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From: mason@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Mason)
Newsgroups: net.women,net.legal
Subject: Re: Rape in Ontario
Message-ID: <2880@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 3-Dec-83 11:03:01 EST
Article-I.D.: utcsrgv.2880
Posted: Sat Dec  3 11:03:01 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 3-Dec-83 13:11:36 EST
References: <90@psddevl.UUCP>
Organization: University of Toronto/Ryerson Polytechnic Institute
Lines: 25

I have very mixed feelings about this issue:
a) I agree with Sophie that the woman was probably raped, and putting her
   in jail for a weeks seems like adding insult to injury.
b) If witnesses regularly are allowed to withdraw willingness to testify,
   criminals will obviously be encouraged to imtimidate victims or other
   witnesses even more than at present.
These are complicated further by:
c) The attorney-general says that a variety of offers were made to the
   woman; including: change of ID, extra police protection, assistance
   in relocating, assistance in appealing the contempt-of-court charge
   that put her in jail.  She apparently refused all attempts (I wouldn't
   want to change my ID or relocate, but extra protection would seem ok),
   and wanted round-the-clock police car outside the front door, ready to
   escort her, her mother, or her sister anywhere they wanted to go for
   20 YEARS!  This women was obviously VERY SCARED, or crazy.
As an interesting sidelight, a woman in Quebec was allowed to not testify,
not because of fear of the rapist, but because she was afraid of the 
(presumably personal - not violent) repercussions of her boyfriend finding
out she had been raped.  Although I realize this is not uncommon, I can't
believe how any man could feel anything more negative than sympathy when
a woman (particularly one close to him) suffers such a personal affront.
-- 
 -- Dave Mason, U. Toronto CSRG,
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