Lonan3 Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 I was reading a story on BBC news ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4209134.stm ) about the appointment of John Roberts as the US chief justice when I cam across some statistics that really stunned me: "...the country's principal law-making body, Congress, spent four years listening to testimony from victims of rape and domestic violence, backed up by reports from law enforcement agencies, physicians, and federal and state officials. A shameful scene was revealed. An estimated four million American women are battered each year by their husbands or partners; rape has risen four times as fast as the national crime rate and half a million girls will be raped before they graduate. Yet many state courts have been soft on rapists. About a quarter of convicted rapists never go to prison and another quarter get off with less than a year in jail. Forty one per cent of judges believe juries give sexual assault victims less credibility than other crime victims." Can anyone look at that figure at not be utterly amazed and dismayed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesemonster2005 Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Yet many state courts have been soft on rapists. About a quarter of convicted rapists never go to prison and another quarter get off with less than a year in jail. Forty one per cent of judges believe juries give sexual assault victims less credibility than other crime victims." Can anyone look at that figure at not be utterly amazed and dismayed? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It's a sad and amazing figure. I don't understand why the sentences are so low for this crime in America. Usually other crimes may end up with a reduced sentence after a plea-bargain for information or 'bigger fish' but I don't see how it would be possible in the case of rape. America - the land of the free and scared Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minxie Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 I was watching the news this evening and there was a bit about some British families who had managed to escape the disaster in New Orleans. One of them was saying how they had been trapped in their hotel, and as the police were going past in their boat some girls from the hotel were calling them to help. The police said to the girls to lift up their tops and "give them something to look at". When the girls refused the police just sailed off. If that is the attitude of the Law in America then heaven help them!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 Hmm! I think a lot of us have been thinking that way for some years now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButterflyMaiden Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 I don't understand why the sentences are so low for this crime in America. Usually other crimes may end up with a reduced sentence after a plea-bargain for information or 'bigger fish' but I don't see how it would be possible in the case of rape.America - the land of the free and scared <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The US seems to have a high tolerance towards crimes against women. This isnt new, Kinsey, for example, found some level of violence inside relationships, including marital rape, was so common in the US, he classified it as normative behaviour. However, I do believe the situation has improved slightly ..it will probably take a long time. It is difficult, anyhow, anywhere,including the UK,to persuade the authorities to take allegations of sexual assault seriously.This is, presumably, because most assaults take place in private and it is difficult to match the requirements of proof required for criminal law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted September 7, 2005 Author Share Posted September 7, 2005 The example given in that same article tends to say a lot about 'values' "...a few weeks after her 18th birthday, Christy was devastated. An innocent kiss turned into a brutal gang rape by Virginia Tech football players led by one Antonio Morrison. When she pressed charges through the university's judicial system, the jocks on campus were hostile. Football matters such a lot in American colleges.... Virginia Tech administrators considered the allegations of rape strongest against Morrison and suspended him for two terms. Morrison's family appealed, claiming he was being treated unfairly because he was black. The university's provost - a woman - decided his punishment was excessive. She allowed him back on campus and into the team." And I have to say that I don't believe for one moment that such attitudes are restricted to the USA, I think we all live in a society in which 'pragmatism' often takes precedence over morals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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