NEWS REPORTS 2006

For news from 2005 please click here

For news from 2004 please click here

For news from 2003 and 2002 please click here

December

Rape Appeal

Less than 15% of rapes are reported. Only 1 in 5 reported rapes make it to court and only 6% result in conviction. Support Fawcett's campaign - pledge your support or make a donation and help get justice for women. See Rape Appeal

Ipswich Murders

A number of our members who work with prostituted women and/or who are academics in universities have been approached for comments about the murders of women in Ipswich. The sort of comment wanted by most journalists has been a criminal profile of the perpetrator - in the style of CSI or Cracker. Our members do not give comments of this type and thankfully one journalist has written about the sort of pseudo 'criminologists' who are revitalising their careers by giving comments - mainly disparaging the dead women. Catherine Bennett in The Guardian (14th Dec 2006) writes about how academics such as Dr Michael Berry of Manchester Metropolitan University, share "some of the perpetrator's supposed feelings about prostitutes, vis-a-vis women" through insights such as "I think quite clearly this guy has been targeting prostitutes rather than women". She goes on to say "We can only hope that, just as prostitutes are said to differ from women, a similar gulf exists between those who have been lost to behavioural investigative analysis (amateur and professional) and people". (Read full article here)

The TAR campaign thanks Catherine for her article and joins her in denouncing the 'criminologists' who are scoring big brownie points for their own careers. There are plenty of good criminologists out there who are refusing to engage with the media hype which is mythologizing this killer by upgrading him to 'Ripper' in the face of the simultaneous downgrading of his victims. Referred to as 'prostitutes', 'girls', 'vice girls'. 'hookers', or merely by their first names (as if they were children), or as 'drug addicts' or even by the colour of their hair 'blonde Gemma' - the media refer to them as though they were Page Three girls - the only similarity being that their bodies are naked. Rarely are they called 'women' and it has also been noticed that the police are taking great care in avoiding calling the killer 'he' - preferring the gender neutral 'person'. The Sun (13th Dec) cites an un-named 'top criminal psychologist' who claims the killer is "likely to be a loner with a history of being dominated by women". Blimey, consider the number of woman who have been dominated by men - one would assume there would be killing sprees in every corner of the planet, every day of the week. It has also been suggested that the killer has had a bad experience with a prostitute - one bad screw or blowjob is obviously enough justification to trigger numerous random killings. Here is our criminal profile of the killer and all journalists should feel free to use it - the killer is a man.

Joan Smith's book, Misogynies, discusses many of these issues in relation to the case of Peter Sutcliffe. We should remember that women are killed every week and it is only the frequency and geographically specific nature of these murders, together with the thrill that some people get from such cases, that make them newsworthy.

Email (Again)

Fortunately our email service is now available again. Two of the campaign members will be providing this service and we thank them for stepping in to do this. If you need to contact the campaign the email address is campaign@truthaboutrape.co.uk

Rape in the News

In the run up to Christmas, the news is full of stories of rape. These were collected from just one day but the truth about rape is that these are merely the ones that have made the headlines - many more rapes have occurred which we will never know about. If you are a woman who has experienced sexual violence at any time in your life and would like to talk with another woman, please contact your nearest rape crisis centre where you will find understanding and support ... www.rapecrisis.org.uk

A failed asylum seeker convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl is to be awarded damages after a judge ruled he was unlawfully detained in prison. Read more here

A 15-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with the rape of an eight-year-old boy and the attempted abduction of a girl aged nine. Read more here

A convicted serial rapist who was out on licence after serving 10 years in prison, has been sentenced to life for raping a teenage girl. Read more here

A man has been charged over the rape of a woman 15 years ago, following a review of the case by officers at Greater Manchester Police. Read more here

Hundreds of Kenyans marched in the streets of Nairobi, calling for the end of rapes and other abuses being committed against girls and women in Darfur.  The march is one of several events planned worldwide through Sunday to call for an end to violence in the war-torn region of western Sudan.  Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi. Read more here

A British chess prodigy has spoken to a court from beyond the grave to accuse her "hated" father of a series of childhood rapes. Read more here

Juries are reluctant to convict men of rape if the woman who brings the allegation was drunk, research has found. Read more here

The South African government has been condemned for its "complete silence" over the high level of rape reported by Zimbabwean women applying for asylum, at the hands of the security forces in their country. Read more here

Criminals under the supervision of the probation service have been convicted of nearly 100 murders and more than 500 other serious violent and sexual offences, including rape, over the past two years, according to official figures out yesterday. Read more here

When Amanda stepped off a boat in Southampton, earlier this year, she had, she says, just escaped a police cell in West Africa where she had been raped, sexually assaulted and tortured by guards and fellow prisoners. Read more here

A high-profile move by the Government to boost the conviction rate in rape cases appears to have had no effect on the way jurors view alleged rapists, according to new research. Read more here

A girl raped by a known paedophile was "failed" by procedures designed to supervise him in the community, it emerged today. Read more here

The good news that was found was from a report from Ireland - The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre( DRCC) has welcomed the allocation of €2.5 million in the Budget for Sexual Assault Treatment Units and €4.5 million of ring-fenced funding for rape crisis centres and refuges. Ellen O'Malley Dunlop, CEO of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said: "We are delighted that the Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, has provided the much needed funding for two new Sexual Assault Units( SATUs), in Galway and the Midlands and the upgrading of the existing units. Read more here

November

Amnesty - 16 Days of Activism

November 25 is International Day Against Violence Against Women and for 16 days, until December 10 - Human Rights Day – you can take a different action every day. Tell the world about the human rights scandal of violence against women and make governments act on their obligations to women.

www.amnesty.org/actforwomen

Email

The Truth About Rape are having to close its email until further notice. The email address to request postcards will remain live but all other addresses will be unanswered until further notice. This is due to a lack of resources to maintain any service in this area.

