punnishment fitting crime
There's been a lot in the media about footballer, Ched Evans who was convicted of raping a 19yr old, sentenced to five years and served half of it. Now he is out and could well be signed up to his old club. He has always protested his innocence - although he has appoligised to his girlfriend (who has stood by his) for cheating on her.
At the moment there is a lot of debate in England about whether he should be allowed to return to his former job. Some take the view since he's served his sentence (well half of it) he's allowed to get on with his life, others say as a public figure and role model he doesn't have that luxery.
My own view...I don't think he should be allowed to return to his job. I pride myself on being a liberal person. I'm also a feminist. Yes I admited it. I'm one of those horrible, scary women who is dooming society, but there you have it.
I don't believe people should be treated like second class citizens because they have commited crimes. I believe in rehabilitation. However there are some areas certain criminals should be locked out of. If Ched Evans was a teacher, a politican, police officer - there is no way he'd be able to go back to his job. As a footballer, he is in a position of some power. Fans idolise him, he will earn a very nice salary and still be in the position where he's surrounded by young women - and most likely alcohol. A bad combination.
Alcohol is another problem in the case. The victim was drunk. So naturally a lot of people think some of the blame should lie with her, since obviously if someone is mugged, it's their own fault for carring a handbag - we're tempting theives. Being drunk is NOT a green light for sex. In fact, even if it WASN'T rape, like Evans is insisting, the fact is he slept with a drunk 19 year old. She couldn't give consent, and frankly, it was most likely there were other women there, and the best candidate he could find to sleep with was a drunk teenager. Classy. It also sticks in my craw that Evans refuses to appoligise or take any real responsibility for his actions. He maintains his innocence as does his girlfriend and his family, because obviously there is no way any family can have a rapist in it.
Now I'm not an idiot. I KNOW women do make up rape and I think it is disgusting and their sentence should be harsh. I would all rape a miniumn of ten years - same for anyone who makes up rape, because it's an insult to all the survivors of rape, many of who, male and female are too scared and ashamed to go to the police and there are women who accuse famous men of rape, so I'm not blind to that but I find it very disturbing when Evans family calls the victim a slut and various other things. It's one thing to believe his innocence, it's another entirely to do what they are doing. Even if it wasn't rape...can a drunk teenager actually give consent, and frankly it says a lot about his morals - and his family that he knowingly slept with a drunk girl and they don't seem to take that on board.
We will never know the full truth what happened between Evans and the victim...but considering the girl was given a new identity because she was being harressed by Evans's fans AFTER his conviction, and has had to leave her friends and family behind...how many of us women would leave our whole life behind due to a completley fabriated crime? I'm not liking those odds.
Oh and also people like Judy Finnigan should be ashamed of herself. Apprantly if someone is raped on a bed and there isn't a weapon and blood everywhere, it's not violent. Imagine that. I'm sure the victim felt suitably releaved she was on a bed. Thank God for small favours. People really shoudl not common on bad unless it's to say, bad, unacceptable in ANY situation or context. That's all there should be to say about rape.
I'm very curious that if it was Judy FInnigan's daughter, Evan's girlfriend, his sister, his mother who was raped, or any of our wives, daughters, sisters, friends, brothers, sons, cousins (because yes men can be raped) would we want to see the rapist carrying on a job in the public eye...would we want our sister, daughter, friend, wife, brother, son being harressed on twitter, would we want people to claim because we had a drink we should bare some responsbility or that the crime wasn't violent. I'm sure we'd all have a very different reaction. Especially since Judy Finningan's own daughter had been on the reciving end of rape threats from trolls on twitter in a backlash against Judy's comments - and the police have jumped straight into action, as they should do with rape threats (which are disgusting) - I'm assuming she takes rape threats very seriously - I do - so why is actual rape seen somehow as....less? In no other crime do we EVER judge the victim. IF someone leaves a window open do we blame them for a burglary? I don't think Judy would take the same view if Ched had raped her daughter....whether she was drunk or not and if she does, I'm very worried.
We are very quick to jump on judgements about just about anything these days, since we're clearly all experts in how others feel, cope, think etc. Some issues have no clear answers. But when it comes to men and women have mutual respect for each other - and that includes BOTH genders not taking advantage of someone drunk that should be non negioatable, and frankly if someone is drunk that should be a glaring red light that sex is off the table, consentual or not. Period.
