News Reports 2005

December

Testimonies - Have Your Say

Women's Groups - a call for Testimonies: Is Media Objectification of Women a Problem ?

OBJECT is a campaign group that challenges the sexual objectification of women. They recently sent a copy of THE DAILY SPORT newspaper (effectively a notice board for the sex industry) to every MP in the House of Commons to raise awareness of the level of sexual objectification of women. A number of MPs expressed considerable concern, many have already met with them and plan to raise this issue in Parliament in the New Year through: an Early Day Motion (petition), a 10 minute Rule Bill (10 minute debate), Questions to the House and a 1.5 hr Adjournment Debate.

Some MP's have asked if women's organisations generally are concerned about 'lads mags', The Sport and the widespread objectification of women. We feel it would greatly progress the case if women's groups did want to make a brief statement to express whether they believe this impacts on the specific issues with which they deal. MPs are showing considerable willingness to challenge the current culture - any encouragement or support women's groups can give them would greatly facilitate their position.

Please do contact OBJECT for further details or simply send your organisation's comments to: ido@object.org.uk

Thomas Cook  ... Again!

We have received an email from Kathryn Shaw, Team Manager - Customer Relations at Thomas Cook - in response to our campaign against their sex tours in Amsterdam.

She writes to ask if we would remove the contact details of Charlotte Pickard, Customer Relations Officer from our website (well no we won't because she was the only person from Thomas Cook who replied to our members emails). She also says:

"Please also note the Thomas Cook website that you quote has been
updated and therefore the information you provided is now out of date".

This is her way of saying that the 'Truth About Rape' campaign against the exploitative use by Thomas Cook of prostitution for tourism has been taken off the website. There is no mention of Thomas Cook's Responsible Business Policy  which states that "the lives of working people would be greatly improved if they became better educated through travel". Thomas Cook further state that their company "opposes and actively discourages illegal, abusive or exploitative forms of tourism" - and we asked our members to write to say that offering tours of prostitutes was abusive and exploitative.

We have had confirmation that the tickets to tour prostitutes in Amsterdam are not available to children. We believe that the tickets are still on sale however so although we have succeeded in getting this off their website we do still need to continue the campaign. So we wrote this...

Dear Ms Shaw

I am writing in response to your email regarding our recent campaign.

You write to ask if we would 'remove the contact details of Charlotte Pickard, Customer Relations Officer' from our website. We will happily remove her details once we have heard from our membership that emails are getting through, and being responded, to the email address you recommend.

You also informed us that the Thomas Cook website that we quote has been updated. We are very pleased to hear it. Is this to bring the website in line with Thomas Cook's Responsible Business Policy which states that "the lives of working people would be greatly improved if they became better educated through travel" or the section that states your company "opposes and actively discourages illegal, abusive or exploitative forms of tourism"?

Could you please clarify whether the tickets or this tour of prostitution zones in Amsterdam have been withdrawn?

We are pleased to be informed (by our membership - not unfortunately by your company) that the tickets for the tour are not available for children. Can you confirm whether Thomas Cook still sells tickets to see prostitutes to adults?

Your managing director might be interested in the following section of the Sexual Offences Act 2004:

Section 53 Controlling prostitution for gain

(1) A person commits an offence if-

(a) he intentionally controls any of the activities of another person relating to that person's prostitution in any part of the world, and
(b) he does so for or in the expectation of gain for himself or a third person.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable-

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years.

You may want to request your legal team to assess whether it could be interpreted that Thomas Cook may be guilty of such an offence.

Does Thomas Cook have plans for offering any further discounts to adults wishing to purchase services from prostituted women?

Once again, thank you for writing and we will await response to the points made in this email.
 

The contact details Kathryn Shaw has given us are:

Telephone: 01733 411908
email: customer.relations@thomascooksignature.com

Please let us know of any further replies you receive from Thomas Cook.

Well done everyone!
 

The Scotsman - Good Report Awful Photograph!

A TAR member was appalled at the use of the photograph accompanying the article "Why Rapists Love Our Courts" (The Scotsman 9th December 2005).   The photo was of the classic stereotypical rapist - namely a sinister stranger wearing a balaclava.  Yet again the media is misinforming the public by trading on this blatant myth.  Let's just imagine for one minute why a rapist would bother to wear a balaclava when (as we know) most rapes are committed by a man known to the woman. Even in stranger rapes, rape remains the easiest crime to commit and the crime least likely to end in a prison sentence - the current conviction rate for rape in Scotland is around 4%.

The article does give some useful information:

743 rapes were reported by police in 2002-3 - but only 31 were proved in court, a rate of only 4.2 per cent; in the late 1970s, it was 20 per cent ... With up to 4,000 rapes each year in Scotland believed to go unreported, it is not surprising that victims are put off coming forward by a system that comprehensively fails to secure justice. Sandy Brindley, of Rape Crisis Scotland, said that at almost every step there was a lack of care for the victim. "A woman who is raped has to go to the police to get a forensic examination, and that is virtually never with a female doctor".

