Here's your horrifying lede of the day, from The Guardian: "A judge in Australia was facing calls to step down today after she failed to jail a group of nine males who admitted gang-raping a 10-year-old girl in an Aboriginal community, saying the young victim 'probably agreed' to have sex with them." I...what the...sigh.
Australia has been struggling over the problem of sexual assault of in indigenous communities; a recent report showed that sexual abuse against Aboriginal children is happening at staggering levels.
In the case of this young girl, who was raped by three adults and six juveniles, communities across Australia were horrified by Queensland District Court judge Sarah Bradley's leniency and disgusting comments.
"If this was a white girl in white suburban Brisbane' there's no way the defendants would have walked out of court," said child protection campaigner Hetty Johnston.Aboriginal academic Professor Boni Robertson called for the judge to step down while there was an inquiry. "It's undermined everything we have worked for over the last 10 years to get our women justice in this country," she said.
Apparently several of the attackers were from "prominent" families. Charming. I'm looking for sites where folks can take action, but if any one finds something before me--feel free to post in comments.
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And that is racism in it's ugliest, most horrifying form.
Are we to assume that Australia has no age of consent laws? Even if a 10-year-old girl said yes to sex, there's no way she's capable of making that decision.
Oh, and one of those men is a repeat sex offender, but heaven forfend that he or his compadres serve any time.
I don't think racism can fully explain this complete and utter bullshit.
Address:
Judges Chambers
District Court
PO Box 7515
Cairns Q 4870
AUSTRALIA
DX 41349
CAIRNS
Telephone : 07 4039 8909
Facsimile : 07 4039 8006
E-mail: associate.bradleyjdc@courts.qld.gov.au
From Cara at the Curvature(http://thecurvature.com/)
Was just about to throw that link up--thanks Betty!
Apparently the age of consent in Australia, depending on the region, is 16-18. So even if the girl "agreed" to having sex with nine men (which I HIGHLY doubt), it is still rape and still illegal. This story just blows my mind. The judge's decision sends a message to the public that violence against Aboriginal women is totally okay. Disgusting.
bravehearts.org.au is having a call for action on the matter today (link goes to pdf).
Or has it already been noon in Queensland? My brain is fried.
As I write it's about 05:41am on the 11th, so that event has already happened.
ah, thanks. The Sydney Morning Herald has Hetty Johnston saying it was racist justice.
The Age says the Queensland attorney-general is going to appeal.
What the fuck is going on with judges and the rapists of ten-year-old girls? Seriously, this is like the third or fourth one of these things in the past few months. Who are these people? Why do they think this is acceptable? What is happening?
From Marnanel 's second link:
"Under Queensland law a child under 12 cannot give consent to sexual intercourse."
12? 12 years old is their age of consent?
The age of consent in Queensland is 16. The punishment for the crime differs depending on whether the child is under 12 or over 12. Fourteen years imprisonment for an offence against a child aged over 12, life for an offence against a child under 12. See here
Betty: See here; the law is different for under-12s and 12-16s but the age of consent appears to be 16. There ARE places in the world where the legal age of consent is 12, though.
(I am not a lawyer, etc.)
What really bothers me is that it appears that all of the men admitted they did it. Apparently a plea of 'guilty' doesn't mean the same thing in Australia as it does everywhere else.
This story gets worse.
Child safety failed rape girl
What the fuck.
What the fuck.
What the fucking fuck.
I am so angry. I am so angry that I can't even put together two coherent thoughts about this.
Can I also just say..."rape girl"? "Rape girl"? Like, that's her identity, now? She's the rape girl? It would have fucked up their headline spacing too much to have put a "d" on the end of "rape"?
Well, I think it's official. (Even though it has been headed this way for quite some time now.) Looks like rape isn't a crime anymore.
Because 10-year-old girls don't want toys or clothes or food for Christmas -- they want gang rape!
Makes me ill. :/
That judge is terrifying.
"All of you have to understand that you cannot have sex with a girl under 16. If you do, you are breaking the law, and if you are found out, then you will be brought to court and could end up in jail. I accept that the girl involved, with respect to all of these matters, was not forced, and that she probably agreed to have sex with all of you."
She basically wags her finger at them. Also, COULD end up in jail?? Gah!
That is disgusting. Utterly disgusting.
Rape is rape. The men all pleaded guilty to rape! They admitted it - how can the judge then say that it not rape?
"she probably agreed to have sex with all of you."
