rape culture
My previous entry was about a British footballer Ched Evans and the huge debate about whether he should be allowed to return to football after raping a 19yr old. He was convicted, was sentenced to five years, served two years and was let out on probation.
Today the club who were debating about signing back Evans has annouced it will not be resigning him after a petition of over 165,000 people and three patrons of the club resigned.
Personally I am very glad he isn't being re-instated. Defenders of him say, he has served his time and should be able to get on with his life, or that he isn't guilty, or perhaps it wasn't so much of a big deal, since his victim was drunk, or that he's a victim of mob justice.
Here's my take on these.
1) He's served his time. NO HE HASN'T! He was sentenced to FIVE years not two. He has been released on parole. That does not mean he's a free man. By law he's under conditions of his parole and if any are broken he will be back in prison. Probably he was released because of prison overcrowding not because they felt sorry for him or thought his setence was unfair. The prison system and sentencing is flawed I think we can all agree on that, and far too many people are released early - how many people have been sentenced to *life* imprisonment for murder and then released after ten years or less. That doesn't make them less guilty, and it's the same here.
2) he should be able to get on with his life, and the job he did before. Um NO. If he was a teacher, police, MP, social worker, doctor etc he could NOT have his old job back. If he has been convicted of child porn and was a teacher, I doubt very much many people would've wanted him anywhere near kids. Although he's not a threat to children, as a footballer, they look up to him. He visits schools, leads kids out onto the pitch - why would you want a convicted rapist to do that. It sends an appauling message to kids and especially teenagers. Also to be blunt as a footballer, young girls are drawn to him. He will be in the same position again with drunk girls, or girls who are trying to flirt/seduce him - or times when *he* is drunk. What happens if the same thing happenened? There is a huge amount of peer pressure and a 'lad culture' in football that goes hand in hand with racist, mysognistic and homophobic behaviour. If you want to avoid people commiting the same crimes, they have to stop being in the situation/culture they were when they did it. The FA is woefully pathethic in it's reactions to whenever a footballer commits a crime.
In an era when consent is blurred with internet, revenge porn, leaked pictures and what consent is, the last thing we need is a blurred message that even if you rape soemone and even if they are drunk it's not a big deal. Rape is a big deal. We should enforce that view in every way possible. We like to pride ourselves on how liberal we are, yet why is it when it comes to rape it boils down to liar/whore/slut/cheat/pansy/sissy (for guys)?
3) He isn't guilty (and keeps protesting his innocence). This troubles me a lot. I am well aware there are women who make false rape claimes, so I know it happens and sadly famous people do get targeted. Personally I think anyone found to make a false rape accusation should be given the same prison sentence as rape and be named and shamed. False rape is a DISGUSTING thing to do to someone and it infuriates me. It demeens real victims's fears and shame about coming forward, also it is a terrible, life changing thing for someone to be falsely convicted of rape, and I believe if someone is falsely accused of rape, they should go onto sue the person. In this case, I have a strong suspion he wasn't innocent. I cannot see what the victim could have possibily gained. She has been raped, had to go through a humilating trial, reliving what happened, was called a liar, and when he was convicted she faced a huge backlash because Evans is well known. Her identity was revealed on twitter - whcih is illegal. All rape victims are granted life long anonimity. She was harressed, sent rape threats, called a slut/whore/liar etc etc. She had to have a new identity and had to leave her friends and family, all this at 19 years old. Please tell me why she would make it up. She's not given interviews, not got any money from it. What has she gained? Would someone please tell me?
Also Evans maintains his innocence even after two years in prison, so to some people he's innocent. I hate to break it to people, but criminals DO lie. A lot of people convicted of sex crimes especially take years to admit their guilt. They staunchly insist their innocence. Look at all the older celebrities in Britain accused of rape, paedophilia and other disgusting crimes. Rolf Harris and Stuart Hall both insisted on their innocence, branded their victims liars. How many of us believe they are innocent? I have volunteered in courts and my sister works with rehabilitating sex offenders so I do have some background in this. Criminals like the Yorkshire Ripper - Peter Suttcliffe denied his crimes for years and his wife stood by him. There are cases of killers (in America) who denied their crimes up until the day they were exercuted and then confessed they *did* do them. Yes I AM aware there are innocent people in prison and yes I strongly dislike the idea that you get a 'lighter' sentence if you 'admit' your guilt and leads to false confessions, but also the fact is rape cases are very rarely brought to trial due to lack of evidence or not having a 'credable' victim, for the CPS to bring it to court they HAVE to have substancial proof of the crime, especially in serious cases like rape, so they had to be confident it would hold up in court and a jury was also convinced enough. No one has any idea what evidence was presented at the trial, so please don't jump to conclusions about the evidence.
I think Evans genuinely does believe he's done nothing wrong. I don't think he's 'evil' and probably is almost a victim of the horrendous macho culture in football. Girls are sex objects for men's pleasure, being drunk to him wasn't a big red flag saying no. He should have been taught better by his parents, teachers and people running the club. It disturbs me that he simply shrugs it off as 'cheating' on his girlfriend. At no time has he appoligised to his victim, or her family or condemned the abuse she got. Reguardless of what happened, she has lost her family and been verbally abused by his 'fans' and as a human he should acknowledge that. The video he released was a huge mistake in my opinion, as was bringing his girlfriend. It is uncomfortable to see her supporting her cheater/rapist boyfriend in that so stereotypical manner of the faithful wife, standing by her man no matter what. SHe believes he's innocent, as does his mother and sister. Oddly enough his aunt who works in the prison service doesn't.