We feel sure that The Scotsman can continue to provide a useful role in informing the public and challenging attitudes but PLEASE - no more photographs that simply re-enforce myths about rape.

Thomas Cook Sex Holidays

Click here for further details.

We have just discovered that the Managing Director of Thomas Cook once managed a company called T-Online, an internet service provider and a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Telekom. He was quoted as saying then:

He is obviously using the same ethic to run Thomas Cook

We are recommending a boycott on Thomas Cook until we have received a satisfactory response.

Website

Campaign to End Rape (CER) - CER has a new website with useful statistics and a discussion of the law on sexual violence.

Funding for Services

Provision for Victims of Sexual Offending

Application Deadline: 17/02/2006

The Home Office is placing £1.25 million for 2006/7 into the Victims
Fund to support the development of community-based services for
victims of sexual offending. The new funding scheme is open to all
established voluntary and community organisations within England and
Wales, with experience and expertise in working with victims of sexual
offending.

Grant Value - maximum: £30,000

For all enquiries contact:

Specialist Services Development Team
Victims and Confidence Unit
Office for Criminal Justice Reform
Home Office
1st Floor, Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Email: VictimsFund@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

For related links and full text go to:
http://www.governmentfunding.org.uk/VCSSearch.aspx?WCI=htmSchemeView&WCU=GRANT_PKEY=70

 

Short Courses on Violence Against Women

London Metropolitan University will be running a short course on Violence Against Women in February 2006 presented by Professor Liz Kelly. For full details contact:

Gillian Ross tel: 020 7133 5157 or see the website www.cwasu.org

November

Thomas Cook Sex Holidays

One of the world's oldest and most respectable travel companies is advertising sex tourism holidays with free places for children. Click here for further details.

Funding News

24 November 2005

The Home Office has announced further funding for services for victims of sexual violence and abuse. 

More Rape in the Media

There certainly seems to have been a flurry of news articles on rape cases since Amnesty released their survey findings (see below) and successfully brought the issue of rape onto the public and political agenda. Unfortunately the newspapers are not always right in their interpretation of the law! Take for example the article in the Mirror entitled Drunk Women May Not Be Able To Claim Rape. This is a classic piece of media sensationalisation which conflates two news stories (recent interest in rape with new alcohol licensing laws) to produce something which ranks high in terms of 'newsworthiness criteria' (students of criminology will recognise this as a phrase coined by Steve Chibnall back in 1977).

Consent is an extremely complex area of law. Yes we have a new law and as the article sates "the Sexual Offences Act 2003 had changed the law so that someone who is asleep or unconscious will not be taken as having consented. The onus shifts to the accused to prove consent". It is not the new law that is the problem, but how it is interpreted by individual judges. Attitudes to women (highlighted by the Amnesty survey and also held by judges) have always affected the courts, that is why we have such a low conviction rate for rape in this country. Our campaign against such attitudes, and the way in which the media use them for the sake of reporting, is needed more now than ever before.

Our advice is - Do not believe everything you read in the press! If you are a woman who has experienced sexual violence contact your local rape crisis group. The law is better now than it was before and women do have greater access to justice - but we have to carry on the fight to change attitudes of the press, the judges and the wider society.

One in Three Blames Women for Being Raped

See Amnesty Website

The Amnesty survey clearly shows that women are still held accountable for men's behaviour and a case that is currently in the courts also highlights how women are judged and how women's behaviour is blamed for provoking the violence of men. A case currently against two police officers was reported in this way on the same day as the Amnesty Survey:

Interviewing Witnesses before Trial

The Guardian November 11 2005

A historic change to the way criminal cases are assessed before they come to court is to be introduced in an attempt to increase the number of successful prosecutions in England and Wales ... [the director of public prosecutions] hoped the move would ensure more effective prosecutions and boost the conviction rate for rape, which has plummeted to an all-time low. Pre-trial interviews with witnesses will be tried out from January in four areas in the north of England ... The move is one of a series of measures drawing on prosecution practice in the US and Canada, which the DPP hopes will see more rapists brought to justice. He also wants to put expert evidence about rape victims' behaviour before juries to help dispel myths and stereotypes.

A 2002 report by the police and CPS inspectorates on rape investigations and prosecutions described the statistics for rape cases as shocking. Only around one in five men prosecuted for rape is convicted but the vast majority of rape reports never even get to trial. While more women than ever are reporting rapes, attrition along the way means that only one in 20 who reports a rape to police will see her attacker convicted, down from one in three in 1977 ... The DPP believes jury preconceptions that stand in the way of convictions could be dispelled by expert evidence about how traumatised victims behave, and he wants to make such evidence admissible in jury trials. "Rape victims are cross-examined at very great length about the way they behaved after the rape: 'Why did you have a shower? You must have know it would wash away all the forensic evidence? Why didn't you go and tell your mum straight away? Why did you go back into the other room and act as though nothing had ever happened?' We're talking here about challenging some stereotypical myths which may be preventing some victims from getting justice. It seems to me if questions are being raised about the apparently anomalous behaviour of the victim after she says she's been raped, then the jury would reasonably be helped by expert evidence about observable ways in which trauma affects people. This is evidence which is commonly given in the United States and Canada." Click here for full story
 

Click here to see the full response from Nicole Westmarland of Rape Crisis:

We must make sure that pilot schemes such as this one, for prosecutors to interview witnesses before trial, are properly evaluated ... There are undoubtedly some excellent police officers, prosecutors, barristers and judges around, however, there are also some very poor ones, whose behaviour and decision making is led by what they think is 'real rape'. We would like to see more training across the whole of the criminal justice system with input from rape crisis centres."