Probably? Probably! What was the judge thinking?? Oh, well, she could maybe have have said yes so, y'know, it was probably consensual. Ugh!
"If you do, you are breaking the law, and if you are found out, then you will be brought to court and could end up in jail."
They plead guilty!! It was rape! That poor girl - first she gets raped and then her rapists get told it was naughty thing to do and get given a slap on wrist.
What's with the prosecution requesting that sentence? That's also really disgusting. They are supposed to be protecting this girl but ask for such a ridiculous sentence? Yuck.
I am, at least a little, relieved to see the outrage this has caused.
asdfkjl;asdkf i don't even know what to say, but i feel physically ill.
does this judge not get what age of consent laws are designed for in the first place? because no one under that age is CAPABLE of giving consent. i just...*head asplodes*
All right, that's it. I'm going on a personal crusade. First, I'm going to write a nice thick book about child sexual abuse, one that clearly explains why a child that's raped at the age of 7 will in all likelihood be emotionally and psychologically fucked up enough in the head to later "consent" to sex with one or more adult men at the age of 10, and also why regardless of whether or not she appears to "consent," IT'S STILL FUCKING RAPE.
Then when my book is published I will take an autographed copy with me on a world tour, and each stop on my tour will consist of a speaking engagement by me, followed by a visit to each of these idiot judges, whom I will then personally beat to over the head with my nice thick book until they lose consciousness.*
*Extreme sarcasm--in case it wasn't obvious.
People ask me why I am a feminist.
Women who are so brainwashed that they make excuses to let [some] men feed on their disgusting sexual desires. They'd rather 9 dangerous offenders walk free than admit that a 10 year old child can't consent to sex. I'm aware that this judge is functioning without a brain, but does she have a heart?
An aboriginal, disabled, 10 year old child from an impoverished family with a history of violent sexual assault against her, living in foster care. She can't get raped, even by nine men. Sums up why I'm a feminist in a tidy package, I'd say.
So a 10 year old is raped by 9 men, some of whom are adults, contracts an STI from it, goes through the court system as an indigenous Australian, the rapists ADMIT it, and the judge has the nerve to claim she 'probably' consented. What the fuck does that mean anyway? Probably? I am so livid. Thanks, Judge, for fucking up this CHILD's life.
The way Australians treat the Aboriginal community in general is pretty god-awful. I would venture to say that it's even worse than the situation of Native Americans in the US. It's modern-day apartheid.
This sure as hell makes me ashamed of my country. We also had that case recently where those boys who gang raped a girl and filmed it (and sold the film), got off with only counselling.
Fortunately, just about everyone feels completely sickened by this case here-- this decision was NOT a popular one.
Are the laws different in Australia than in the US with regards to mental health and consent? One of these articles state that the child in question is "mildly intellectually impaired" and suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome.
Given that she's ten and has said impairments, exactly how can any judge who managed to get through the education necessary for the position get it into her head that this poor girl actually knew what she was "consenting to" even if she HAD consented (and certainly she didn't!)
And the original prosecutor not asking for jail time? UGH!
"The way Australians treat the Aboriginal community in general is pretty god-awful. I would venture to say that it's even worse than the situation of Native Americans in the US. It's modern-day apartheid."
Indeed. Does this case remind anyone else of Nanette Roger's report?
"Given that she's ten and has said impairments, exactly how can any judge who managed to get through the education necessary for the position get it into her head that this poor girl actually knew what she was 'consenting to' even if she HAD consented (and certainly she didn't!)"
Maybe she's assuming Australian Aborigine 10-year-olds want to get gang-raped the same way that judge in Germany assumed Moroccan German women want their husbands to beat them?
http://feministing.com/archives/006766.html
"Today's Australian newspaper reports that the victim in the Aurukun case is "mildly intellectually impaired". It quotes a Department of Child Safety report from last May - a month after the rape - which describes the girl having gone to a clinic seeking a pregnancy test, telling staff she was having consensual sex, and requesting condoms".
Full disclosure? Maybe, but it also has the function of creating an impression in the minds of Herald readers, and adds credence to the judge's comments. How can a judge - ostensibly a reasonable, intelligent adult - possibly maintain that a child with a history of sexual abuse honestly makes an informed decision to consent to group sex? And even if this is the decision reached, how is her ruling possibly teaching the men/boys involved to take any responsibility for themselves and their behaviour? Oh right, they don't have to have any, that's our job. This makes me sick.
