Yet again, the system punishes rape victims.

[la_marquise]

This report is unspeakable: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-11707903
Here we have a woman punished for being intimidated by her rapist. It's clear that the judge in the case believed that her allegation of rape was genuine, but he and the prosecutors still value public male time more than her safety, her mental health or her well-being.

Comments

[ex-triciasu.livejournal.com]

Rrrrgggggh...shows a total lack of understanding of what domestic violence is. What a jackass of a judge--but also, why is the system set up so that a victim can fall into a situation like this at all?

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

This is indeed outrageous.

There is no doubt, of course, that she is technically guilty as charged.

However, there was no reason to prosecute her in the first place and certainly no reason to give her a custodial sentence! What earthly good does it do? I presume they want to deter people from withdrawing charges - but it won't! It'll just deter women from reporting rape in the first place.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

I am flabbergasted by this: what possible public interest is there in bringing such a prosecution?

If this is meant to be some sort of crude push at discouraging women from withdrawing allegations of rape then it is deeply misguided. Saying "he might beat you up, but we'll throw you in prison" is just going to deter women from making complaints of rape in the first place.

[andrewducker]

That was my feeling. I can see that _technically_ she perverted the course of justice, but I cannot see how charging her helps with anything at all.

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Outrageous.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

...

...

...Nope. I got nothing fit to print. That's freaking cruel and insane.

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

Depressingly, it's probably a longer sentence that he'll get if found guilty...

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

There's no way she should have been jailed and it makes me angry that someone like this gets a stiff sentence whereas convicted rapists often don't.

It's not clear to me whether she is actually someone who is being intimidated by her rapist or not - round here, accusing your other half of rape or, preferably, child abuse, and then retracting it when s/he has been put through a certain aoutn of hassle, is a standard tactic for both sexes. Being sent to jail for that is a waste of everyone's time, though.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

"amount". Sorry - keyboard went awry.

[celestinenox]

Holy shit. Sorry for the language, but... holy shit.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

I know precisely what you mean. That was my reaction, too.

[stina-leicht.livejournal.com]

good grief. really? every time i think texas is backward and stupid i see something like this and understand it's everywhere. bleh.

[dorispossum.livejournal.com]

This is, indeed, an outrage.

Suggest all those here who agree, do at least one of the following:

Make a donation to Rape Crisis - they DESPERATELY need it. Details of how to here: http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/

Copy what you just posted here, into an email. Send it to those who brought this prosecution, ie:
Dyfed-Powys police - psd@dyfed-powys.pnn.police.uk
(Website http://www.dyfed-powys.police.uk/en/ )
Crown Prosecution Service (via http://www.cps.gov.uk/contact/ )

Let them know how you feel - it may be a deterrant to their doing it to somebody else.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

I've written to the CPS. We'll see what that leads to. Sadly, the least surprising element to me is where this has happened.

[dorispossum.livejournal.com]

Don't know that area at all well, but interesting to hear that.

Also, probably right to focus protest on CPS, as they make the decisions. Just also annoyed at comments made by the D&P spokesperson in article!

[dorispossum.livejournal.com]

have also just written to CPS.

[dorispossum.livejournal.com]

And - interestingly - they chose NOT to prosecute the husband and sister-in-law responsible for pressuring the woman into withdrawing the allegation. Even though, last time I looked, it pressuring witnesses is PRECISELY the problem 'conspiracy to pervert' law is supposed to tackle.

Misogynist AND lazy.

[stevegreen.livejournal.com]

I saw this earlier, thanks to andrewducker. Disgusting.

[mojave-wolf.livejournal.com]

I shall not horrify you by discussing the exact details of how the judge and prosecutors need to die, and just express complete agreement with you.

Sadly, this sort of attitude is prevalent in many places:

http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2010/11/bullied-to-death.html

"Samantha Kelly endured merciless taunting from classmates after they learned that the high school freshman had accused a senior of rape.

The weeks of harassment eventually became too much. Samantha went home from school Monday and hanged herself in this community southwest of Detroit.

With their key witness dead, prosecutors on Wednesday dropped criminal charges against the older student, saying they had no case without the accuser's testimony ..."

That's interesting. Because Kelly was 14 and the accused rapist, Joseph Tarnopolski, is 18, and, when the alleged assault was originally reported, "it was considered a statutory rape case, meaning the pair had consensual sex but that she was under the age of consent." Tarnopolski does not deny having a sexual interaction with Kelly, but claims it was a "mutual thing."

Which seems to suggest that prosecutors could still pursue a statutory rape case, even if they cannot pursue it as a more serious sexual assault charge. But I guess the crime doesn't matter now that the victim's dead. Good thing they don't apply the same standards to murder cases.

Meanwhile, this case reveals that US educators still have a metric fuckton to learn about how to assess bullying and harassment in schools:

"Principal Donovan Rowe said school officials investigated the alleged bullying and found nothing overt. Rowe said on occasion he walked behind Samantha as she went from class to class and witnessed no harassment."

You say no students harassed her while the principal was trailing behind her? Fascinating. What a revelation.

I would love to see this case open up a national conversation about talking rape accusations seriously, about victim-blaming, about victim-shaming and -silencing, the way that we've begun a national conversation about anti-gay bulling. But I suspect that's not going to happen.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Too many girls and women are still suffering in this way in too many places. But it's never a major enough issue to those in power.

[dorispossum.livejournal.com]

Got this from CPS after writing:

"Thank you for your correspondence and I note what you say therein.

I would like to reassure you that Dyfed Powys Crown Prosecution Service takes issues surrounding sexual offences, domestic violence and abuse of vulnerable and intimidated individuals very seriously.

Dyfed Powys heads the way in England and Wales with a number of rape cases that it prosecutes in proportion to the total number of cases it prosecutes in the Crown Court. A substantial amount of time and effort has been invested both internally and with the Police to ensure that investigations and prosecutions are conducted thoroughly and professionally with specific appropriate care being given to complainants. I appreciate that this case, on the face of it, provides some concerning headlines. Currently, I understand an appeal is being considered and, therefore, it would be inappropriate for me to comment upon the details of the case in any way.

I am currently addressing the issues in this matter with the Police and, if there are issues or lessons to be learnt from the prosecution, I will actively take these forward.

I am grateful to you for your time in providing this feedback to us and it is always the case that such comments are considered seriously and with other Prosecutors so that the public’s view informs the decision making of our Service."

A standard reply, but "I appreciate that this case, on the face of it, provides some concerning headlines" indicates that the writing to them is at least making them pay attention. Might make them think before doing this again?

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

She has now been freed after an appeal.

It's taken over a fortnight, although that is very fast as such things go. That, and the fact that the Lord Chief Justice heard the appeal, suggest that this caused deep concern in the legal system - as it should have.

It still doesn't explain why it happened in the first place.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

That's excellent news: thank you!