

The 16-year-old was raped by three men early on Saturday, only 300m from her home.

…

He warned that women should not walk alone late at night or early in the morning, to keep safe.

“Always have somebody with you when you’re walking. Otherwise get somebody to pick you up and take you where you need to go. But we don’t want to be seen to be criticising [the victim’s] actions, that’s not what she needs from us.”

Well guess what? By saying this you are criticising her actions, and you are implying she was at fault.

How about you follow your own advice. Never go anywhere alone at night. Never go anywhere not adequately lit. Don’t walk at night (and you can’t take taxis because many women can’t afford to do that). Don’t drink. Don’t have sex. Don’t speak to strangers. Live in constant fear. See what your quality of life is like.

False Allegations

Really good post on media reporting of false allegations of rape

Also, arranging for yourself to be cremated and your ashes blasted into space helps prevent rape

More victim blaming:

Hamilton women planning a night out at central city nightspots this weekend have been warned not to be alone amid fears a serial rapist will strike again.

Police said the sex fiend man had picked up and raped three woman at weekends since April.

“He could attack again at any time,” said Hamilton CIB head Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Page.

…
He warned women to make arrangements to get home from the central city rather than walk, not to be alone or to accept rides from strangers or accompany strangers to remote places.

Not to mention the assumption that all women can make arrangements other than walking.

I can’t believe I missed this

‘Commie Mutant Traitor’ pointed this out in a comment, but I think it bears repeating:

Mrs Nicholas, wearing a thick cream cardigan over a white t-shirt and a long red skirt, told crown prosecutor Brent Stanaway QC she initially found Dewar helpful after she laid the complaints and came to consider him a good friend, even writing a letter to Dewar’s superiors commending him on his support and work.

And John Dewar was tastefully dressed in a raven black suit with a royal blue tie? I think not.

This type of reporting is hardly exclusive to rape cases, but it is some guide to just how seriously the media takes women.