End Violence Against Women - One - Report on Government Performance

On Thursday 23^rd November the End Violence Against Women Campaign (EVAW) published a new report that reveals how one year after the first independent assessment of government efforts to join up work on violence against women in the UK, there is still a failure to ensure that women are safe. The report – ‘Making the Grade? The second annual independent analysis of Government initiatives on violence against women’ - has awarded the UK Government an overall score of just two out of ten, a small improvement on last year’s score of one out of ten. Following last year’s assessment, Tony Blair responded by predicting that a fresh assessment in a year’s time would show “considerable and sustained improvements”.  Whilst some departments, particularly the Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office, score well, the report finds little progress overall and the good work being done in some areas, is being undermined by the lack of a strategy

End Violence Against Women - Two - Survey Results

Campaign group End Violence Against Women conducted a poll which was released on November 20th about youth attitudes to violence and sexual violence. The survey found that 42% of 16-20 year olds know a girl who has been hit by her boyfriend, 40% know a girl coerced into sex and 77% feel not enough support and guidance is available for youngsters facing such situations.

A further 8% think if a boy has spent time and money on a girl he is entitled to expect sex and up to 27% are not sure whether or not this is a reason for a man to expect sex. Also where the girl is thought to have had several sexual partners, where the girl has been flirting with him or where she wants to stop sexual activity part way through, in each case up to 14% or more of respondents thought he could expect to have sex.

For more on this go to http://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/news.asp

Thanks to our Supporters

We wanted to stop for a minute and say thank you to all of our supporters. We know that many of you do not want to be named and give money and time and energy without any thought of getting something back but every now and again it is good to reflect on the vast numbers of wonderful people that support the TAR campaign. This month we have received a number of cheques, from £15 from one individual, to £165.56 from the girls at Newlands' Girls School, Berks who raised the money for us.  The PayPal facility on the Donations page is a quick and easy way of making a donation and for buying cards. So whether your support is in spirit, ideas, action or cash we want to say THANK YOU!

March through Edinburgh - 7th December

Edinburgh Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre are organising a march through central Edinburgh on Thursday 7th December as part of the 16 days to End Violence Against Women. As part of their awareness materials they will be using their own adaptation of the TAR postcards. Rape Crisis Scotland and the Scottish Executive Communities Minister will be speaking at the event.

For more information please contact Edinburgh Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre info@ewrasac.org.uk 0131 557 6737

Violence Against Women

One...

There will be a conference on 4 December 2006 in London that will be an opportunity to consider how public bodies should respond to violence against women under their forthcoming responsibility to promote gender equality. The conference aims to support public bodies in responding to their responsibilities under the gender duty, promote integrated approaches to tackle violence against women and provide examples of good practice. For further information contact Thelma Jarrett at thelma.jarrett@londoncouncils.gov.uk or on 020 7934 9807.

Two...

The End Violence Against Women campaign has commissioned researchers at the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit at London Metropolitan University to prepare a paper on how the Commission for Equality and Human Rights can deal with violence across the equality strands. The researchers are seeking the views of people working in different areas of equality. For further information please email miranda.horvath@gmail.com

Three...

Who's Perverting the Course of Justice? Women who cannot prove they have been raped are being charged with 'perverting the course of justice' and being vilified by the press. Justice for Women and Eaves Lilith Project are holding an emergency meeting to address this issue.  
When:  Tuesday 12th December, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Where: The Ainsworths Centre, 42 Welbeck Street, LONDON W1G 8DU (Tube: Bond
Street)
This is a free event, but donations towards costs are appreciated. For more information visit: www.eaves4women.co.uk  Places are limited, book now by emailing your name and address to:
cat.whitehouse@eaveshousing.co.uk

Reclaim the Night March

RECLAIM THE NIGHT 2006 - International Day to End Violence Against Women.

25th Nov - 6pm - Trafalgar Square

Don't forget to put Reclaim the Night 2006 in your diary! This year's march is bigger and better,  followed by a mixed rally and Reclaim The Right to Party party at University of London Union, Malet Street (nearest tube Goodge Street).

The march is women only. Event open to all.

In Britain, there are an estimated 47,000 rapes every year. And each year, an estimated 300,000 women are sexually assaulted (British Crime Survey 2001). Yet Britain's conviction rate is the lowest ever, at just 5.3 per cent. In the work place, 1 in 2 women are sexually harassed (Equal Opportunities Commission 2000). Now more than ever women must come together to say 'no' to violence against women.

See www.ldn.feministnetwork.ik.com for more information.

ATTITUDES ABOUT RAPE

Invitation to participate in an online study (Sussex University/University of Potsdam)

Anja Berger (Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam) invites you to participate in an online survey:  "We are studying attitudes about rape and their impact on judgements about defendants and complainants. In particular, we are concerned with the views of members of the general public potentially eligible for jury service who may be put in a position to decide about rape complaints in court - which would apply to every UK citizen above 18.   To address our research questions, we have developed an online questionnaire to measure views about rape and judgements about a number of hypothetical rape cases.  We have done a similar study in Germany already, and would like to compare results with answers of people from the UK since our law systems differ to some extent (e.g. there is a jury system in the UK, while in Germany there is not)."  You'll find the anonymous survey at http://www.w-lab.de/jury_me06.html

Please note that the scenarios may be disturbing and that there are a number of them

October

Anti-Drinking Campaign Feeds the Myth that Alcohol is the Cause of Rape

Jennifer Drew TAR member writes - The UK Government has just launched a new 'anti-binge drinking'  campaign which is targeted at young men and women, warning of the dangers of drinking to excess, since it can increase 'young people's chances of being raped and/or physically attacked.' Unfortunately once again women's bodies are being sexually exploited. One print advertisement shows the image of a naked young woman lying alongside a road after having been raped whilst intoxicated.  According to this advertisement because the woman drank to excess alcohol alone was responsible for a man raping her, not the fact a man seized this opportunity to rape a drunken woman.   Most male on female rapes are not committed in public spaces.  There was no need to show the image of a naked woman yet again.  Such images normalise sexual voyeurism of women's bodies.  Why no image of a naked man after having been raped whilst intoxicated by a male? The message being sent to young women and men is that alcohol alone causes men to rape women and therefore it is women's responsibility NOT men's to ensure men do not rape them whilst they are intoxicated. Irrespective of whether not a woman is drunk, rape is a crime.  Alcohol is only one factor - not the cause of male sexual violence against women as this campaign claims.