At the moment there is a lot of debate in England about whether he should be allowed to return to his former job. Some take the view since he's served his sentence (well half of it) he's allowed to get on with his life, others say as a public figure and role model he doesn't have that luxery.
My own view...I don't think he should be allowed to return to his job. I pride myself on being a liberal person. I'm also a feminist. Yes I admited it. I'm one of those horrible, scary women who is dooming society, but there you have it.
I don't believe people should be treated like second class citizens because they have commited crimes. I believe in rehabilitation. However there are some areas certain criminals should be locked out of. If Ched Evans was a teacher, a politican, police officer - there is no way he'd be able to go back to his job. As a footballer, he is in a position of some power. Fans idolise him, he will earn a very nice salary and still be in the position where he's surrounded by young women - and most likely alcohol. A bad combination.
Alcohol is another problem in the case. The victim was drunk. So naturally a lot of people think some of the blame should lie with her, since obviously if someone is mugged, it's their own fault for carring a handbag - we're tempting theives. Being drunk is NOT a green light for sex. In fact, even if it WASN'T rape, like Evans is insisting, the fact is he slept with a drunk 19 year old. She couldn't give consent, and frankly, it was most likely there were other women there, and the best candidate he could find to sleep with was a drunk teenager. Classy. It also sticks in my craw that Evans refuses to appoligise or take any real responsibility for his actions. He maintains his innocence as does his girlfriend and his family, because obviously there is no way any family can have a rapist in it.
Now I'm not an idiot. I KNOW women do make up rape and I think it is disgusting and their sentence should be harsh. I would all rape a miniumn of ten years - same for anyone who makes up rape, because it's an insult to all the survivors of rape, many of who, male and female are too scared and ashamed to go to the police and there are women who accuse famous men of rape, so I'm not blind to that but I find it very disturbing when Evans family calls the victim a slut and various other things. It's one thing to believe his innocence, it's another entirely to do what they are doing. Even if it wasn't rape...can a drunk teenager actually give consent, and frankly it says a lot about his morals - and his family that he knowingly slept with a drunk girl and they don't seem to take that on board.
We will never know the full truth what happened between Evans and the victim...but considering the girl was given a new identity because she was being harressed by Evans's fans AFTER his conviction, and has had to leave her friends and family behind...how many of us women would leave our whole life behind due to a completley fabriated crime? I'm not liking those odds.
Oh and also people like Judy Finnigan should be ashamed of herself. Apprantly if someone is raped on a bed and there isn't a weapon and blood everywhere, it's not violent. Imagine that. I'm sure the victim felt suitably releaved she was on a bed. Thank God for small favours. People really shoudl not common on bad unless it's to say, bad, unacceptable in ANY situation or context. That's all there should be to say about rape.
I'm very curious that if it was Judy FInnigan's daughter, Evan's girlfriend, his sister, his mother who was raped, or any of our wives, daughters, sisters, friends, brothers, sons, cousins (because yes men can be raped) would we want to see the rapist carrying on a job in the public eye...would we want our sister, daughter, friend, wife, brother, son being harressed on twitter, would we want people to claim because we had a drink we should bare some responsbility or that the crime wasn't violent. I'm sure we'd all have a very different reaction. Especially since Judy Finningan's own daughter had been on the reciving end of rape threats from trolls on twitter in a backlash against Judy's comments - and the police have jumped straight into action, as they should do with rape threats (which are disgusting) - I'm assuming she takes rape threats very seriously - I do - so why is actual rape seen somehow as....less? In no other crime do we EVER judge the victim. IF someone leaves a window open do we blame them for a burglary? I don't think Judy would take the same view if Ched had raped her daughter....whether she was drunk or not and if she does, I'm very worried.
We are very quick to jump on judgements about just about anything these days, since we're clearly all experts in how others feel, cope, think etc. Some issues have no clear answers. But when it comes to men and women have mutual respect for each other - and that includes BOTH genders not taking advantage of someone drunk that should be non negioatable, and frankly if someone is drunk that should be a glaring red light that sex is off the table, consentual or not. Period.