Silenced for far too long - STOP the insanity
Ida Caddock...never heard of her, you should. Even if we go back to 1899, throughout history, brave, courageous women have been having their day. Speaking up and speaking out about the inequalities and lack of justice for women. I hear it all the time about the laws which are designed to protect women, yes we have laws, but do they work...absolutely not for the majority of victims of crime and for a large majority of women. Tell that to the women who have lost their lives in domestic violence crimes as if apprehended violence orders are a magic shield to protect women and their children from abusive, violent partners.
Law....... a system of words, placed on paper upheld by a patriarchial judicial system. Laws many of which designed by men and implemented by men. Believe me I am not on an anti-male campaign...far from it, I'm married, I have children, Sons, a father, a brother, male friends. The fact is a minority of the male population of men are perpetrators of violent crimes against women....what we need is the majority of the male population to speak up and speak out against violence against women.
Special Agent of the Post Office in New York - Anthony Comstock took it upon himself to uphold the values/laws of the day by having Ida Caddock charged for producing brochures for women called 'Right Marital Living', suggesting an indictment of rape in marriage.
In Australia it wasn't until Roma Mitchell (First Australian female Judge - South Australia) was appointed in 1965 and then another 11 years later (1976 for goodness sake !!) when the law was changed to include rape in marriage as a crime of violence.
Despite this change it made absolutely no difference in the South Australian court during a rape trial in 1992, where a Supreme Court Judge, whose education presumably founded in the days of Sir Matthew Hale in 1736, when women were considered 'property' of their husband's and as such had no right to deny any of her husband's advances.
Judge Bollen goes on to state in his closing
"There is, of course, nothing wrong with a husband, faced with his wife's initial refusal to engage in intercourse, in attempting, in an acceptable way, to persuade her to change her mind, and that may involve a measure of rougher than usual handling. It may be that handling and persuasion will persuade the wife to agree. Sometimes it is a fine line between not agreeing, then changing of the mind, and consenting ..." (R v Johns, Supreme Court, SA No. SCCRM/91/452, 26 August 1992)
As for Ida Caddock, Comstock went on to pursue his claim that the woman was mad and on locking her away once again, refused to allow her out without her pleading to insanity. On the morning of her sentencing she slashed her wrist, leaving a note, in a desperate plea to people to stop the injustices against women.
A short while ago I was visited my a well meaning christian door knocker, it was one of those days..you know one of those days when you realllllllly....don't mind the intrusion into your home, when you just have the baby asleep, about the site down for 5 minutes etc. I thought how harmless could a little chat be? I heard claims by a woman, that women, have so much to answer for with all the problems in the world, how much Eve is to blame for starting it all when she manipulated Adam in the Garden of Eden, if it weren't for Eve, imagine where we could be today!....Oh please....One could take the other perspective (heaven forbid?), what kind of man was Adam, what type of intelligence must he have been provided with, with no ability to question, decide for himself - let alone have self control.
Women are still believing that "giving in" to their partner's advances, just "taking it" letting him "have what he wants" they will have peace. There will be NO PEACE when women feel it is their responsbility to surrender their rights as human beings to a violent free home, a violent free community and a violent free world. There will be NO PEACE when women are not safe, when their GOD given right to freedom and justice are ignored, when the laws, underpinned by faith and justice, continue to be ignored.
We must restore the right of EVERY single person to Human Rights. The right to say "no" and be heard, the right to walk safely home, the right to live in a safe home, the right as children to grow, play, laugh and have fun, the right to go out, enjoy ourselves. Which brings us always back to the same legal crap of consent, is it not the right of the individual to verbalise their consent freely, without intimidation, harrassment or fear? Without influence of drugs, alcohol or disability? If there is no verbal consent how can the law continue to protect perpetrators? That is another blog altogether.
Law....... a system of words, placed on paper upheld by a patriarchial judicial system. Laws many of which designed by men and implemented by men. Believe me I am not on an anti-male campaign...far from it, I'm married, I have children, Sons, a father, a brother, male friends. The fact is a minority of the male population of men are perpetrators of violent crimes against women....what we need is the majority of the male population to speak up and speak out against violence against women.
Special Agent of the Post Office in New York - Anthony Comstock took it upon himself to uphold the values/laws of the day by having Ida Caddock charged for producing brochures for women called 'Right Marital Living', suggesting an indictment of rape in marriage.
In Australia it wasn't until Roma Mitchell (First Australian female Judge - South Australia) was appointed in 1965 and then another 11 years later (1976 for goodness sake !!) when the law was changed to include rape in marriage as a crime of violence.
Despite this change it made absolutely no difference in the South Australian court during a rape trial in 1992, where a Supreme Court Judge, whose education presumably founded in the days of Sir Matthew Hale in 1736, when women were considered 'property' of their husband's and as such had no right to deny any of her husband's advances.
Judge Bollen goes on to state in his closing
"There is, of course, nothing wrong with a husband, faced with his wife's initial refusal to engage in intercourse, in attempting, in an acceptable way, to persuade her to change her mind, and that may involve a measure of rougher than usual handling. It may be that handling and persuasion will persuade the wife to agree. Sometimes it is a fine line between not agreeing, then changing of the mind, and consenting ..." (R v Johns, Supreme Court, SA No. SCCRM/91/452, 26 August 1992)
As for Ida Caddock, Comstock went on to pursue his claim that the woman was mad and on locking her away once again, refused to allow her out without her pleading to insanity. On the morning of her sentencing she slashed her wrist, leaving a note, in a desperate plea to people to stop the injustices against women.
A short while ago I was visited my a well meaning christian door knocker, it was one of those days..you know one of those days when you realllllllly....don't mind the intrusion into your home, when you just have the baby asleep, about the site down for 5 minutes etc. I thought how harmless could a little chat be? I heard claims by a woman, that women, have so much to answer for with all the problems in the world, how much Eve is to blame for starting it all when she manipulated Adam in the Garden of Eden, if it weren't for Eve, imagine where we could be today!....Oh please....One could take the other perspective (heaven forbid?), what kind of man was Adam, what type of intelligence must he have been provided with, with no ability to question, decide for himself - let alone have self control.
Women are still believing that "giving in" to their partner's advances, just "taking it" letting him "have what he wants" they will have peace. There will be NO PEACE when women feel it is their responsbility to surrender their rights as human beings to a violent free home, a violent free community and a violent free world. There will be NO PEACE when women are not safe, when their GOD given right to freedom and justice are ignored, when the laws, underpinned by faith and justice, continue to be ignored.
We must restore the right of EVERY single person to Human Rights. The right to say "no" and be heard, the right to walk safely home, the right to live in a safe home, the right as children to grow, play, laugh and have fun, the right to go out, enjoy ourselves. Which brings us always back to the same legal crap of consent, is it not the right of the individual to verbalise their consent freely, without intimidation, harrassment or fear? Without influence of drugs, alcohol or disability? If there is no verbal consent how can the law continue to protect perpetrators? That is another blog altogether.
posted by Surviving @ 2:51:00 pm
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