Links are:

http://news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=1072440
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6045818.stm
http://www.knowyourlimits.gov.uk/index.html

September

Sexual History Evidence

Sections 41-43 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 was campaigned for by the Campaign to End Rape and the Rape Crisis Federation to ensure that no sexual history evidence should be admitted in court unless a judge ruled it as relevant. Research has now been conducted which shows:

• the Court of Appeal has understood the purpose of section 41 and is doing its best to interpret it as a rule of exclusion. However, some Court of Appeal decisions give cause for concern that the purpose of the legislation may be undermined.

• Sexual history evidence was raised in some cases involving minors, raising concerns that irrespective of the exploitative nature of the past events, children were more often represented as sexually active than sexually vulnerable.

• In addition to specific references to section 41, references to sexual behaviour/sexual history were found in over a third of CPS files and observed trials. Sexual history material was included in more than three-quarters of trials.

• Almost half of the judges interviewed were unaware of the Crown Court Rules; some judges had only a vague knowledge of section 41 and few non-legal practitioners and no complainants understood the new law.

• Victims said that they weighed up the issue of whether sexual history evidence would be raised in court in deciding whether to report the matter to the police and subsequently in deciding whether to withdraw the allegation.

• Police officers, SARC staff and support agencies all concur that sexual history evidence plays a part in the decision-making of complainants, especially, but not exclusively, in the early stages.

• The Crown Court Rules were frequently ignored or avoided, with the vast majority of applications being made at trial and presented verbally. This meant that some of the requirements of the law ... could be more easily evaded.

• Some defence counsel appeared to time their applications to come just before or during cross examination to create the most pressure on the complainant.

• Where sexual history material was introduced without reference to the legislation at all, judges either failed to notice or failed to sanction the defence for the breach.

The report makes a number of recommendations including:

The terms ‘sexual behaviour’ and ‘sexual experience’ should be defined. Moreover, it should be made clear that these terms include implied as well as express behaviour.

Consideration should be given to amending section 42(1)(b) which allows the court to give leave for evidence of sexual behaviour to be admitted as evidence that the defendant had a belief in consent. The amendment should reflect section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which requires a defendant’s belief in consent to be reasonable. It should also reflect the fact that it is not generally reasonable to formulate a belief in consent on the basis of past sexual history.

Read the full report here - Section 41: an evaluation of new legislation limiting sexual history evidence in rape trials

August

Excellent Blog

We are pleased to bring you news of an excellent new blog 'Until Men Stop Raping'. They want copies of newspaper cuttings and links, of male sexual violence, abuse and harassment to keep the blog current so please visit the site and send in your contributions.

Link:

http://untilmenstopraping.blogspot.com/

Take action to demand justice for women!

Earlier this year Fawcett's Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System published its latest report. They highlighted that large regional variations in rape conviction levels illustrate a postcode lottery for women victims of violence; and that large numbers of women in prison simply shouldn't be there, along with other problems within the system.

You can help them get over the message that change is needed by sending their report to your local MP or criminal justice agencies, such as the police or courts. Contact holly.dustin@fawcettsociety.org.uk for a copy. Find out more on the website.

Sentencing Rape

TAR supporter and academic Dr Helen Jones spoke on BBC Manchester Radio after a judge sparked outrage by allowing a teenager who raped a 12-year old girl to walk free.

The 14-year old boy was said in court to have stripped the victim of her clothes before brandishing the kitchen knife in a bid to tell her to keep quiet.

But Judge Jeffrey Lewis gave him a two year supervision order.

Dr Jones made the point that nationally the conviction rate for rape is only 5.2% and in Manchester it is just 3.9%. Although the threshold sentencing point for young men who commit rape is a community sentence, the Sentencing Guidelines Council has published its report on sentencing in rape. Page seven of that document states:

"Sentences will need to reflect the precise nature of the activity, and take account of the

impact on the victim, as well as the relationship, if any, between victim and offender.

Penetrative acts are more serious, as is partial or total nakedness (especially that of the

victim). Where the victim’s ability to consent is impaired by youth or mental incapacity,

the offence becomes more serious."

These factors - penetration, nakedness and lack of consent - were present in this case. The document goes on to state that an aggravating factor is - "Use of a weapon to frighten or injure victim". Certainly in this case the knife was used to frighten the girl. For the judge to say the knife was not used to rape is meaningless. He used the knife to force her to do what he wanted.

The impact of a non-custodial sentence is three-fold:

• it sends a message to society that rape is not a serious offence
• it denies the victim justice and threats the legitimacy of the criminal justice system
• it reduces the length of time the offender will be on the sex offenders register

Dr Jones made the point that it is not the law that needs to change but the beliefs of judges who, like Judge Lewis, think that stripping a 12 year old girl naked at knife point and then committing a penetrative sex act of rape does not warrant prison.

Full story

While many people may think this type of offence is rare, there are numerous news reports of teenage males committing rape.

Boy in court over pool sex attack

Nine years for supermarket rapist

Teenager convicted of sex attacks

Teenager in dock over rape charge

While judges retain the discretion to give very lenient sentences, any further changes in the law will have no impact. We must continue to challenge the power of such men to make these decisions.

Do you have a name you'd like to add to the name and shame list? Let us know.

July

The New Postcards are Here!

Back in May we announced that the new phase of postcards were in the final stages of production - well they are now complete!

The new 'Rape Quiz' cards follow the theme of - Here. Now. - which answers the questions posed such as 'In which country is rape the only crime where the victim is routinely humiliated in court'?

We've already had tremendous feedback from groups who have been the first to see them:

"I think they are brilliant. We will be distributing them at the Freshers Fair at Bangor University" Sally, Chair of Bangor University Liberal Democrats

Click here for the new batch.

Congratulations!

Congratulations go to Ashleigh Bridges who has graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in Criminology. Her dissertation was on rape and we are publishing it as a benchmark to all the other students who contact us - it is a very interesting piece of work and we congratulate her on her achievements. Good luck in all you do in the future Ashleigh.

