Tuesday, September 2, 2008

MYTHS, MISCONCEPTIONS & MISOGYNY

RADIO NZ PANEL DEBATE ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE LAW REFORM:

NEW ZEALAND WOMEN DESERVE BETTER
The Ministry of Justice Discussion Paper on improving legal responses to sexual violence acknowledges that opinions on this matter will differ. When discussing the proposals on 20 August 2008, Jim Mora's choice to invite comments from a male legal academic who opposes the Ministry's suggestions, but not a representative from the Ministry, or a legal scholar who supports sexual violence law reform, ensured the debate was one-sided and biased.

Criminal laws and evidentiary rules originated at a time when women's lives were devalued and law reflected the typical male perspective that many women provoke or 'ask for' physical and sexual assaults. Professor of Law, Elizabeth Schneider notes the resistance of some US judges, lawyers and academics to attempts to reform the law to better reflect women's experiences is 'profound'. ('Resistance to Equality' (1996) U.Pitt.L.Rev 477). New Zealand legal academics also have an unfortunate history of resisting legal reform in relation to male violence toward women. Thus while the Police Commissioner announced in 1987 that police would now arrest domestic violence offenders, the leading family law text declared in 1992 that if 'tempers have already cooled, no matter how serious and recent the violence, an arrest may be inappropriate or indeed provocative' (Family Law in New Zealand, 7510)

Since as Schneider points out: 'in all legal cases, the critical struggle is who gets to define the facts', the other side of the reform debate will shortly be published on this website.

No comments: