Comments on: “Naughty little girl”, explains rape apologist Crown Prosecutor in gang rape of ten year old girl

By: Carnival Against Sexual Violence #37 at Hoyden About Town

Carnival Against Sexual Violence #37 at Hoyden About Town — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:41:41 +0000

[...] just been published at Abyss2Hope. There’s a link there to Lauredhel’s post “Naughty little girl”, explains rape apologist Crown Prosecutor in gang rape of ten year…, amongst other discussions of the recent furore over the sentencing of the gang rapists in Aurukun, [...]

By: Carlina

Carlina — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:47:16 +0000

Regarding court transcript: reason given to keep the older male out of jail:
…”It is accepted, obviously, Your Honour, he has a previous charge of unlawful carnal knowledge. Raymond is very sorry for the shame he’s caused his mother and his family. He wants to be sentenced so he can start a new life and get on within the community.”
No mention of shame for what he had done to the girl????
Already a repeat offender, what guarantees were offered to protect the community from him in his new life?

By: Carlina

Carlina — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:27:39 +0000

Su, you Jane Eyre reference is an interesting and relevant point.
Jean Rhys’s book – Wide Sargasso Sea explores tahe possible history for Eyre’s “wife in the tower”. Its an excellent book completely sympathetic to the hero’s first wife. It was quite the norm a couple of hundred years ago to have your wife declared insane and lock her up in order to pursue other interests, specially in countries slow to allow divorce. In Europe, France was the last country (1940’s I think) to legalise divorce which meant had no escape from unhappy or terrifying marriages. Often their families would not or could not rescue them.
And early last century just before the Russian revolution, women were still required to have a passport if out in the street without their husbands, brothers or fathers.
It has not really been that long that women in our more “enlightened” countries have been able to claim any liberties at all.
If our modern world has only so recently acknowledged women’s rights, is it so surprising that attitudes have still not caught up with our laws or our laws caught up with ethics of equality?

By: su

su — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:31:37 +0000

I had that same thought Crowlie, when I was watching Jane Eyre last night and reflecting on what I know of my great grandmothers, grandmothers, mother and myself. A woman who did not go insane and burn the house down in times past was an absolute f***ing miracle of endurance and strength. And I feel I owe it to their memories to kick back hard at structures that made their short lives a living hell.

By: Crowlie

Crowlie — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:54:34 +0000

Ten years old… Fuck.

Well, it certainly sends a message to her… and to every other female in Australia. It’s still a cock culture. Legally speaking.

Why exactly are we encouraging women to have more children in this country?

This is so fucking insane. And the white boys running newspapers and television stations carry on about the primitive bloody Africans raping women and children left, right and centre.

Is it any wonder so many women in Australia are suicidal?

By: tigtog

tigtog — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 01:07:46 +0000

It's not just QLD legal system which is failing young girls. In Brazil last month, a 15 year old girl was incarcerated in an adult male prison, where she was raped and tortured for nearly a month until finally someone outside the prison let child protection know about her situation. Via Shakesville. The level of general indifference displayed to the pain and trauma of these young girls being assaulted is the really appalling aspect of these cases.

By: su

su — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:13:48 +0000

According to a SBS news report some of the juveniles involved were involved in the girl's abuse when she was 7 and the family members in Aurukun were asking that the girl not be returned because these individuals were still in the community.

By: blue milk

blue milk — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:26:53 +0000

Lauredhel, that’s the first time I’ve seen that much of the transcript and you’re right about the prosecution sounding awfully like he’s the defence, what the hell was going on? I hope the publicity surrounding this frightens the bejesus out of crown prosecuters and judges and politicians in this country – many of them urgently need to re-think how they deal with rape.

By: Beppie

Beppie — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:09:58 +0000

Call me a suspicious curmudgeon, but that sort of argument can’t help but make me wonder what the arguer might have been up to in the past that they’re trying to rationalise to themselves as perfectly justified.

I was thinking exactly the same thing.

By: Lauredhel

Lauredhel — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:40:26 +0000

I was just reading the court transcript here, and it's just disgusting. The prosecutor sounds like a defence lawyer. He prepared no victim impact material at all, blamed the girl, completely failed to advocate for her or for community safety in any way. He appears to have thought that it was all a bit of a laugh, and it was a minor irritation that they got caught and had to go through the motions of the court case. Call me a suspicious curmudgeon, but that sort of argument can't help but make me wonder what the arguer might have been up to in the past that they're trying to rationalise to themselves as perfectly justified.