Responding to Rape - Ashleigh Bridges

June

Sentencing

The court of appeal has added two years to the minimum sentence of a babysitter who raped a 12-week-old girl he was looking after. Read more

Almost 5,000 children are raped each year and yet only 7% of offenders are convicted. Read more

The current conviction rate is 5.2% and in one police area it is less than 1%. (See our Statistics page) The maximum sentence for rape is life - so why is it so rarely used? What sort of rape would lead a judge to impose the maximum sentence?

The sentencing guidelines council has just released its proposals for sentencing on the Sexual Offences Act. See BBC article for overview. The proposal document is huge but pertinent sections include page 18 which summarises general principles and pages 25 - 29 on rape. Under the proposal the starting point for the above offence would be 13 years imprisonment.

TAR urges everyone who believes that current sentencing on rape is weak, to write to the sentencing guidelines council to express your views.

Scotland - rape statistics and anonymity for men

Convictions for rape continue to plunge in Scotland where the current conviction rate is just 4.3%. In a BBC report the Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson also revealed the number of reported attacks had almost doubled in the past decade.

At the same time, Jim Wallace, the Scottish Justice Minister, is to be thanked for thwarting the demands for anonymity for those men charged with rape. This is a demand that raises its head every now and again. Back in 2002 a Guardian article considered the issue and Jennifer Temkin made the point that "What these recent calls for anonymity are really doing, is playing up the argument that lots of allegations of rape made by women are false, and that men have to be protected. There is no evidence to suggest that a rape allegation is more likely than any other sort to be false. On the contrary, why, when prosecution and conviction rates for rape are so pitifully low and the experience of giving evidence in court so humiliating, would scores of aggrieved women cry rape and subject themselves to such an ordeal?"

Demands for anonymity for men accused of rape - and not for mugging old ladies or murdering people - perpetuates the belief that being accused of rape is much worse than being accused of anything else because it is such an awful and extraordinary crime. Awful yes, but not extraordinary - even the Home Office concedes that at least 80,000 rape occur each year - this makes it a very ordinary crime and research tells us that it is very 'ordinary' men who commit such crimes - if only they did have horns and tails we would be able to recognise them for the monsters that they are.

A letter to Channel 5

A member of TAR emailed Channel 5 to voice her thoughts on a recent programme. She has not had a reply yet but if you also saw the show you may want to join her protest by emailing wrightstuff@five.tv

I am writing to complain about Thursday's edition of The Wright Stuff
wherein Matthew Wright had a feature concerning marital rape and gang or
as it is actually called group rape.

I am a core member of Truth About Rape and Wright put forward some
extremely offensive comments concerning men committing marital and group
rape.  In reality both types of rape are appalling abuses of women's
human rights.  No man has the right to rape any woman or girl
irrespective of whether the survivor knows the man or not.

Wright put forward an analogy wherein he compared a woman's experience
of being raped by a man she knew to his own experience of being
physically attacked by a known man.  Wright then compared a woman being
raped by a male stranger to his own further experience of being
physically attacked by a group of strange men.  Wright in giving this
comparison was totally unhelpful apart from the fact all attacks
were/are committed by men.

Even more unhelpful was Matthew Wright's comments wherein he stated that
'although no means no, surely there's a difference in saying 'yes' three
times and then 'no.'  Such comments totally negate the reality that
women must have the right to either give informed consent or to refuse
any unwanted sexual act.  It is not for the man to decide which sexual
acts he will engage in irrespective of the woman's desires or wishes.
That is not consent but overt coercion.  No man knows what a woman
wants, the only way is to enquire, in the same way, I cannot presume I
have the right to take a man's wallet unless he gives me permission,
otherwise I have committed a criminal offence, namely theft.  I do not
have the right to claim that I believed the man had given me permission
to take his wallet.  The same applies to women's sexual autonomy it is
theirs alone - not for a man to take and use as and when sees fit, by
claiming he knew what the woman wanted.  That is not consent it is rape
or attempted rape.

Rape and sexual assault attacks a woman's sexual identity and her bodily
integrity it is far worse than physical assault.  The aim of men
committing sexual violence against women is both to gain sexual access
to the woman and also to degrade her bodily integrity.  There is no
comparison between a strange man raping a woman and a husband raping his
wife, both are deliberate violent sexual assaults against the woman's
sexuality and her bodily rights.

Wright's programme instead focused on perpetuating rape myths and
stereotypes concerning women who are raped by known men.  For your
information 1 in 7 women are coerced into unwanted sexual activity by a
man, majority of male perpetrators are known to the rape survivor.  Out
of 12,760 cases of women reporting they had been raped by a man/men only
673 resulted in the male perpetrator being brought to justice.
Approximately 80,000 women suffer sexual violence committed by males
each year.  (Walby and Allen: Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and
Stalking: Findings from The British Crime Survey, 2004).

I would suggest that in future if Matthew Wright and his producers wish
to discuss such an important issue as marital rape and group rape, the
producers invite a panel of experts who understand the complex issues of
why and how male sexual violence against women is overtly condoned and
'normalised.'  Rather that Matthew Wright perpetuating the continuation
of stereotypical ideas that 'real rape' only happens when a male
deranged stranger attacks a virginal young girl or an elderly woman.   

Sadly rape is an all too common occurrence in women's and girls' lives
and this programme did not help rape survivors but instead only served
to once again trivialise a very serious criminal offence and indirectly
position women as either blame-worthy or 'innocent.'   Rape in reality
is both about men believing they are entitled to sexual access to a
known woman and also a deliberate attempt to degrade and humiliate a
woman simply because of her gender.

Attempting to decide whether marital rape is worse for a woman than
being forced to endure the degradation of a group of strange men
committing multiple rape against her person is totally irrelevant.  The
reality is rape whether it is  group rape, acquaintance rape or more
rarely stranger rape is not only a crime against a woman's body and
sexuality, but also inflicts severe and long-term damage to the rape
survivor.  More importantly is the fact that still far too many women
are being left to deal with the after-effects of rape by themselves.
There are still too few rape crisis centres available to help rape
survivors rebuild their lives after enduring such traumatic male sexual
violence.  