Reclaim the Night March

This is part of the 16 days of action to end violence against women.

There are an estimated 47,000 rapes every year in the UK, with the lowest conviction rate ever of just 5.6 per cent.

For every woman who said no and was ignored, for every woman who can’t be there — join the demonstration and say NO to male violence against women.

Venue: Soho Square, London (nearest tube - Tottenham Court Road)

Date: Friday 25 November 2005

Time: 6pm

Contact: to register and for more information
isabel.eden@eaveshousing.co.uk (The Lilith Project)
www.ldnfeministnetwork.ik.com (London Feminist Network)

US campaign aimed at teenage boys

The Pause Button Campaign - This is a youth sexual assault prevention poster and toolkit for an audience of 11-13 year-old boys. Its goal is to get boys thinking about the issue of sexual assault and the attitudes that reinforce a culture that accepts sexual assault. We have added this website to our links pages

October

Truth About Rape in Big Issue

The 17th October issue of the Big Issue carried an article on the New Orleans disaster and the reports of widespread rapes in the city. Jennifer Drew of the Truth About Rape commented in the article that "rapes did occur in New Orleans". Judy Benitez, executive director of the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault stated that the number of rapes generally reported to the police are between 10-25% of all rapes "amid the unfathomable chaos of Hurricane Katrina, we expect an even lower rate".

Radio Programme

The Law In Action Radio 4 programme 28th October discussed the low conviction rate for rape. You can hear it on the listen again facility on
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 Scroll down alphabet menu to 'L' for Law In Action.

The latest figures from the Home Office show that in 1998, 28% of the 1366 prosecutions for rape and attempted rape of adults resulted in conviction. In 2002 there were more prosecutions, some 1646, but a lower percentage, just 21% were convicted. So what is going wrong?

Click here for an article and link to  the programme

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/law_in_action/4385914.stm

Collaboration between Rape Crisis and Police

The Guardian
Wednesday October 26, 2005
 

As project manager at Derbyshire Rape Crisis (DRC), Jazz Kang was very familiar with clients' lack of confidence in the police, and with the long tradition of Rape Crisis locking horns with the police over the treatment of women in rape cases. But Kang had no interest in a status quo that did nothing to help her clients. She told colleagues things had to change, that she would change them. When they smiled sympathetically and refused to give her their support, she did it anyway.

· Some names have been changed. Information on Millfield House: info@drcg.freeserve.co.uk. Details of the rape victims support conference: sarah@ellis-salsby.co.uk

Members Site

The members section of the website now contains a 'chat' facility and has new poetry available.

Domestic Violence Awareness month

OCTOBER is Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the United States.  Across the country, local and state coalitions against domestic violence participate in local and national initiatives to raise awareness on the issues.

Many schools and colleges, as well as other organizations participate in The Clothesline Project (http://www.clotheslineproject.org ) to highlight the issue of rape and incest. T-shirts with personal messages from those affected by rape, incest or violence either directly or indirectly, are hung from a clothesline in prominent areas so as to make people aware of the personal traumas of victims.

Send us a photo of your t-shirt (no faces visible please!) and/or the text of your message and we will set-up our own clothes line on the TAR site! Photos of whole clotheslines will get pride of place!
 

A letter of Reason

TAR members are really good at challenging the press on reports that label women as to blame for men's actions. Here a TAR member writes a fabulous letter in response to an article from the Mirror on October 1st 2005.

I am writing in response to the article about women, alcohol and rape in your paper dated Saturday October 1^st, 2005. The article clearly puts the responsibility on women for ‘preventing’ themselves from sexual attack by refraining from drinking. By blaming women for sexual assaults in this way your paper is contributing to the rape myths which pervade our society and have disastrously destructive effects on both men and women.

The title of the article, which occupies a third of the page, is entitled ‘Too Drunk To Say No’. One of the many myths of rape in our society is that if a woman has been drinking she is ‘too drunk to know what she really wants.’ If a woman is not able to consensually agree to sex and it is forced upon her, it is rape. Furthermore, rape is not prevented by a woman saying no – the very definition of rape is that a man forces sex on her without her consent. The article clearly states that women who are ‘too drunk to say no’ will then be raped, as a consequence of their own actions. This is an appalling message to convey to the general public. Media reports such as this will cause more men to justify rape and therefore commit it, and more women to blame themselves for sexual assault and therefore also less convictions of rapists. Women have a right to binge-drink if they choose to, as do men, and they should not have to fear sexual assault. This is however a different issue, as unfortunately it is currently reality. The point is that men chose to rape women when they are at their most vulnerable, but this is the choice of the man, not the woman. Instead of ‘warning women of the dangers of mindless drinking’, why not target the perpetrators?

