In an edited version of a speech by Justice Chris Maxwell, president, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria, Justice Maxwell tells us how complicated sentencing really is. He said that ‘not enough attention is paid to the core work of the criminal justice system, which is the investigation and prosecution of serious crime, and the conduct of fair trials. The integrity of our trial process is beyond question.’ This completely misses the point- once again. I feel its a way to silence the public when they ask for harsher sentences.

I’m pretty sure no one said sentencing was easy mate. I’m pretty sure also that everyone wants trials to be fair. Thats NOT what the public is complaining about. The complaint is sentencing and how pathetically low it is in this country compared to the rest of the west.

They are complaining about serious criminals who have been found GUILTY recieving TINY sentances in a system that has 0 effective rehabilitation currently. We are complaining about criminals having the lowest conviction rates, lowest sentences and lower time served for serious crimes than almost anywhere in the west.

We are angry that Between 2002 and 2003, more than one in ten convicted rapists in Victoria, Australia, served a wholly suspended sentence, and the average total effective sentence for rape was seven years. 

We are angry  six teenage juveniles did not even have a conviction recorded for gang raping a 10 year old girl, and that they be placed on a 12-month probation order: Because the 10 year old ‘probably wanted it’

We are angry that the average jail sentence for rape between 1999 and 2008 was just over five years- regardless of the ‘type’ of rape.

We are angry a church leader who drugged, strangled, beat on, raped and attempted to murder a young girl by setting her on fire- leaving her with horrific, serious permanent damage that leaves her unable to even care for her basic needs can be out in 16 years on parole.

These examples don’t even touch on murders, or torture. You should see how low sentences are for people who keep, sell and rape slaves!

No one is saying sentencing is easy; what we are saying is that an average of 5 years for horrifically violating someone isn’t good enough, and that 16 years for that plus torture and ATTEMPTED MURDER isn’t good enough. These numbers do not reflect what the public believes is fair. Do not tell us that we ‘just don’t get it’. We know it’s not easy and there are a lot of factors to consider but that doesn’t mean that such low sentences are therefor hunky dory- esp. when other countries similar to us have in some cases double the sentences or ACTUAL life sentences for the crimes we give a slap on the wrist for.

It’s not good enough, Justice Maxwell. The system or your response. 

I am very distrubed by some of the aggression and opposition towards the erection of womens safe spaces at the occupy protests after some women where raped while sleeping. (OP HERE- see some comments. There are also a few offshoot posts) Some aspects of this are undeniably problematic, such as what defines a women (who would be welcome) and who exactly would be watching over them. However;

The questions have been raised aggressively; Why do we need safe spaces for women? Why should women have to corner themselves off to be safe? If radical spaces aren’t safe, where is? Each one of those questions followed or following the opposition of safe spaces.

To these people I say: If you don’t like these spaces; DON’T ENTER THEM. But DO NOT DENY women who wish to use these spaces to feel safe, or feel them necessary. Do not take that choice away from women who wish to use it. Just because you don’t want to use a service doesn’t mean others don’t/won’t, and doesn’t make it ‘unnecessary’. 

We absolutely shouldn’t need safe spaces. Women should be and feel safe where ever they go- but the reality is that women aren’t safe almost anywhere, ever. Which means sometimes we DO need safe spaces. Women shouldn’t have to corner themselves off; ever. However, making a space for women to go to is easier than someone being able to magically identify rapists, molesters and perverts and corner them off or avoid them. I’m pretty sure they aren’t going to segregate or control themselves.

We should absolutely be fighting for a way to change this so that women do not have too, or feel the need to create safe spaces for themselves at all. However we can not deny the current reality that right now most of the world is a very dangerous place for women, and that right now there aren’t many/any other options. This is not a problem that will change over night. We are all working to change this disgusting and frightening reality but denying women a place to be or feel safe, or even being against the idea of women having a safe space until this is fixed isn’t ok. No one has any right to deny women of any kind refuge. 

We shouldn’t need safe spaces.
But sadly, we do. 

As a women who fits / is the following:

• conventionally attractive 
• conventionally attractive in a sexual way (large bust/hips-tiny waist)
• enjoys makeup
• enjoys lingerie, sexualized and ‘sexy’ attire
• openly sexual
• openly displays sexuality
• creates profit from sexuality without exploitation
• true sexual exhibitionist
• a creator of sexual erotic material that is for sale featuring women 
• a ‘sex-positive’ feminist
  (I know the term is problematic but not sure what else to use)

I find it offensive that:

• I am blamed for womens and my own oppression
• I am blamed for violence committed against me 
• I am blamed for women being raped and sexually abused
• I am blamed for sexual slavery and people trafficking 
• I am blamed for women having problems sexually
• I am blamed for society hypersexualizing women
• I am blamed for children having low self esteem
• I am blamed for a rise in STDs and pregnancy
• I am blamed for partners being unfaithful
• I am blamed for ‘distorted’ veiws on sexuality and sex
• I am blamed for ‘fake’ lesbianism and ‘confused’ sexuality
• I am blamed for the fetishization of non heterosexuals and queers

• It is assumed I have no / low self esteem or body image
• It is assumed that I have no standards or am “easy”
• It is assumed my sexuality is only a toy for men
• It is assumed that my choices are not my own
• It is assumed I am influenced by men/patriarchy and have no autonomy
• It is assumed that I was forced into working and am a slave
• It is assumed I am exploitative, abusive and that I am a misogynist
• It is assumed I am uneducated, especially on feminist topics
• It is assumed I don’t care about feminism / womens rights
• It is assumed that when I say I’m not a sex slave I either support slavery or deny it exists

The worst part? Most of these inaccurate and nasty assumptions come from people who should be my allies; my feminist brothers and sisters.

Society is to blame. A lack of education is to blame. Not one single queer woman who naturally happens to be conventionally attractive, whose sexuality entails exhibitionism and visual displays of the erotic, who is confident, TRULY sexually liberated and unafraid. 

I am just being myself; WHO I TRULY AM. 

My sexual preferences and sexual expressions are just that- sexual preferences and sexual expressions. I have complete personal autonomy in all aspects. I am not ‘brainwashed’ or culturally contrived due to patriarchy. No part of me is just a ‘plaything’ for men; including my sexuality. I do not have low self esteem. I certainly have standards. There is no denying that expecting all women to be like me, or being pressed by society to be like me is wrong- but that doesn’t mean I am to blame, nor does it mean that because I enjoy those things personally I am wrong or responsible.

If you beleive I am responsible for the things above and you call yourself a feminist then I suggest you have a look at yourself and your views deep down and assess what feminism really is to you. Because if you think being a feminist is about repressing my sexuality, my sexual freedoms and who I am and then blaming all of societies problems relating to sex on me; I don’t think you are any better than what you think I am- which is apparently some kind of oppressive, sexually messed up monster.

Lately I had a small tiff with a few people I follow over on my regular tumblr regarding the fact they have been posting and reblogging a staggering amount of posts that include incest, implied incest and incest jokes. For me, as a victim of childhood incestuous rape and molestation the topic is IMMENSELY triggering, and this is something most of them know. However, they continue to post these things without warnings.

I wanted to bring it to their attention before unfollowing them, pointing out why many of the jokes and things they where posting where a bit off, even taking my personal biases off the table. This however, did not go well for me. I was told incest was their own personal fetish, and like rape, bdsm, pedophilia and other things (because bdsm, rape and child molesting are all the same right? *barf*) each person was entitled to their own ‘deviance and perversions’. (her words, not mine.) Never at all in my conversation did I police anyone including her on what they could and couldn’t like. I simply let her know that I found it objectionable and that incest rape jokes weren’t funny, or just rape jokes at all. I’ve stopped following her, and social situations are now very awkward. But its better than a dash full of nightmares, flashbacks and provocations for self harm.

This often happens with people who make or reblog misogynistic, racist and homophobic posts. Immediately defensive, insulting and dismissing. When these people are strangers, it can be easy to ignore or point out to them. Worst comes to worst you don’t know them and can just ignore them and keep on keeping on.

My question is; what do you do when these people are your friends? Your family? What do you do when something so offensive to you they consider ‘core’ to their being? When they do horrible things like compare child rape fantasies to consensual over age bdsm activities? 

This is an excerpt of something I wrote as a reply to comments regarding rape whenever it was disccussed among ignorant friends (Who are either no longer ignorant or no longer friends). It’s a rather angry rant about my views on this country and why I can’t stand people sharing their views on things they are completely uneducated on. (Because anyone with a brain knows the Herald Sun, 60 minutes and Today Tonight don’t count as education.)

You’re un-educated, over privelleged or misinformed views are not appreciated because they help perpetuate myths about rape and realities for women in this country. By talking lies and nonsense, not listening up and not helping to change this: YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROBLEM. 

By claming most women make false allegations when its incredibly rare (1.2% of accusations- which also doesn’t differentiate between mistakes, evidence mishandling and malicious false allegations) you are frightening victims into not reporting, making rape seem less serious and making people take rape victims less seriously which directly effects me and people like me. I’m not looking forward to being inevitably sexually harassed, treated as a second class citizen and probably being raped again solely because I’m unlucky enough to have a vagina- no other reason.

I don’t like living in a society that treats its rape victims so poorly. I don’t like living in a country (Australia) where rapists often has more rights than victims, and rapists/child-molesters get less jail time than crimes like minor theft or smoking marijuana in your own home. (Wikipedia it, google it, do some research your damned selves-  Australia has the lowest sentences and time served for sex offenders if they get incarcerated at all- and that includes serial rapists and child rapists.) 

 I don’t like listening to your uneducated opinions about rape that blatantly deny statistcs, reasearch and facts because you’re ‘offended’ at your gender being singled out by victims and facts when really you should be offended so many of your gender are dragging you down by being rapists. Instead of being mad at me for pointing out statistically 1 in 20 men is a rapist- Be angry at the people of your gender ARE RAPISTS instead of being mad at statistics, facts, rape victims and those who support them. THEY are the ones making you look bad and ‘making’ people ‘discriminate’ against you. 

You may not see what male privelege has to do with rape.You might not see how other things that are unfair to women have to do with rape.You may not see how you have anything to do with it. But I can tell you that those things all have a direct part in rape and societies attitude towards it. I will say agan:

You’re un-educated, over privelleged or misinformed views are not appreciated because they help perpetuate myths about rape and realities for women in this country. By talking shit, not listening up and not helping to change this YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROBLEM