This article focuses on a recent sexual assault case and the comments made by the presiding trial judge. The judge in question, Judge Robin Camp, acquitted a man accused of sexually assaulting a 19 year-old woman because he believed that the woman did not resist enough to warrant lack of consent. This decision was later overturned by the Alberta Court of Appeal on the grounds that Judge Robin Camp was ignorant regarding the notion of consent and based his decision on myths of rape. Judge Robin Camp was seen to place blame for the sexual assault on the victim and trivialized her trauma by insinuating that the assault may have only been some rough play. He was eventually thrown off the bench for his conduct and is currently pleading to the Canadian Judicial Council in order to properly hear his argument. The article further discusses how Judge Robin Camp may not be the only judge that has relied on stereotypical myths regarding sexual assault in their decisions. The article concluded with a statement by Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen in which he stated that Judge Robin Camp’s behavior was in direct contrast to the principles of the criminal justice system and therefore should be removed from his judicial role.
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Reaction to the Article I found this article to be a fitting representation of some of the stereotypical myths discussed in the course and “The Mythology of Crime and Criminal justice” textbook.
In particular the article exemplifies rape myths through the comments of Judge Robin Camp in which he argued that the victim enjoyed the rape and did not keep her “knees together”. I think that his views are highly prejudiced and ignorant of the realities of sexual assault. As such, I agree with the decision made by the disciplinary panel to remove Judge Robin Camp from his position as a judge. No matter how much he apologizes for his actions now, his comments were in direct opposition to the tenets of a fair and legal criminal justice system, and thus he should be
punished. After reading this article I was surprised that a judge presiding over matters of criminal justice would have such biased and stereotypical views of sexual assault. Even criminology students seem to have a better grasp of these myths and stereotypes than trained professionals who have the responsibility to preside over the fate of citizens. This raises the question that if even representatives of our criminal justice system have such ignorant views, how can we expect the general public to be aware of the truth of these myths. Another question I have after reading the article is whether the Canadian Judicial Council is going to implement some sort of mandatory education on sexual assault myths in light of the knowledge that Judge Robert Camp is not the only judge to rely on myths and stereotypes. I think that the media is primarily to blame for perpetuating and continuing rape myths and stereotypes. Given the popularity of the mass media, they play an integral role in the construction of both public opinion and the public ‘reality’ of crimes like rape. Most individuals do not have any direct experience with the criminal justice system so their only source of information on this topic is the media. I have watched certain television shows which portray female characters lying about being raped or exaggerating what happened in order to gain some benefit. These misleading portrayals promote a skewed view of women and rape and therefore lead to crime myths as depicted in media rather than reality.
In the Chinese detective novel, Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, a view into the Chinese judicial system during the Tang dynasty is provided. After reading the novel, one finds that the Chinese judicial system worked in similar but also in different ways compared to modern day judicial systems around the world. In order to notice this correlation, this paper will analyze the responsibilities and measurements the judge had to undergo in order to solve the crimes that occurred in his district. The judge or magistrate during the Tang dynasty had a lot of power, “this government official united in his person the functions of judge, jury, prosecutor and detective” (IX). Judges had full responsibility and authority over all phases of the life of the
Since the second wave of feminism in the 1960’s women have demanded for equality rights. The R V. Ewanchuck case created many disagreement’s with feminists on the topic of rape myths. It has not only been seen as a precedent for the criminal law but as well an eye opener for the society to create awareness for this act. Since society continues to support most rape myths, it overlooks the act itself and puts the blame and responsibility on the victim as opposed to the perpetrator. This has created a rape culture within society. The term rape culture was created to demonstrate the ways in which victims were blamed for sexual assault, and how male sexual violence was normalized. Feminists are exploring the world of rape myths in Canadian law
In an express recognition that every sexual harassment case is likely to be profoundly circumstance-driven, Mansfield J appropriately focused on assessing the credibility of the witness, whether the alleged event did in fact occur, and whether it occurred in the way which she alleged it occurred, with a range of evidence before him. Some of the alleged conducts were directly denied: with regard to an April 2005 allegation concerning A Hickinbotham, after assessing the ‘reasonable’ time period in which the incident should have been reported given the surrounding circumstances (e.g. Poniatowska’s position at work), the judge rejected her claim on ground of the significant delay in reporting the incident. Reasonableness was again considered in dealing with a September 2005 allegation concernin...
The trial of 19 year old Owen Laurie has brought into light the alarming rate in which Sexual assault is rising. The issue that rages on in Colleges is said to be making its way to high schools and primary school. In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Division of Violence Prevention, 19% of Undergraduate women experienced
How to appropriately and fairly carry out criminal justice matters is something that every country struggles with. A major reason for this struggle is the fallibility of the justice system. It is acceptable to concede that the possibility of human error in every case and investigation may lead to a wrongful conviction. In the case of David Milgaard, however, Canada's Criminal Justice System not only erred, but failed grievously, resulting in millions of dollars wasted, in a loss of public confidence in the system, and most tragically, in the robbery of two decades of one man's life. Factors including, but not limited to, the social context at the time of the crime, the social perception of deviance, the influence of the media, and the misconduct of investigating police and prosecution played a substantial role in the subsequent miscarriage of justice.
David Milgaard’s story is one of the most striking and well know representation of wrongful conviction as it happened right here in Saskatoon. Even further than that his case has been called “one of the most famous examples of wrongful conviction in Canada” (CBC News, 2011). In January of 1970, 17-year-old ...
Maidment, M. (2009). When justice is a game: Unravelling wrongful convictions in Canada. Canada: Fernwood Publishing.
Cole, D. P. (2008). A Day in the Life of a Judge. In Criminal Justice in Canada: a Reader (3rd ed., pp. 59-75). Toronto: Thomson Nelson.
...ough group and individual models of deviant behaviour. The patriarchal pedagogy and structures that set the stage for permitting sexual assault to occur historically, still continue today, although in more subtle ways. Women are still seen as the property of men, and are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today's world. Men are usually in power positions, especially of an economic nature, and women are seen as passive. Marxist-feminist and differential identification are two theories that can be used to effectively explicate the cycle of sexualized violence in Canadian society today. In order to deal with the occurrence of sexual assault in our society, we must examine its causes more deeply. We must understand the sociology of sexualized violence in order to effectively explicate its groups and individual dynamics.
Barristers' Perspectives on Rape and the Sexual Offences Act 2003 - (2010) 174 JPN 47
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
The American judicial system should be held to a higher standard and should be strict in cases concerning sexual assault. Without repercussions, this young man is not learning from the experience that wrongful actions have serious consequences.”
To comprehend the underlying levels of conviction, there are unfortunate factors from the police, the criminal justice system, the probability of evidence and issue of consent that make convictions immensely difficult to prove. This essay will investigate those measures showing the contrasts of rape and why it is tricky to prove rape occurred without consent, without any corroborative evidence, attitudes of police towards rape victims, the victims withdrawing their report due to personal circumstances and the handling of victims in court, that lead to many offenders having a non-custodial sentence or being acquitted of a rape charge. In the first paragraph, I will explain what constitutes rape and the variations of relationships in which rape is committed. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (the Act) came into force on the 1st May 2004. The purpose of the Act was to strengthen and modernise the law on sexual offences, whilst improving preventative measures and the protection of individuals from sexual offenders.
“Rape and Sexual Violence Are Serious Problems.” Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 2008. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
Victims who were under the influence may feel as though their report won’t be validated since they chose to go out and chose to get drunk. Judge Lindsay Kushner made the claim that, “yes, you can drink yourself daft and you can use your body how you want, but if you do you are more likely to get raped.” But what must be noted is that the victim did not choose to get raped and the intent of rape ultimately lies with the perpetrator. This point of view emphasizes the traditional ideology of gender roles in sexual assault cases when women are the