Letters to the Editor
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not pertaining to the main problem but...
There is a great deal of fraught history when it comes to taking Aboriginal children out of Aboriginal settlements and into white households -- it was basically Australian government policy for much of the 20th century, now widely seen as an attempt at a sort of soft genocide against the Aborgines. See Wikipedia's Stolen Generation article for more info.
One thing I've seen noted in other articles about this case is that the perpetrators were part of high-status families within local Aboriginal society, whereas the girl was from a low-status family. I wonder how much the judge was trying to defer to local power structures.
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Disgraceful, to say the least.
Well, I guess Judge Sarah Bradley has become prime candidate for asshole of the day award, and should be considered as a nomination for asshole of the year!
I wonder if Judge Sarah Bradley ever even bothered to look at the 10 year old girl, before she decided to hand out slaps on the wrist to the 9 guilty individuals of the girl's sexual torture?
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not just the judge, but he prosecution at fault as well
Perhaps the most damning aspect of this case is not so much that it is a case of a misinformed and quite bizzare judge, but rather the prosecution didn't try and make a real case.
Australian law does no recognise that a person UNDER THE AGE OF 12 can legally give consent. Thus, even if the 10 year old gave some sort of verbal consent, it is legally impossible in Australia for her to have actually consented. Why didn't the prosecution raise this? Why didn't they appeal the case? Why, when this happened in 2006, is it only now coming to light in the Australian media (at the tail end of 2007)?
Some media outlets are painting this as a picture of a rogue judge making a serious error of judgement. It is much more than that. It is a state prosecutor who couldn't have given a rat's ass. It is a society where Aboriginal children are victims of child abuse (sexual and violent) at staggering rates. It is a state government with no interest in following things up until they have to because of a media firestorm.
The judge's ruling sickens me, but the complicentcy of the prosecution sickens me more. This girl was failed at multiple levels of the justice system, even to the extent that they may not be able to retry the youths since the state was so late in acting (there is a 2 year statue of limitations of sorts I believe).
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Saudi Australia
What, she isn't getting 90 lashes as well? Will her sentence be increased for getting the papers involved? Are you sure this judge isn't bucking for a position on the Saudi bar?
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that poor girl
i hope she finds happiness. she certainly has suffered enough.
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Enough to make you weep...
We just can't seems to make any progress towards addressing the endemic problems in our Aboriginal communities here in Australia. Our attitude towards has almost always been the worst combination of charity and neglect, and these sort of terrible situations - which aren't uncommon - can only be seen as the result of that.
As for the judgement, here's a excerpt from a speech Bradley gave in 2006:
"For those of us who are convinced of the benefits of applying Restorative Justice principles when sentencing, the current political and community climate presents challenges. There is an obvious tension between an instinctive attraction towards the application of Restorative Justice principles and the pressure through the media of political and community perceptions that the system is 'soft' on criminals and sentences too light."
There's obviously a lot of pressure on judges to find alternatives to incarcerating Aboriginal offenders, but in this case... where's the justice?
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Way to avoid mentioning
That the perpetrators where Aboriginal as well - was the cognitive dissonance too much?
Additionally this isn't some rednecked racist judge indulging in "Shameful neglect" - in the past she has been cited for her close connections with the aboriginal community and empathy for the aboriginal culture. This was a screwed up "cultural relativity" judgement.
The wider Australian culture has been shocked by this and is calling for an appeal, backed by the state premier and the prime minister (Rudd now, not Howard, thank god).
Aboriginal elders in the north, particularly the ones involved in the political process have a long history of abuse and corruption.
Do some reading before you jump to conclusions in the future. You're as bad as the neocons for projecting your own prejudices.
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Fair Game
One of the things that puzzles (tortures) people who work with victims of sexual abuse is how often those victims are re-abused. Young children can be inappropriately sexualized by abuse. They can be made to believe that there is something tainted or bad about them. They can be told that they asked for or encouraged their own victimization. Furthermore, perpetrators know well that victims who have been raped/abused in the past are more likely to be considered untruthful when they report again.
Today, I have been reading the book Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer about the murder or a mother and her child by Mormon Fundamentalists. The provide background to what it is like to live in an FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints) settlement, Krakauer interviewed Debbie Oler Blackmore Ralston Palmer about growing up in Bountiful where the families practiced polygamy. Prevention of sexual abuse is largely a matter of maintaining boundaries. Communities which are isolated, different, and which push certain conventional boundaries are more likely to have more sexual abuse. Debbie's sexual exploitation began as at age began at age four with a stick thrust into her vagina and sexually assaulted again at age six. She became a rebellions outspoken girl. She was married at age fifteen and widowed at nineteen. As an adult, when she was ill and drugged, her own father had sex with her and "she made no effort to stop him." She finally left the FLDS community when the community leader order her to turn over her daughter (who happened to be the community leaders half sister) over to him.
Girls and women who are treated in this manner actually think that they have no right to say no. Often they actually mentally dissociate during sexual assaults.
Who is prosecuted and who is considered to be a legimate victim in all cultures -- even our own -- depends upon who has means, who holds authority, and who has power. Naturally almost any adult has power over a child. There is no such thing as true consent when you have a child of that age.
It is really an ugly system. Sexually assault someone. Say it is their fault that you assaulted them and then punish them for the assault. After that, they may be labeled as dirty whores, as fair game. When the courts do it, it is just an assertion of the powerful over the powerless.
Or as one of our past contributers would have said: Bend Over.