Rape survivor jailed in Scotland

Just to share some wackitude from across the Pond: a rape survivor was thrown into the clink (or as they call is in the U.K., became a “guest of the Queen”) when she left the witness stand.

Ann Robertson was unable to complete her testimony against George Cummings. Cummings was found guilty of sexually assaulting his two nieces back in the 1970s, but not charged with Robertson’s rape. According to Robertson, when she refused to return to the stand, the judge said, “…’well maybe a night in the cells will calm you down.”<teeth grinding>

Robertson waived her right to anonymity so that she can pursue having the judge, Roger Craik, investigated. I would vote for putting his ass under the jail.

I have many of these “WTF?!” moments in the U.K.I can’t even try to spin this into something remotely positive or with potential for resistance because the article from the BBC ends with this: “Figures show that of the 922 allegations of rape in Scotland last year, only 27 resulted in convictions. ” Let’s use the term “conviction” sparingly, shall we? In this case, Cummings got three and a half years jail time for his geezer perv ways.

I’m just gonna go over there in the corner and cuss like a cartoon character…sassum frassum rassum!

U.K. media’s coverage of sexual assault

There’s a lot about the U.K.’s laws around sexual assault that I find incomprehensible. Rules about whether it’s permissible to enter victim’s sexual history into court proceedings still seem outdated to me. And the U.K. media provides little to no insights into the ethics of reporting on sexual assault.

Take, for instance, the recent conviction of nine young men between the ages of 14 and 17 for the rape of a 14-year-old neighbor on their east London council estate (i.e. housing estate/projects). I’ll say outright that what happened to this young woman is reprehensible, but as I attempt to follow the case and parse the subtext, I get increasingly apoplectic. In an extensive interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today program, the survivor described what happened last April when she was attacked and the aftermath.

Kris Kringle & emergency contraception

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) is likely well-intentioned in advising women to stock up on the emergency birth control pill, so as not to get caught out over the holidays. Alas, the advert is, in my opinion, misguided and distracts from the BPAS’ offer of the pill for free, along with a supply of condoms.

Elsewhere I’ve written about the backlash that immediately launched into “why are women so skanky” and the hysterical and moralistic emergency-contraception-as-birth-control tropes. Still no one’s been able to answer the question of where men fit into hot, responsible sexy times.

I’m just going to forgo all the innuendo about packages, deliveries, and stocking stuffers…