The interview transcript by the survivor featuring in this article is full of self-blame and guilt. I count 28 references relating to feeling responsible for the attack, which culminates in her saying ‘I don’t think I will ever totally forgive myself.’ Although this is the survivor’s own feelings, I don’t think it is useful without some sort of commentary from a journalist to point out that she actually wasn’t to blame. Instead the only commentary from your paper confounds the issue by dismissing women who are raped whilst under the influence as ‘drunken girls’.  

Furthermore, the article confuses consensual sex with rape – as if these boundaries are blurred when a woman is under the influence. For example, when talking about consensual relationships the survivor comments that ‘Through alcohol, I lost my shyness in bed’, but by emphasising this through large font in an article about rape, readers are given the message that women become promiscuous when drunk, and that this is somehow inextricably linked to rape.

The article and the statistics presented in it also fail to mention anything about date rape. You say 1 in 3 women are attacked when drunk, but what percentage of these women has been given a drug in order that she can be raped more easily? Given that nearly all date rapes happen when the woman is also drinking alcohol, your statistics are most likely misleading.

I hope you take these comments into account and don’t just dismiss them because such media reports are contributing to a widespread culture of rape myths. Only a minority of rapes are ever reported to the police, and out of the few that ever go to court, less than 6% result in convictions. This means that either 95% of women are lying or the criminal justice system is failing them. Part of the reason for this failure is because of society’s view of rape. Perhaps you might find it useful to visit the Truth About Rape website in order to learn more about the reality of sexual violence: www.truthaboutrape.co.uk .

Rape is rape.

Yours sincerely

September

Arrest Us All

At 3pm on August 13 2004, Akku Yadav was lynched by a mob of around 200 women from Kasturba Nagar. It took them 15 minutes to hack to death the man they say raped them with impunity for more than a decade. Chilli powder was thrown in his face and stones hurled. As he flailed and fought, one of his alleged victims hacked off his penis with a vegetable knife. A further 70 stab wounds were left on his body. The incident was made all the more extraordinary by its setting. Yadav was murdered not in the dark alleys of the slum, but on the shiny white marble floor of Nagpur district court. Read more...

Women Responsible for Men's Behaviour?

An article in the Guardian Third of young women assaulted while drunk made the statement that "Alcohol affects your judgment and the fact that so many young women are being sexually assaulted after getting drunk is shocking ... What is most alarming of all is the fact that young women seem to be risking more than young men" - does this assume that women's judgment can prevent sexual assault? Does it assume that women have more to risk than men do in sexual assault? The current conviction level for rape (less than 6%) would suggest that men have very little to risk. We acknowledge that drinking alcohol to excess can have health implications but the tone of the report tends to reinforce myths about sexual violence and rape.

One TAR member has written this letter to the Guardian in reply:

BINGE DRINKING AND SUPPOSED CONNECTION TO ACQUAINTANCE RAPE

Much has been made in the national press during the last few days, regarding relaxation of the licensing laws and also Senior Judges have voiced their opinion that as a result, rape and violence will increase.  At the same time, women are increasingly being blamed for causing their own rapes, since if a woman was drinking prior to being raped; the dominant view is that she alone was responsible; whereas the rapist’s criminal acts are exonerated or excused.

The logic of this argument is individuals alone are responsible for their safety and welfare.  Does this mean therefore, that I am entitled to rob a drunken man of his wallet and/or commit sexual assault upon his person because he drank to oblivion.  I think not, rape and sexual assault are crimes and the Sexual Offences Act, 2003 clearly states that if a woman is comatose due to drinking heavily she is judged to be incapable of giving consent.  However, many men and women too, still adhere to embedded rape myths.  No other crime blames the “victim.”   What must be asked is why society overtly condones the right of all men and boys to believe any woman seen drinking is an acceptable target for rape and sexual assault.  Our society still demonises sexually active women whilst at the same time pressurises young women into presenting themselves as sexually available to men.  However, women must not be too sexual; instead they are expected to walk a fine line of appearing to be sexually available but not too available.  This perspective absolves men and teenage boys of any accountability, since the belief is men and teenage boys have the right to pressurise any woman or girl for sex.   Consent is considered a difficult area because men and boys are taught they must always be sexually in control and dominate the woman.  Consent is a given unless a woman/girl resists with force.   In line with this view is the belief that if a woman/girl engages in any mutually consensual sexual activity she is effectively agreeing to any sexual act the man/boy demands.  A woman’s right to decide what sexual activity she wants to engage in is void.  Men’s sexual rights supersede women’s sexual autonomy and agency.  Men/boys forcing unwanted sex upon women are not viewed as rape or sexual assault.  Rape and sexual abuse only occurs when a deranged male stranger attacks a virginal, innocent woman or girl.  Rapes are not committed by monsters, in reality it is normal men and teenage boys who believe they are simply acting on their perceived rights.  In other words they have the right to sexually abuse any woman or girl who is judged to be “asking for it, or deserves to be punished for refusing a male’s sexual advances.”

This is not new, for centuries women and girls have been held accountable for male sexual violence.   Instead of blaming women, society must challenge embedded beliefs that men cannot be held responsible. In reality, male sexuality is not uncontrollable once aroused; this too conveniently absolves men of accountability.  Rape and sexual abuse is a crime against all women’s human rights.  Rape must be not defined as whether or not the woman/girl “deserved to be sexually abused.”

New Media - Documentary on Domestic Violence

Love, Honour and Disobey - This film about domestic violence in Black and ethnic minority communities documents the work of Southall Black Sisters:

"Standing at the intersection of race, gender and class, Southall Black Sisters have changed the landscape of feminist activism" Baroness Helena Kennedy QC.

This powerful film was shown at the Feminist and Women's Studies Association conference in Aberdeen 9-11 September.

To order contact Faction Films faction@factionfilms.co.uk

Amnesty Campaign

TAR has been asked by Amnesty to pass on information of their global campaign to Stop Violence Against Women. Amnesty International is asking people across the UK to 'imagine a world without violence against women and girls'. This exercise has the potential to transform people from a position of thinking that violence against women has nothing to do with their lives, to one where they can see that even just the presence, let alone the threat or experience of it, does impact on them, their loved ones, and society generally.

Contributions will form part of an exhibition during the 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Gender-Based Violence on London's Southbank from 25 November. The exhibition will explore the ways in which the world could be different if violence against women did not exist.

Examples of 'imaginings' received so far are:
"I could go out 'dressed like that'" (teenage girl)
"I wouldn’t be worried that every woman I come across at night could be viewing me as a threat" (adult man)
"I could be me, uncensored" (female university student)
"Our daughters would no longer be mutilated by FGM" (woman from Kenya)
"Girls would be born instead of aborted, because there would be no such thing as a son being preferred to a daughter" (woman in India)

Can you imagine a world without violence against women and girls? Amnesty International UK is asking this question as part of their global campaign to Stop Violence Against Women. Your contributions will form part of an exhibition highlighting how violence against women impacts negatively upon people's lives. To find out more, visit www.amnesty.org.uk

August

Holding Judges Accountable? Not Quite!

In April 2006 a new Office for Judicial Complaints will deal with allegations about judges' personal conduct but complaints about how they conduct court proceedings will be outside its remit. (The post of Ombudsman is currently being advertised - £50,000 per year if anyone fancies it)

Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer welcomed the change stating that "This new office, created as part of a wider constitutional reform package, will have a vital role to play in ensuring the integrity and transparency of the new framework for judicial appointments and the judicial system as a whole. The ombudsman will ensure that judicial appointments complaints are thoroughly and independently investigated, and judicial conduct complaints are properly handled".

However, Judges who are disciplined will not have the findings against them made public. This means that judges will continue to be treated differently to doctors, barristers, solicitors and police officers. The only possible exception will be those judges whose behaviour is highlighted in the media - including this website. So the campaign continues! If you know of any judges who should be added to our name and shame list write to us.

Australian Justice?

An Australian TAR member has informed us of a TV programme shown there that investigated the lack of justice to women in her country. The preamble reads: Imagine this: a young woman wakes to find an intruder in her home. He rapes her, then escapes. But the attacker is caught and convicted. So he goes to jail for 20 years, right? Wrong. This rapist is given a suspended sentence and walks free. Not only that, the judge wishes him well as he leaves the court. Yes, this actually did happen in an Australian court and it's becoming more and more common, even when the victims are children. Tragic cases where, infuriatingly, our justice system certainly seems to be punishing the innocent and protecting the guilty. To read the whole of the programme's transcript click here.

A TAR member responds

On August 16, 2005 The Times front page story was headlined as "Our son, a malicious girl and rape that never was". A TAR member responds to this and analyses the reality of rape today... read more
 

Questionnaire Request

We have been approached by a student/researcher at the University of New England, Australia who is conducting a research project into the effectiveness of self-help books for survivors of sexual violence.  She is seeking participants from around the world who have read, in the past 36 months, a self-help book to help overcome some problem relating to having been sexually assaulted.  The questionnaire takes about 10 minutes to complete and does not go into personal experiences and it guarantees anonymity.  For more information and to view the questionnaire, go to http://psychology.une.edu.au/601 and use the log in code:  self. 

Another Awful Sentence

Our attention has been drawn to yet another awful sentence. A TAR member informed us of a case where a man who kidnapped a 13-year-old girl with learning difficulties before sexually assaulting her, has been jailed for two years.