Meanwhile, lest anyone think this is just a minority-culture thing, I just remembered this recent article. It's about the American black-white divide but some parts also remind me of the Australian black-white divide:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120701615.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
"...In its coverage of the Pew report findings, National Public Radio asked whether some blacks were lagging behind because they were choosing not to become 'closer to whites in their values.' Unfortunately, this line of questioning reinforces one of the most persistent myths in America, that white is always right. The myth reflects an enduring double standard based on 'white' and 'black' explanations for social problems. And it assumes that 'white' culture is the gold standard for judging everyone, despite its competing ideologies, its contradictions and its flaws, including racism..."
I sent an e-mail, but honestly what is that going to do? When there is a brutal system that ALLOWS 10-year-olds to "agree" to gang sex, what is my e-mail going to do? This is just truly disgusting. At least PM Rudd is in charge and not that goodball Howard.
As an Australian I would just like to add my voice to the chorus that this is an absolute travesty of justice.
There are many Australians who think like me - I wouldn't want people to get the impression that we are all a bunch of redneck hicks.
Where did that judge get her law degree - a weet bix box?????
i agree with jessi, it makes me sick. with the boys who videotaped the assult on that girl were basically let off because they "have a bright future ahead of them"..
never mind these two girls could have had bright futures too.
and a 10 year old consenting, some on. whats going to happen next? will they feel bad for having a finger wagged at them and refrain from such disgusting acts against children?? because thats what she is, a little girl.
what sick fuck does that to a 10 year old?
i like the weet bix too media glutton,
but i'd go her kids happy meal for her law degree. cheap and nasty.
ahh sorry ladies, got the posts mixed up. syna and beppie. thinking, my name isnt syna...oops. :)
http://news.smh.com.au/gangrape-was-an-experiment-prosecutor/20071211-1g93.html
shit. I know this guy has to make a buck, but...
This case is disgusting! Its all over the papers and i just saw it on the news-on the news it reported the men ADMITTED THEY RAPED HER! and the judge still let them go-WTF? The only good thing is that this case has caused such an outrage its everywhere and hopefully justice will prevail. but what kind of world do we live in where men can be struck off for rape because *children* can apparently ask for sex?!
I feel ill.
There's a whole political connotation to this as well. The reporting by the Age talks about how the girl was safe with her non-indigenous(likely white) family and that the second attack occurred after she had been recklessly returned to the community.
In none of the stories I've read about this is there any comment from the community involved. The girl and her attackers are seem treated as things to be talked about rather than as people.
As utterly appalling as this story is, I'm concerned that some Australians might use this girl as a weapon against indigenous Australians and extend the intervention. I just hope the new Rudd government doesn't take the bait.
This child is a victim; she shouldn't be victimised a third time.
"In none of the stories I've read about this is there any comment from the community involved. The girl and her attackers are seem treated as things to be talked about rather than as people."
Depending on whether "the community involved" is Australia, all Australian Aborigines, or Aurukun, this link has 5, at least 1, or maybe 0 comments from the community involved:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7138295.stm
"As utterly appalling as this story is, I'm concerned that some Australians might use this girl as a weapon against indigenous Australians and extend the intervention."
Maybe fear of "extending the intervention" is why that judge didn't want to jail the rapists in the first place...
While this is a tragedy, I wish we would focus on this type of thing that happens in our own country.
Here is a list released from the white house the day after Clinton's presidency:
He Pardoned:
A list of the people pardoned or commuted Saturday before President Clinton left office, as released by the White House:
COMMUTATIONS:
Benjamin Berger
Ronald Henderson Blackley
Bert Wayne Bolan
Gloria Libia Camargo
Charles F. Campbell
David Ronald Chandler
Lau Ching Chin
Donald R. Clark
Loreta De-Ann Coffman
Derrick Curry
Velinda Desalus
Jacob Elbaum
Linda Sue Evans
Loretta Sharon Fish
Antoinette M. Frink
David Goldstein
Gerard A. Greenfield
Jodie E. Israel
Kimberly Johnson
Billy Thornton Langston Jr.
Belinda Lynn Lumpkin
Peter MacDonald
Kellie Ann Mann
Peter Ninemire
Hugh Ricardo Padmore
Arnold Paul Prosperi
Melvin J. Reynolds
Pedro Miguel Riveiro
Dorothy Rivers
Susan Rosenberg
Kalmen Stern
Cory Stringfellow
Carlo Anibal Vignali Jr.