It would have been more helpful if the discussion had focused on the
reality that there are large areas within the UK without any rape crisis
centres at all.  Instead women and girls who are rape survivors are
forced to seek out private professional help if they have sufficient
funds or else they are left to try and deal with the aftermath
themselves.  Little or no attempt is made to understand how males
committing rape has such devastating effects on the rape survivor and her
relationship with family, friends and society in general.  Instead women
rape survivors continue to be held accountable for men committing rape.

Or perhaps the Wright Show could have had a discussion on why male
sexual violence against women continues to increase year on year.  All
too often cultural issues concerning male sexual violence continues to
be ignored and instead the focus is why so many women are being raped by
known men.

JENNIFER DREW
CORE MEMBER TRUTH ABOUT RAPE

May

Where To Start?

After a couple of weeks away from the website it seems that patriarchal men have been extremely busy abusing women. From sexist Police in the UK to abusive UN Peacekeepers, rape continues to be the common theme.

The new postcards are coming...!

You've all loved the campaign postcards - well here is some news - a brand new phase is currently in post-production and will be available soon. They will be available for viewing on the website just as soon as I get the images from the designers.

TV Programme - Undercover Copper

Back in the early 1980s Roger Graef made a documentary on how Thames Valley Police handled a complaint of rape. His film 'An Allegation of Rape' caused outrage and widespread public debate on sexism within the police. 25 years later, Dispatches produced a programme which showed that rape is still treated lightly. Here, Charlie from northwestfeminists Yahoo Group describes the programme and wonders why this did not provoke outrage in 2006:

"Nina Hobson, returned to the police force after a career break, to film undercover the sexism and apathy in Leicestershire police force.

One of the issues she wanted to highlight was how the way in which the police deal with rape is still rooted in sexism. There was one scene, in which a female police officer was complaining that a Scene of Crime Officer failed to be sent to the house of a rape victim days after she reported it to the police. The victim had repeatedly rung the station to find out when someone was going to collect evidence from her house. In theory evidence should be collected within 24 hours. The female police officer said on camera, that if she was ever raped she would not go to the police.

There was another incident where a police officer was required to attend a scene in which a woman was being dragged through a street and roughly treated by a man in the early hours of the morning. The police couldn't be bothered to attend, even though the incident could have led to a rape.

There was pornography in the staff areas of the police station. A male police officer joked with the undercover reporter, wanting to show her an explicit pornographic video he had on his mobile phone of a woman having sex with a horse, and he joked that the woman died a few days later as a result. This was after legislation had been brought in to outlaw downloading such explicit pornography.

Female officers were also given less important jobs as male officers were preferred to deal with public disorder.

The chief constable of Leicestershire made out on TV interviews that this behaviour is the result of individual officers, and refused to accept the idea that sexism is endemic in the police force.

The programme received press coverage and I saw a few interviews on Channel 4, so I was hoping that pressure would be sustained by the media to force them to at least apologise, but this hasn't happened".

northwestfeminists Yahoo Group is a new members only message board - follow the link for more information.

UN 'PeaceKeepers'

News of UN peacekeeping soldiers, government officials, and teachers raping women and girls has emerged. This remark was made in a Save The Children report.

“Sex with underage girls by humanitarian workers continues openly,” the report stated. Employees of non-governmental organisations “are carrying out awareness on sexual exploitation, HIV and Aids,” one camp resident said, “but during the night hours they are the same people running after these 12-year-old girls.”

We should not be surprised the cost of survival in patriarchy is always paid by women and girls.

Elsewhere in the World:

In Scotland a NINE year old boy has been charged with rape.

In Mexico police rape and sexually abuse two dozen women.

In England a 40 year old man and his 19 year old girlfriend are found guilty of raping a 12 week old baby.

In the States a dozen schoolboys aged 6 to 8 years old will be charged for allegedly sexually assaulting a female classmate in their school playground.

In England eight young girls, aged between seven and 13, were the targets of four men aged between 42 and 67.

Raping children happens the world over.

Deportation - an unjust gendered issue

Okay - there has been a huge media hype about the story of foreign prisoners being released and re-offending - one example is here at the Telegraph and another is here at the BBC.

Okay - we don't want anyone raping women.

But lets just look at the facts -

• Yes the Home Office has managed to lose a thousand or more foreign offenders who should have been deported from this country months ago.
• Yes some of these people pose a threat to women
• But we have a conviction rate of 5.6% in this country
• That means of our own home-grown rapists, 94 out of every 100 reports to the police do not end with a prison sentence

If only there was such a media frenzy about that little-discussed fact.

At the same time - Operation Pentameter - a multi-agency taskforce launched in February 2006 to combat trafficking, has discovered 46 sex trafficking victims - one aged 15. Human rights groups suggest the operation is  a campaign to find and deport illegal immigrants. Amnesty International, claim women who were brought to the country against their will are being deported if they refuse to assist with police investigations, in spite of the fact that branches of the same criminal networks who brought them into Britain await them in their country of origin. Victims of trafficking are being allowed to remain in Britain only if they prove beneficial to the Crown Prosecution Service. Amnesty International's UK director, Kate Allen says "This has led to some highly vulnerable trafficked women being put into immigration detention, and even being deported."

April

Sentencing Guidelines Council

Who is currently influencing the Sentencing Guidelines Council?

In March reports suggested that the Sentencing Guidelines Council had plans for future sentences for rape and other sexual offences to be cut by 15 per cent.

Now news emerges that the Sentencing Guidelines Council has proposals to allow perpetrators of domestic violence to avoid jail if they show remorse. This report on the BBC shows how such moves have been condemned by domestic violence charities. We also condemn such an idea. We should all remember that domestic violence frequently includes sexual violence and that this is often repeated, relentless and invisible. Rape in marriage is still a big taboo subject in this country.

Any hint or suggestion that the current overcrowding in the prison population is tackled by reducing the sentences of men who abuse women must be challenged swiftly.

So we ask again - who is currently influencing the Sentencing Guidelines Council? We are willing to bet it isn't someone whose interests lie with female victims of male violence. We want all women to survive the violences they experience but this is unlikely to be achieved while the Criminal Justice System seems to be doing its best to deny basic rights and protections.