The man, Reger Salah, admitted guilt but cited as his defence that she initiated the sexual contact. Obviously the courts agreed that it was a defence, what other reason could there be for such a lenient sentence?

There are several groups of offences in the Sexual Offences Act that relate to sexual activity  carried out with the compliance of the complainant. Saleh's offence would seem to be in relation to Section Nine of the Sexual Offences Act - Sexual Activity with a Child - and Section 30 - Sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice. Any sexual activity involving a person below the age of consent is unlawful, regardless of any ostensible consent.

But even without a legal interpretation of his actions it seems simple that if someone KIDNAPS A 13 YEAR OLD GIRL TO HAVE SEX then that merits a longer sentence than two years.

The maximum sentence available for sexual activity with a child was 14 years - so how did Judge Morris settle on two years?

We originally called on TAR members to write to the Solicitor General to review this case (advice on how to do this and where to write is on our section on 'Unduly Lenient Sentences'). However, responses from the Solicitor General indicate that this case does not fall under their remit as they are not empowered to review all cases of child sexual offences. So, thank you to those of you who wrote but it seems that we were wasting our time. Where is justice in this country and how can we ask for real protection against sexual violence?

Full Story at BBC News

Judge Hucker - Again

V-Day Donation to Rape Crisis Network Europe

A recent VDay Europe Event raised 10,000 euros for Rape Crisis Network Europe. The organizers of the V Day Event are holding a cheque giving ceremony on the 4^th October and are very keen for a representative from RCNE to attend to receive the cheque and give a short speech on RCNE, how we will use the money etc.  The ceremony will be held in the European Parliament.

The first priority of these funds is to secure and develop the RCNE website.

July 2005

Letter to the Press

Signed... A TAR member

A relevant article has also been posted in the members section on the 'normality' of rapists.

Conferences

The summer tends to be conference season and TAR have been invited to participate at a number of venues.

Jennifer Drew presented a paper at a London conference entitled 'Understanding Drug Assisted Rape'. Click here to read her report.

Helen Jones presented workshops on 'Rape: the final taboo of Domestic Violence' at Women's Aid National Conference in Leicester. These were interactive sessions which explored the relationship between sexual violence and domestic violence.

June 2005

Truth About Rape Challenges Post Code Lottery of Justice

Read the full story...

Another outrageous sentence

A TAR member has alerted us to the case of Steven Readdy who was sentenced to 4 years for the rape of a 12 year old girl. Readdy was wearing an electronic tag at the time of the rape for another offence.

Read more by clicking here.

TAR nominated in recognition of campaign

Fathers 4 Justice - closure

It would seem that F4J has closed today in a fairly spectacular fashion - corruption, alcoholism,
stealing and violence are all mentioned in the e-mail sent to its members and on the F4J yahoo page:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/euro-dads/message/26556

Challenging the Press

A TAR member has written to the London Evening Standard about an article that appeared on 7th June:

Dear Sir/Madam,

RE: ARTICLE TITLED 'MY MARRIAGE FROM HELL'

Why did the Evening Standard devote almost its entire front page to an isolated story about a woman convicted of falsely claiming she had been raped? Was it because this woman was married and had attempted to hide an illicit affair?  Or was it because this story reinforces the myth women routinely make false accusations of rape against innocent men? 

Whilst I believe such a story should be printed, it is NOT front page news.  In reality over the last 20 years the number of women falsely reporting rape has remained constant at a miniscule 5% and yet rape convictions have fallen to all all-time low of 5% with allegations of rape now at an all-time high of 11,766.  Even the Metropolitan Police are now in the process of re-examining the way rape is still treated by the police and judiciary.  Stories such as this reinforce the still dominant belief held by many in the police, CPS, Judges and public that women who “cry rape” are liars.  Recent published research proves many rape survivors still experience disbelief and scepticism upon reporting rape.  

A national newspaper recently published an horrendous article on the subject of the increasing yet still hidden crime of group rape committed against teenage girls by teenage boys.  The teenage boys who commit these group rapes if charged are nearly always acquitted.  Why?  Because the juries and public still believe women alone are responsible for causing their own rapes. One young woman who was group raped by teenage boys said the boys themselves believe they have not committed a crime but claim young women want to be group raped. 

The Haven, a Sexual Assault Referral Centre reports 25% of 16 and under rape survivors say they were raped by multiple male assailants. Yet the Evening Standard chooses to focus on a story which has been sensationalised in that it demonises the woman as sexually voracious and upholds the myth women who “cry rape” are accusing innocent men in order to hide their own misdeeds.  If only it was true partner rape rarely happens and rape in all its complexities is the responsibility of women only, with rape survivors held responsible for causing their own rapes.  Not the continuing prejudice and injustice still being inflicted upon women and girls who dare to report a male has raped them.

**If YOU have written to the Press let us know** 

May 2005

A Survey

We need your thoughts on how well (or otherwise) the police and the courts respond to women who report rape.

Please click here to go to the survey and make your opinions heard!

Another case of leniency from Judge Hucker

A TAR member has informed us of another case of lenient sentencing from Judge Hucker (see the name and shame list on our 2005 campaign page). TAR asks why this man is still allowed to hear sex offences cases when he clearly does not understand that prison means more than simply getting dangerous men away from women and children, it is supposed to be about challenging abusive behaviour and rehabilitation. Can Judge Hucker tell us what sex offender programme can be undertaken during a two year sentence (which will no doubt be reduced for 'good behaviour' anyway)?

Minutes of the last TAR meeting

Minutes of the meeting of 7th May in Leeds are now available in the members section along with details of the next meeting in Manchester.

Continuing Truth About Rape

One woman who was interviewed stated: "The experience of the investigation and court process is not terribly dissimilar to the attack itself: there is the lack of control, the humiliation and the enforced submission. I needed far more counselling after I had gone through the police investigation and court case than I had after the attack itself".

Although the article contains a lot of useful material, TAR members have commented on lapses of analysis and tying low conviction rates and low reporting rates directly to the myths still perpetuated about women lying, as well as the myth that rapes are committed by strangers. Although the article acknowledges that "Women are most likely to be raped by current or former partners" the article itself concentrates on just two 'typical' stories, both of which are 'stranger rapes'. One involved a 16 year old girl, described as "a tiny, doll-like woman" abducted for 11 hours by a stranger, and now so traumatised by both the rape and the justice system that "now chain-smokes to hide the way her hands shake with the multiple phobias she has developed". The other "victim" (A TAR member asks - when will the media catch on that we prefer survivor??) mentioned she "was dragged into an alley by a stranger and subjected to an attack" and had "clear-cut evidence and witnesses".

TAR members ask if this article itself perpetuates several rape myths. We hear the younger girl described as tiny and doll like because otherwise we might wonder why she didn't fight back harder. We read about her shaking hands because if we aren't made aware of her ongoing trauma then we might think she enjoyed it or even that maybe it isn't such a big deal after all (later in the article we're told only "57 per cent of those who are raped consider that what has happened is serious").

Many hundreds (thousands) of women are raped every year by family, friends and boyfriends in very ordinary situations. This article chooses to feature two much less common (yet much more shocking) abductions by strangers to demonstrate the prevalence of rape. This was a wasted opportunity to actually confront these various myths.

This is yet another example of media pretenders claiming to be shocked and appalled but failing to challenge the myths. Under the title 'Say the Word - Rape' (see below) we highlight the fact that the word rape is avoided and normalised as experimental group sex. In the Observer article it seems that the only rape 'victims' they are prepared to listen to are the ones where there is "clear cut evidence and witnesses".

Who Needs Heroes?

A 33 year old married man described as a "Decorated Gulf War hero" was sentenced to just 18 months in prison after playing strip blackjack with a 12-year-old girl (Lincolnshire Echo). RAF senior aircraftman Steven Oliver claimed he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and that explained why he took off his own clothes and began to touch the girl, kiss her and rub himself against her, telling her: "It helps me relax".

Much has been made in this article concerning Oliver's war and service record, but we strongly believe this is irrelevant. Was Judge John Machin's sentencing decision fair? You let us know if he should be added to our name and shame list.
 

Say the Word - RapeOne of our members pointed out a Guardian article which claims that school nurses are becoming increasingly concerned because "daisy chaining" (which involves group sex between girls and boys) is becoming more common.  School nurses told the RCN annual congress in Harrogate that "it was becoming more common for gangs of boys to persuade or force a girl to have sex with them all, modelling behaviour on tabloid reports about the excesses of professional footballers.  One person was quoted as saying "some young people were pressured into granting sexual favours to stay safe in a gang culture, while others used it as a way of proving adulthood".

No where in this quote was mentioned the fact it is predominantly boys who are forcing girls into unwanted sexual activity, nor was it stated that proving adulthood in fact means boys proving their masculinity.  An email was sent to London3rdwave clearly stating that nowhere in this article was the word rape used.  Neither were the words sexual exploitation or group rape.  The young woman writing to london3rdwave quite rightly said in her opinion sexual exploitation and coercion means rape not daisy chaining.  Nor did the BBC or other newspapers which covered this media frenzy talk about rape. Instead they assumed that a girl having sex with a number of boys without being given a choice, becomes normalised as just group sex.  This writer said such coercion will eventually become "normalised" and no longer seen as rape.

We strongly believe the writer is correct in the way the newspapers have covered this increasing sexual exploitation of young teenage women.  It is rape not daisy chaining and the article should have stated that.

Justice in Rape Trials?

The Mirror claims they have news that victims will be given lawyers to allow them a voice in court for the first time.

"Under Labour plans, advocates will be appointed free on legal aid to those who have suffered in murder, rape or violent assault cases. The move will balance the legal system in victims’ favour and away from the rights of offenders".