Thomas Wilson Waddell III
Harvey Weinig
Kim Allen Willis
PARDONS:
Verla Jean Allen
Nicholas M. Altiere
Bernice Ruth Altschul
Joe Anderson Jr.
William Sterling Anderson
Mansour Azizkhani
Cleveland Victor Babin Jr.
Chris Harmon Bagley
Scott Lynn Bane
Thomas Cleveland Barber
Peggy Ann Bargon
David Roscoe Blampied
William Arthur Borders Jr.
Arthur David Borel
Douglas Chrles Borel
George Thomas Brabham
Almon Glenn Braswell
Leonard Browder
David Steven Brown
Delores Caroylene Burleson, aka Delores Cox Burleson
John H. Bustamante
Mary Louise Campbell
Eloida Candelaria
Dennis Sobrevinas Capili
Donna Denise Chambers
Douglas Eugene Chapman
Ronald Keith Chapman
Francisco Larois Chavez
Henry G. Cisneros
Roger Clinton
Stuart Harris Cohn
David Marc Cooper
Ernest Harley Cox Jr.
John F. Cross Jr.
Reickey Lee Cunningham
Richard Anthony De Labio
John Deutch
Richard Douglas
Edward Reynolds Downe
Marvin Dean Dudley
Larry Lee Duncan
Robert Clinton Fain
Marcos Arcenio Fernandez
Alvarez Ferrouillet
William Dennis Fugazy
Lloyd Reid George
Louis Goldstein
Rubye Lee Gordon
Pincus Green
Robert Ivey Hamner
Samuel Price Handley
Woodie Randolph Handley
Jay Houston Harmon
John Hummingson
David S. Herdlinger
Debi Rae Huckleberry
Donald Ray James
Stanley Pruet Jobe
Ruben H. Johnson
Linda Jones
James Howard Lake
June Louise Lewis
Salim Bonnor Lewis
John Leighton Lodwick
Hildebrando Lopez
Jose Julio Luaces
James Timothy Maness
James Lowell Manning
John Robert Martin
Frank Ayala Martinez
Silvia Leticia Beltran Martinez
John Francis McCormick
Susan H. McDougal
Howard Lawrence Mechanic
Brook K. Mitchell Sr.
Samuel Loring Morison
Charles Wilfred Morgan III
Richard Anthony Nazzaro
Charlene Ann Nosenko
Vernon Raymond Obermeier
Miguelina Ogalde
David C. Owen
Robert W. Palmer
Kelli Anne Perhosky
Richard H. Pezzopane
Orville Rex Phillips
Vinson Stewart Poling Jr.
Norman Lyle Prouse
Willie H.H. Pruitt Jr.
Danny Martin Pursley Sr.
Charles D. Ravenel
William Clyde Ray
Alfredo Luna Regalado
Ildefonso Reynes Ricafort
Marc Rich
Howard Winfield Riddle
Richard Wilson Riley Jr.
Samuel Lee Robbins
Joel Gonzales Rodriguez
Michael James Rogers
Anna Louise Ross
Gerald Glen Rust
Jerri Ann Rust
Bettye June Rutherford
Gregory Lee Sands
Adolph Schwimmer
Albert A. Seretti Jr.
Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw
Dennis Joseph Smith
Gerald Owen Smith
Stephen A. Smith
Jimmie Lee Speake
Charles Bernard Stewart
Marlena Francisca Stewart-Rollins
John Fife Symington III
Richard Lee Tannehill
Nicholas C. Tenaglia
Gary Allen Thomas
Larry Weldon Todd
Olga C. Trevino
Ignatious Vamvouklis
Patricia A. Van De Weerd
Christopher V. Wade
Bill Wayne Warmath
Jack Kenneth Watson
Donna Lynn Webb
Donald William Wells
Robert H. Wendt
Jack L. Williams
Kavin Arthur Williams
Robert Michael Williams
Jimmie Lee Wilson
Thelma Louise Wingate
Mitchell Couey Wood
Warren Stannard Wood
Dewey Worthey
Rick Allen Yale
Joseph A. Yasak
William Stanley Yingling
Phillip David Young
If you google some of the names, many of them were convicted rapists.
I wonder how much money he got for that.
FYI--thank goddess.
"Prosecutor in Aborigine Rape Case suspended"
http://feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=10710
The subjugation of aboriginal girls/women and victim blaming in the criminal justice system is hardly new. Found this link on danah boyd's blog, apophenia.
(November 29 2002)
"Judge Rules Rape of Aboriginal Girl 'Traditional'"
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/1126