Rape Cautions

The BBC has revealed that the number of rapists given a caution and freed instead of facing jail terms has more than doubled in the past decade. They cite Home Office figures which reveal that in 2004, 40 offenders were cautioned for rape - compared with 19 in 1994.

Swedish Government document on Patriarchal Violence

The Swedish Government has published a report which takes a Human Rights approach to dealing with 'Patriarchal Violence' (click to download the document - Acrobat Reader required). This is probably the first example of any nation-state government using the term to explain male violence.

UK Government Consultation

Comment on Poster Campaign Targeted at Men

WHY ACTIVE FREELY GIVEN  CONSENT IS VITAL IN SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS

AUTHOR – JENNIFER DREW 

On 14^th March, 2006 the Government announced a new campaign was being launched in an attempt to reduce the appalling number of rapes being committed in the UK and at the same time to raise the conviction level for rape which is now only 5.3%.  (Attrition in Reported Rape Cases, 2005: Kelly et al).

For the first time it is men rather than women who are being targeted with regards to male sexual violence against women.  This campaign focuses on informing men they too have a responsibility of ensuring they always seek active consent from any prospective sexual partner, before engaging in sexual activity.  On the same day a poll was available on Sky News website asking the question ‘Should men always seek verbal consent before engaging in sexual activity.’  15,000 people responded on-line to this poll and 51% said no!  Unfortunately this poll does not provide gendered statistics so there is no way of ascertaining how many women responded to this poll. 

In February, 2006 Andrew Liddiard was convicted of assault and voyeurism wherein he installed surveillance cameras in the house which he shared with his wife.  Liddiard claimed his wife was having an affair and wished to obtain evidence by installing cameras in his wife’s bedroom.  The Court heard that the couple had not had a sexual relationship for some years.

Sentencing Liddiard to two years community service, the Judge told Liddiard ‘It seems quite clear that the physical aspect had been kept from you for some considerable time.  You installed the cameras and by your say so, you were able to see certain things going on which might normally have been part of a physical relationship between two persons.  She was your wife and as such it was a great abuse of the trust that should have existed in your relationship.’   

So what is the connection between the court case and the new posters informing men they might be charged with rape unless they seek active consent from a prospective female sexual partner.  On the one hand the Home Office is to be congratulated in targeting men and reminding them they too have a responsibility of ensuring that a woman has freely and actively consented to sexual activity, rather than submitting due to coercion or threats of violence.  Yet there is still widespread belief that in certain circumstances, men have the right and entitlement of sexual access to a woman’s body.  As evidenced by the Liddiard case, the judge commented that sexual access had been denied.  It must not be forgotten that until 1991 marital rape did not exist within marriage, since husbands ‘owned their wives’ and once a woman married, she forfeited all rights of refusing any sexual activity with her husband.  Since one of the wife’s primary duties was never to refuse sexual relations with her husband. 

The Home Office poster campaign on ‘consent’ too implies that once a man has gained consent from a woman, he alone is the one who controls and enacts sexual activity.  One poster shows a woman’s lower body parts only and she is standing passively with a ‘No Entry’ sign on her genital area.  Apparently once a woman has given ‘consent’ any sexual act is permitted.  In other words women can only say yes or no, they do not have the right of deciding for themselves which if any, sexual acts they wish to engage in but rather once consent has been given, sexual activity is then controlled and driven by the man.   The same day as the Home Office announced their new campaign, the BBC news website invited individuals to comment on the campaign.  Overwhelmingly men who wrote in all said they objected and resented the idea of having to actually ask a woman if she consented to sexual contact.  What does this tell us about the validity and acceptance of women’s rights to own their bodies and sexualities?  It would appear that sexual acts between women and men need no verbal communication because apparently both men and women know precisely what their partner desires and it is always what the man desires. 

The real problem is how our society constructs heterosexual relationships.  Dominant heterosexual scripts say that men are not supposed to ask women if they desire to engage in any sexual activity, rather it is for the man to initiate and control sexual contact.  Women are not supposed to express sexual desire, but instead can only passively respond to male sexual advances or again passively refuse.  At the same time it is the woman’s responsibility alone to ensure she has not inadvertently sent any ‘wrong signals implying she wants sexual contact to the man.’  If she has, then she alone is responsible for being raped or forced to engage in unwanted sexual activity. 

Irrespective of whether women are married, in a current sexual relationship, have been in a relationship with a man in the past, or wish to commence a new sexual relationship, it is their right to decide what if any, sexual acts they wish to engage in.  Mutually freely given active consent must always be obtained by both parties before a man or woman proceeds to engage in heterosexual activity. 

The Home Office campaign is a step in the right direction, but unfortunately the message is lost since one of the posters stereotypically defines women as sexualized objects.  Future campaigns which target men’s attitudes and beliefs must not adhere to sexualized stereotypes of female sexuality if the sexual rights of all women is not to be trivialized but rather accepted as pivotal to all women’s human rights.  Too many girls and boys are still growing up believing men are entitled and have the right to force women and girls into unwanted sexual activity.  That a woman alone is responsible for controlling and regulating male sexual desires, rather than men being held responsible for their own sexual actions.

March

Government plans - mixed messages?

In an article in the Guardian 29th March 2006 the solicitor general, Mike O'Brien, said that, while the number of complaints of rape had risen sharply, convictions had only increased slightly: "An awful lot of people who are committing rapes are getting away with it." Home office minister Fiona McTaggart said: "There is clear evidence that the mismatch between convictions and reports suggests there are people who have raped who don't get convicted." We couldn't agree more.

He has announced proposed changes which are contained in a consultation document aimed at increasing the conviction rate. Last year, 14,000 rapes were reported but only one in 20 resulted in a conviction. Proposals include:

• To make video interviews with rape victims automatically admissible in all cases - currently they are only allowed when the victim is under 18.
• To allow experts to give evidence about an alleged rape victim's general behaviour after the attack, bringing the UK more in line with the way rape trials are conducted in the US, Canada and Australia.
• To redefine the law on when a person consents to sex

Earlier this month reports suggested that the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC)   had plans for future sentences for rape and other sexual offences to be cut by 15 per cent. Such mixed messages do little to show any evidence of joined up thinking on the law and punishment. These suggestions were made as a move to relieve pressure on Britain's overcrowded male  prisons - not as a solution to deal with rapists more effectively. Rape charities said such an idea risked damaging women's confidence in the legal system. 'The decision on whether to go to court will be harder if women think the rapist will not receive an adequate sentence,' said a spokeswoman for South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre.