With the current imbalance between defendants and complainants in our court system this would be a welcome move to redressing the balance. Now that Labour have won the election it is time to remind them of their election promises before they forget - GET ACTIVE - write a letter to Tony Blair to keep this promise alive.

April 2005

Conference Notice

See the Rape Crisis website for notice of an interesting conference to be held in November 2005.

Andrea Dworkin

Our sister, writer and campaigner Andrea Dworkin, who showed the world the reality of pornography, rape and violence, died on April 9th 2005. We will miss her deeply. A Memorial Board has been opened to receive memories and tributes.

Election News

Does the forthcoming election offer anything for women? Fawcett - one of the oldest women's organisations in the country - offers a guide to the election, providing an overview of the issues and suggesting questions to ask the candidates.

March 2005

Keepers of the Law?

You may recall that late last year, two Police Officers were tried for group rape of a woman and since the jury could not agree on a verdict the two men were sent for re-trial. The BCC news announced today that the two men have been acquitted by a jury of group rape and indecent assault.   The defence made much of the fact the woman had consumed 12 vodka and Red Bull drinks.  It appears the jury believed that an intoxicated woman consented to having sexual intercourse with two on-duty policemen. 

Mark Witcher, 30, of Drayton, and Andrew Lang, 31, of Whitehill, in Hampshire, had boasted about their activities, yet in court, Witcher, a married man with a young daughter, said that he was now ashamed and deeply regretted having sex with her. Lang, who is unmarried,  said: “I made a total mistake by staying there.” So they were repentant in court but not during the event or afterwards. Sounds to us they were sorry about being caught rather than remorseful of their treatment of the woman. When they returned to their Guildford police station after the event, they had boasted to a colleague that they had given a woman a “roasting” and that Lang had answered his radio during the sex and had replied: “Area search no trace.”

A report in the Scotsman newspaper claims that these men already had a reputation for inappropriate behaviour to women at their station in Guildford. This is confirmed by The Guardian who state that "the pair had a history of using their position to try to lure women". We praise good police officers - in this case it was Sergeant Glynis Shaw who had heard of their boasts and reported them to the force's professional standards unit, who began an investigation.

The former officers were jailed for 15 months for wilful misconduct in public office. Mark Rowley, Surrey Police assistant chief constable, said of the two police officers "We sacked them at the first opportunity and now we are applying to...seize their pensions." Sentencing them, Mr Justice Davis said: "What you did, in my view, is a disgrace and you have brought great disgrace on yourselves, on the uniform you wore that night and the reputation of the Surrey Police force. What you did cannot be dismissed as a moment of madness." Mark Rowley for Surrey Police made a public statement after the verdict, calling the woman “a survivor who has displayed great courage” and claiming that the whole police force “shared disgust” about the actions of Witcher and Lang.

Further links:

Verdict

Statements

Times Report

Another Injustice

The Evening Standard has reported that Judge Medawar, aged 71, when hearing a case of child abuse threw it out of court on the grounds it was trivial.   The Judge claimed the "accusations were at the lowest end of the scale and are at the borderline between touching and being excessively effusive".  What makes this case so different is that for once the Police, CPS and even some members of the Jury protested at the Judge's ruling and demanded to hear the evidence!  When Judge Medawar instructed the jury to find the man not guilty, at least three jury members are said to have protested. Police are now set to bring an extraordinary complaint against this 'top' judge. The victim of the alleged abuse, Claire Clark, has waived her right of anonymity to speak out against the judge's comments. We thank her for her bravery and we condemn the judge. Judge Medawar is being added to our name and shame list in our 2005 Campaign for failing to uphold justice for survivors of sexual violence.

February 2005

A gap or a Chasm?

February 25th 2005

(Click here for Press Release)

Convictions for reported rape cases have reached an all-time low, states a Guardian report, because of a "culture of scepticism" among the police, according to Home Office research published last night.

Conference in Scotland

At a recent conference held in Scotland, Harriet Harman addressed an audience of primarily Crown Prosecution Officers from all over the UK.  The Conference was about implementing proposed changes in the way the CPS prosecute rape cases. 

Latest statistics for Scotland just released show that only 5% (even lower now) of reported rape cases north of the border actually lead to prosecution (whether they result in convictions, appeals etc. is not recorded).  The figures show 794 alleged rapes took place during 2003, resulting in just 31 successful prosecutions. 

This news resulted in calls from Women's groups for action to "help instil confidence in the Scottish Justice system".  Subsequently, crisis talks have now been announced to discuss fall in rape convictions. 

Useful links are:

Controversial Rape Statistics Spark Call For Change In Law

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=199352005

Crisis Talks On Fall In Rape Convictions http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=53&id=196492005

(Scotsman pages often need to be refreshed before opening)

January 2005

The 2005 campaign was launched at the national meeting in January.

DURING 2005 WE ESTIMATE THAT 17,000 WOMEN WILL REPORT RAPE - ONE EVERY MINUTE - OUR WISH IS TO STOP THE INJUSTICE