Fuck the System: Court
Where to start? Where to start? I guess I'll start with the rampant inconsistencies in the law (since I had two conversations about that pretty recently).
Fuck the laws
In NY 17 is the age of consent. If you are 16 and under and a grown man, has sex with you, you are considered a victim of statutory rape and he is considered a criminal. If it is discovered that he had sex with you, he will go to jail.
Conversely, 16 is also the cut off age for being sent to Criminal Court. If you are found to be guilty of a crime and are 15 and under, you will be sent to Family Court. Through the Family Court system kids get sent to juvenile detention centers or receive services from our child protective services agency (ACS) [neither of which really serves the kids].
So at 16, 15, 14, etc you cannot legally consent to sex, but if money is exchange during the sex, which, again, you cannot legally consent to, then you are considered a criminal (among other things that you are considered). It's not as if those in the system are not aware that those paying for sex are much older than the girls. They definitely know that the pimps are much older than the girls. And obviously they know the ages of the girl. So, basically...
Underaged girl + Adult male + sex = he's a criminal and goes to jail, she's a victim BUT
Underaged girl + Adult male + sex + money = she's a criminal and goes to jail, he usually doesn't get caught at all
And aside from that there's the other silliness and inconsistency, like you can't vote, can't buy cigarettes, can't buy alcohol, but if you're caught breaking a law, you are an "adult." And at the ripe old age of 16. And even larger than that the fact that international trafficked victims are not criminalized and are given resources when they are found by law enforcement, whereas domestic trafficked victims get thrown under the bus (in most occasions).
Fuck the demographics
The race and gender breakdowns of those who come through the doors of the courts are so rigid, they may as well have a paper bag test before letting people in the door.
The "criminals": Obviously overwhelming kids of color. Few white kids here and there
The lawyers: Mostly white men and women. Less than a handful of POC lawyers (I think I've only worked with one black woman lawyer)
The caseworkers: Pretty much all Black women. Ain't that something?
The court officers: This is probably the most disparate group, but even that has exceptions. 100 Centre St is the main court bldg in Manhattan and that bad boy has almost nothing but white men as court officers. And some of the nastiest bastards I have ever had the displeasure of being in the same room with.
The judges: Wanna guess? Yes, mostly white men, then some white women, then about as many POC as one can count on one hand.
Basically the ones with the most control are the ones who know the least about and are the least connected to the ones whose lives they control.
Fuck the humiliation
The process itself is dehumanizing and degrading. Just being labeled a criminal is enough, but there are other ways in with people are subjugated. Just entering the court house the court officers, lawyers and other court employees enter through one means where they usually just flash an ID and walk through. Everyone else coming from the public goes through a mile long line and waits for the privilege of having their belongings rummaged through and to go through a metal detector. And the defendants (or respondents as they are called in Family Court) that are in custody come through detention. Some of them are put in shackles. Yes, full on wrist-to-ankle "I've been working on the fuckin railroad" shackles. My jaw dropped the first time I saw kids being dragged into court in shackles.
There's this other way in which the process seems to just remove all sense of pride and self-esteem from people. Even without being handcuffed most of the time (most being like 99% of the time) when defendants stand before the judge they stand with their hands behind their backs as if they are handcuffed. I never knew if this was told to them by someone or if it was just a subconscious decision, but it happens all the time. Not just my girls. In fact, it happens moreso with the men I see in court (and I can understand that).
There's an "innovative" new court in Manhattan called Midtown Community Court, which is supposed to be more like a resources driven, non-profit based alternative to standard court giving law breakers the opportunity to seek other options to jail/prison (for misdemeanor offenses or offenses that might result in a fine). GEMS comes there as an alternative to incarceration. I've never been to that particular place, but my co-workers told me that a person's charge is yelled out before everyone. So instead of hearing "Jane Doe, docket number 408760" or "Jane Doe, as charged with 230.00" one would hear "Jane Doe charged with prostitution" yelled out before everyone. [Conversely in Queens Criminal Court there is a fantastic judge named Camacho who only allows codes to be called out and is just a smart, dynamic person who really "gets it."]
I feel like I'm missing something because every aspect of the process is so fucked up.
Fuck the laws
In NY 17 is the age of consent. If you are 16 and under and a grown man, has sex with you, you are considered a victim of statutory rape and he is considered a criminal. If it is discovered that he had sex with you, he will go to jail.
Conversely, 16 is also the cut off age for being sent to Criminal Court. If you are found to be guilty of a crime and are 15 and under, you will be sent to Family Court. Through the Family Court system kids get sent to juvenile detention centers or receive services from our child protective services agency (ACS) [neither of which really serves the kids].
So at 16, 15, 14, etc you cannot legally consent to sex, but if money is exchange during the sex, which, again, you cannot legally consent to, then you are considered a criminal (among other things that you are considered). It's not as if those in the system are not aware that those paying for sex are much older than the girls. They definitely know that the pimps are much older than the girls. And obviously they know the ages of the girl. So, basically...
Underaged girl + Adult male + sex = he's a criminal and goes to jail, she's a victim BUT
Underaged girl + Adult male + sex + money = she's a criminal and goes to jail, he usually doesn't get caught at all
And aside from that there's the other silliness and inconsistency, like you can't vote, can't buy cigarettes, can't buy alcohol, but if you're caught breaking a law, you are an "adult." And at the ripe old age of 16. And even larger than that the fact that international trafficked victims are not criminalized and are given resources when they are found by law enforcement, whereas domestic trafficked victims get thrown under the bus (in most occasions).
Fuck the demographics
The race and gender breakdowns of those who come through the doors of the courts are so rigid, they may as well have a paper bag test before letting people in the door.
The "criminals": Obviously overwhelming kids of color. Few white kids here and there
The lawyers: Mostly white men and women. Less than a handful of POC lawyers (I think I've only worked with one black woman lawyer)
The caseworkers: Pretty much all Black women. Ain't that something?
The court officers: This is probably the most disparate group, but even that has exceptions. 100 Centre St is the main court bldg in Manhattan and that bad boy has almost nothing but white men as court officers. And some of the nastiest bastards I have ever had the displeasure of being in the same room with.
The judges: Wanna guess? Yes, mostly white men, then some white women, then about as many POC as one can count on one hand.
Basically the ones with the most control are the ones who know the least about and are the least connected to the ones whose lives they control.
Fuck the humiliation
The process itself is dehumanizing and degrading. Just being labeled a criminal is enough, but there are other ways in with people are subjugated. Just entering the court house the court officers, lawyers and other court employees enter through one means where they usually just flash an ID and walk through. Everyone else coming from the public goes through a mile long line and waits for the privilege of having their belongings rummaged through and to go through a metal detector. And the defendants (or respondents as they are called in Family Court) that are in custody come through detention. Some of them are put in shackles. Yes, full on wrist-to-ankle "I've been working on the fuckin railroad" shackles. My jaw dropped the first time I saw kids being dragged into court in shackles.
There's this other way in which the process seems to just remove all sense of pride and self-esteem from people. Even without being handcuffed most of the time (most being like 99% of the time) when defendants stand before the judge they stand with their hands behind their backs as if they are handcuffed. I never knew if this was told to them by someone or if it was just a subconscious decision, but it happens all the time. Not just my girls. In fact, it happens moreso with the men I see in court (and I can understand that).
There's an "innovative" new court in Manhattan called Midtown Community Court, which is supposed to be more like a resources driven, non-profit based alternative to standard court giving law breakers the opportunity to seek other options to jail/prison (for misdemeanor offenses or offenses that might result in a fine). GEMS comes there as an alternative to incarceration. I've never been to that particular place, but my co-workers told me that a person's charge is yelled out before everyone. So instead of hearing "Jane Doe, docket number 408760" or "Jane Doe, as charged with 230.00" one would hear "Jane Doe charged with prostitution" yelled out before everyone. [Conversely in Queens Criminal Court there is a fantastic judge named Camacho who only allows codes to be called out and is just a smart, dynamic person who really "gets it."]
I feel like I'm missing something because every aspect of the process is so fucked up.