Government Campaign

On March 15 2006, the Home Office launched a £500,000 advertising campaign - on the pages of lads' magazines, on the radio and in men's toilets in bars and clubs - urging men to ensure that their partners consent to sex. The adverts are supposed to be shocking: using provocative imagery and 'frank' language, they are meant to make men think labout the consequences of sex without prior consent.

Object, an organisation that campaigns against the objectification of women, suggests that this is however a misguided campaign:

"How can an ad that objectifies women and is sexually crass challenge attitudes to rape?"

"The fact that this probably is the only way to get any message to men who are most likely to force sex, says it all" s

"It's a start, I guess, but it's the culture, the very lads' mags that will carry these ads, that need to be challenged."

Object is worried that the ads will insult men who would never rape, be lost on those that do and insult all women in the process. There is a wider campaign that needs to be fought and that is the campaign against the rape culture that exists in this country and which supports a host of myths which act to throw the blame onto women, shifting responsibility away from men, the media and the government itself.

Domestic Violence: 21st Century Responses

Conference on Wednesday 15th March 2006
1:30-3:30 pm
Manchester Metropolitan University, All Saints West 2.10

Speakers
Caroline Jones, Co-Chair of Broken Rainbow LGBT Domestic Violence Service UK
'Domestic Violence and the LGBT Community'.

Paula Wilcox Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology in the School of Applied Social Science at the University of Brighton.
'Surviving domestic violence: gender, poverty and agency'

ALL WELCOME

Attendance is free but places are limited. If you wish to attend please email c.little@mmu.ac.uk

Organised by the Gender and Sexuality Research Group which is part of the Institute for Culture,
Gender and the City
 

Report on Rape Investigations by Metropolitan Police

The review found differences in the proportion of offences ‘solved’ and the proportion of allegations recorded as ‘no crime’ or ‘not crime’ in different parts of London.

Read the full report.

Women's Call for Peace: An Urgent Appeal

The women of the United States, Iraq and women worldwide, have had enough of the senseless war in Iraq and the cruel attacks on civilians around the world. We've buried too many of our loved ones. We've seen too many lives crippled forever by physical and mental wounds. We've watched in horror as our precious resources are poured into war while our families' basic needs of food, shelter, education and healthcare go unmet. We've had enough of living in constant fear of violence and seeing the growing cancer of hatred and intolerance seep into our homes and communities.

This is not the world we want for ourselves or our children. With fire in our bellies and love in our hearts, we women are rising up - across borders - to unite and demand an end to the bloodshed and the destruction.

We have seen how the foreign occupation of Iraq has fueled an armed movement against it, perpetuating an endless cycle of violence. We are convinced that it is time to shift from a military model to a conflict-resolution model that includes the following elements:

• The withdrawal of all foreign troops and foreign fighters from Iraq;
• Negotiations to reincorporate disenfranchised Iraqis into all aspects of Iraqi society;
• The full representation of women in the peacemaking process and a commitment to women's full equality in the post-war Iraq;
• A commitment to discard plans for any foreign bases in Iraq;
• Iraqi control of its oil and other resources;
• The nullification of privatization and deregulation laws imposed under occupation, allowing Iraqis to shape the trajectory of the post-war economy;
• A massive reconstruction effort that prioritizes Iraqi contractors, and draws upon financial resources of the countries responsible for the invasion and occupation of Iraq;
• Consideration of a temporary international peacekeeping force that is truly multilateral and is not composed of any troops from countries that participated in the occupation.

To move this peace process forward, we are creating a massive movement of women - crossing generations, races, ethnicities, religions, borders and political persuasions. Together, we will pressure our governments, the United Nations, the Arab League, Nobel Peace Prize winners, religious leaders and others in the international community to step forward to help negotiate a political settlement. And in this era of divisive fundamentalisms, we call upon world leaders to join us in spreading the fundamental values of love for the human family and for our precious planet.

Sign On Today! Please join CODEPINK's Women Say No to War campaign, and add your name to the thousands of women and men who have already signed the Urgent Call for Peace in Iraq. CODEPINK is gathering over 100,000 signatures on this Call, and the need your signature, and your help, to do it! On
International Women's Day, March 8, they will deliver these signatures to U.S. embassies, consulates, and federal offices all over the world.

Go to http://www.womensaynotowar.org/ to sign the call and to learn where events are happening! Visit http://www.womensaynotowar.org/ for details.

Fawcett campaign on violence against women

By International Women's Day on March 8, we want 200 MPs to have signed a call for Government action on violence against women. You can help by urging your MP to do so. Fawcett have made it easy to get involved, find out how on their website.

Petition to fight trafficking during the World Cup

petition @: http://www.pes.org/content/view/346?lang=en

Please sign by 8th MARCH
This petition has just been brought to our attention by the European Women's Lobby
http://www.womenlobby.org
 

Women in London

Focus on International Women's Day

• Links are on their home page - http://www.womeninlondon.org.uk

Help for Adult Victims of Child Abuse

HAVOCA - A non-profit making organisation based in the UK dedicated to provide help, support and information to any adult who is suffering from past childhood abuse.

February

Rape Crisis Scotland use TAR postcard

For a copy of the newsletter contact Rape Crisis Scotland.

Request for Panel Members

Calling women in the North West.

The British Transport Police, are recruiting for a Citizens' Panel and Community Forum.

Purpose of the Citizens' Panel

The Citizens' Panel aims to provide a way to engage with the community. It will benefit BTP and panel members in a number of ways:

• The Panel will increase BTP's visibility in the community
• Panel members are given the opportunity to voice there concerns and opinions about crime on the rail network and can work with BTP to ensure effective changes
• Panel members will receive feedback regarding the consultations they help with along with a newsletter summarising findings of other research projects and Community Forums.

