I'm so sorry that you went through that Nikki but also so glad that you survived and have come through to be a strong lady and a great lawyer. You are an inspiration who shows what they take from you isn't the final chapter in your life.![]()
I'm so sorry that you went through that Nikki but also so glad that you survived and have come through to be a strong lady and a great lawyer. You are an inspiration who shows what they take from you isn't the final chapter in your life.![]()
I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me. Hunter S Thompson
How big would a T-Rex wang be?! - Karistiona
See, this is why A*O's mentality doesn't work, and it baffles me that she could see it in such black & white terms. Telling people to just get over it--the shame, humiliation, fear brought on by rape...it's unrealistic and very cold. Yes, it works against their best interest and securing a conviction but those three things are so very powerful. It's very, very difficult to get over that and most humans just don't work like that.
I'm not saying that AT ALL. My point is that it IS a grey area but as things stand anyone who makes allegations of sexual assault are automatically given the benefit of the doubt and the accused are automatically deemed guilty. Many are guilty but many aren't as Nikki says. And once you've been tainted with that unproven accusation the mud sticks after trial by media.
Of course rape victims shouldn't be expected to "get over it" but if they want justice and closure they have to take back control from their attacker and go to the police. Waiting 40 years to participate in a high profile trial with a celebrity defendant and surrounding media circus is fraught with problems.
Rolf Harris is alleged to have had a long sexual relationship with a friend of his daughters. He says it was consensual and she was over 18. She says it wasn't. Either way Harris wrote to the accusers father (letter produced in court) apologising for his conduct yet the father did nothing about it unto now. What's his role in this? More grey.
As it happens I think Rolf Harris probably does have a case to answer but I'd prefer to let the jury decide his fate, not the Daily Mail. The media whips up this lynch mob mentality where the facts come second to a good headline and it's a toxic atmosphere in which to conduct a serious, objective legal process. I still say the accused are entitled to the protection of anonymity just like their accusers and if they are found Guilty then by all means set the media dogs on them but not before.
If all the women in this place were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be surprised - Dorothy Parker
I have to disagree. I think when the accused is in a position of power, the victim is not given the benefit of the doubt. Because as we've heard with many of these high profile cases, there were victims who tried to come forward and were either not believed or told to keep quiet. I think more often the public and the media assume the victim is after a payout and have very little sympathy, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. It took decades for the Catholic church to address the abuse going on in its parishes. It took a 60 year sentence for many to believe Sandusky was a predator. Many still don't think Michael Jackson was a pedophile. We hear so many stories of celebrities being extorted or threatened with some kind of "exposure" that often it seems the default response when they are accused of wrongdoing is doubt. Especially when they are, like Savile and Sandusky and Jackson, highly respected and beloved.
Not to mention the resources at their disposal, versus the average person. They bring in high-powered attorneys and esteemed colleagues to vouch for them. On top of the trauma of the abuse itself, the fear of going up against someone with so much power has to be incredibly intimidating.
My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes.- Douglas Adams
I guess I'm looking at this with my lawyer's head instead of my woman's heart. Let's see what happens.
If all the women in this place were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be surprised - Dorothy Parker
^^^^ I do see your point about trying decades old cases, though. My point was mostly about sexual abuse involving children, which I don't think can be treated like all other crimes. Delayed reporting is so prevalent that I think the majority of crimes would go unpunished if we put a window around them. As far as the anonymity of the accused, I tend to agree. I think information gets out on both ends no matter what, but I don't necessarily agree that the media should be invited in the courtroom. Even if I totally watch.
My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes.- Douglas Adams
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