 What does being a Panel Member involve?

·         Panel members will be asked to respond to no more than four paper surveys per year. They may also be asked to participate in a limited number of telephone  surveys and group or individual interviews

·         Community Forums will also be held to discuss issues regarding crime on the railways (see below)

Community Forum - Anti-Social Behaviour on the Railways 

·         A Community Forum will be taking place on March 1^st 2006 to discuss anti-social behaviour on the railways

·         The Forum is being held at a central Manchester location and respondents are asked to contact BTP at NWCitizensPanel@btp.pnn.police.uk or fax 020 7383 3023 with their address for a formal invitation.

·         If there are any questions about the forum, you can contact BTP on 020 7830 8911

Events for International Women's Day

Wednesday 8th March 2006 - International Women’s Day, FUNNY WOMEN STAND UP - Doors open 7.00 pm, Show starts 8.00 pm London – W1

Featuring the best of female stand-up the show takes place on International Women's Day, at the Cafe Royal on Regent Street, London W1. Box office and other funds raised on the night will go to V-Day: Until the Violence Stops, www.vdayuk.org, which campaigns to end violence against women.

This is a ticketed event and you can book your tickets via the 24-Hours Advance Tele-Sales Number: 0870 163 3408 and quote the following password: FWSU8306
Ticket price is £20 to include a drinks reception courtesy of Turner Road Wine. If you don't take advantage of this opportunity now you can still buy online @ www.funnywomen.com or www.ticketmaster.co.uk - but please note that tickets will go on sale to the public on Monday 20th February 2006.

For more events in London and elsewhere Click Here

Drink 'spike tests' putting Women at Risk 

Drink-spiking tests that were hailed as fool-proof protection against date rape are putting women at risk by giving inaccurate or misleading results. The DIY kits include dip-sticks, credit-card size coasters and litmus paper-style strips that are designed to change colour on contact with sex assault drugs such as Rohypnol and gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB). These devices have been endorsed by police forces and rape charities that say they enable women to safeguard their drinks against spikers.

But a study by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University has found that some types of kits produce such unclear results that anyone in a dimly lit bar would find them hard to read. Other tests produced inaccurate results' one kit tried out by researchers in laboratory conditions identified the presence of drugs in fewer than half of cases. The same test also gave false positives or unclear results in around a quarter of cases where no date-rape chemicals were present in the drink.

Dr Caryl Beynon, lead author of the report, said that these tests may give women false reassurance that their drink is safe - or unnecessarily scare them that it is not. She added that getting people drunk or secretly topping up their drinks with shorts is still a far more common method of spiking than using drugs.

"Public concern about the use of illegal drugs in sexual assaults can take the focus away from the most commonly used date-rape drug, alcohol," said Dr Beynon, an expert in drug misuse. "Buying someone larger drinks, encouraging them to drink beyond their capacity or slipping shorts into lower alcohol drinks are a far more common and effective way of drink spiking."

No national figures exist to give a clear picture of whether drugs such as Rohypnol and GHB are a common feature in sexual assaults. More than 754,000 women in the UK over the age of 16 are estimated to have been the victims of rape, but there have been only 15 successful prosecutions for drug-assisted sexual assault in the past five years.

The Government has promised action, with a review by its drugs advisers of the classifications of both Rohypnol and GHB, which are currently class C drugs. Some experts endorse the view, however, that alcohol is more significant. A study by the University of Surrey, published in 2004, found that alcohol played a role in three out of every four date rapes or sexual assaults. They concluded that alcohol was used by those intent on sexual assault, with attackers more likely to take advantage of victims who had been drinking.

Source: Independent

Fourteen year old guilty of rape

A 14 year old boy who was arrested last year for allegedly raping four young girls aged between 7 and 10, when they were playing in a public park in Manchester, pleaded guilty to rape. The 14 year old boy denied four further sex charges.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4662778.stm
 

The Sleepwalking Rapist – 20^th December 2005

A man accused of raping a female friend was unanimously cleared of rape at York Crown Court, after using the defence that he was sleepwalking.  Commenting in the Daily Mail, Dr Ishaad Ebrahim, medical director of the London Sleep Centre, said that it was difficult to use sleepwalking convincingly as a defence.

Sex suspect given work at school is jailed for assault – 25th January 2006

A suspected sex offender who was ordered to work at a primary school as part of a community punishment order was jailed yesterday for indecently assaulting a girl.  Ian Missing had been approved to work at the school after admitting an unrelated assault charge, despite previously being arrested on suspicion of a sex attack on a child and of internet pornography offences.  He was not charged at the time because of lack of evidence and the information was not passed to the probation service.

Comic Relief

Comic Relief provides a funding stream for organisations working with refugees & asylum seekers, including refugee women who have experienced sexual violence.  There is a cyclical grant programme for awards over 5000, with the next deadline being 5^th May.  There are strict criteria for eligibility, which can be explored via their website:  http://www.comicrelief.com/applyforagrant/sa/Question1.shtml

Comic Relief will consider applications for awards under 5000 which focus on older people, mental health, or disadvantaged communities at any time, but organisations must have an annual turnover of below 150,000 to be eligible.  More information can be found here: http://www.comicrelief.com/applyforagrant/grants-uk-rnd.shtml

Victim’s Fund 2006 – 2006

The Victim’s Fund from the Home Office specifically focuses on sexual violence.  The deadline for applications is Friday 17 February 2006.  More information is available via email:  VictimsFund@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk or from www.governmentfunding.org.uk

January 2006

Start of the Year

Every year I start this page hoping that we will be able to close the website because of a lack of need.

Every year I hope that there will be an end to rape: that men will stop using their bodies to violate the bodies of women and children.

I remain hopeful - despite the odds - because hope is what keeps us all going.

I know the year ahead will bring us more tales of horror and unspeakable terror. It is our job to speak the truth about such horror and to tell the world about the terror that men inflict on women and children.

We are proud to be women - proud to be feminists.

And so we continue - happy new year everyone - let's hope it's the year we can shut this website!