I'm curious if someone had raped/slept with his drunk sister, mother or girlfriend and then they'd said they'd been raped, would teh family have brushed it off, claimed she wasn't that drunk or she was outright lying, becuase until that happens his family have absolutely no right to comment, let alone brand his victim a slut on Twitter. They should have the common decency to shut up. He has a right to protest his innocence but not further trumatise his victim. I'm curious what Evans, or his family or fans would actually 'define' consent becuase he really does not 'get it'. A lot of people get confussed especially when alcohol is involved, but it is NOT an invitiation for sex and even if it HAD been consesual as he insisted why the hell did he sleep with her?? He has a girlfriend. WAs a drunk 19 yr old really that irresistable?! I personally think all footballers should have manditorily to sign a code of conduct before they are signed up, stating in plain terms if they commit crimes they won't be reinstated and will not be able to play again at *any* premiere club. Being a footballer, earning a lot of money is a priverlegde. Laods of equally talented men and women don't have the chance Evans had. Also lets not forget his lovely, supportive fans who have sent numerous rape threats to his victim and also anyone including other female celebrities who criticise Evans or want him to leave the club. Isn't it nice his fans have his back and that because of freedom of speach they can say those things...why the HELL hasn't Evans spoken out? He could've condemn the rape threats and said anyone who does that is no fan of his. But no. All he does is repeat his innocence. He should have condemned the rape threats immediately, he should have acknowledged why people are upset and that he understands why rape is such a serious deal, he should have made a donation to rape charities and used this an an exercise, even in the most cynical PR terms to raise awareness of rape in general, it might have made people believe more in him but he hasn't. He and the football clubs have unsuprisingly handled the whole deal especially his video with crass, ignorant, idotical incompantancy. Big suprise.
4) it wasn't that big of a deal, it wasn't a 'violent' rape. First off, this makes me sick. Everyone has a mother or sister, daughter, friend, cousin, brother, son, dad and anyone of them can be raped. Please don't tell me if someone you loved was raped no matter the circumstances or if YOU were it wouldn't be a big deal or say 'well if you behave like that....'. I don't care if she was drunk. No one deserves to be violated. If someone is murdered while drunk or mugged while drunk, did they deserve it? If someone forgets to lock a window and is burgleed or goes down a dark alley and is attacked, do we berate them and say they should've known better/not lead the criminal to temptation? Do we blame children for 'tempting' killers or paedophiles because of their age or because they were outside? For God sake, STOP the victim blaiming!!! Rape is a big deal. It's a horrible thing to happen, it's horrible to discuss and therefore needs talking about. Why do we blame rape victims, out of all the victims of crime, rape victims and battered women are disbelieved, dismissed and doubt is expressed about their honesty. Remember Rhiannia? Apprantly lots of WOMEN figured she must've pissed Chris Brown off to be beaten. Jesus. Rape is nasty, humilating and devistating. Lots of psychologists and criminal experts call it 'unfinished murder' because some victims never recover from it. Liek soliders they suffer PTSD and has flashbacks, nightmares for years. How many of us have got drunk at times...do we deserve to be hurt because of it? Rape is a bed is no less trumatic than in an alley. if you are raped by an ex boyfriend or your husband in your room does that make it worse since he was kind enough not to make you bleed too?
5) He's a victim of mob justice. Yes he most likely is, the club was 'genuinely suprised' so many people didn't want Evans back. Weird. I mean sure lots of fans have kids and teenagers, wives, sisters, girlfriends, why would they feel uncomfortable with a rapist holding their child's hand? Hmmm. THis is one of the problems. Evans life is not ruined. Not really. He can't play football perhaps (maybe another club will take him) but he still has his family and girlfriend's support, he still has fans support and no doubt a lot of fans will pity him, some will protest on his behalf. But his life isn't ruined. He's young and can get a new job. His victim doens't have that oppertunity. She has to live with what happened to her. We talk about rehabilitating offenders, but how do you rehabiliate someone who is convinced they've done nothing wrong? Until he sees drunk can't give consent there's a stalemate. Perhaps he could have played again if he'd shown remorse or at least some understanding of why rape is so serious but between him and his family they've ruined that chance. To be honest, very few celebs face justice, not really. Look at Chris Brown, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson (well ok his career's over) all of them hurt women and haven't faced any real consequences because rape/violence against women is shruged off. THis is the FIRST time people have really protested that if you rape you face more consequences than a short prison sentence.
He had a choice to sleep with that women. She didn't.
Today the club who were debating about signing back Evans has annouced it will not be resigning him after a petition of over 165,000 people and three patrons of the club resigned.
Personally I am very glad he isn't being re-instated. Defenders of him say, he has served his time and should be able to get on with his life, or that he isn't guilty, or perhaps it wasn't so much of a big deal, since his victim was drunk, or that he's a victim of mob justice.
Here's my take on these.
1) He's served his time. NO HE HASN'T! He was sentenced to FIVE years not two. He has been released on parole. That does not mean he's a free man. By law he's under conditions of his parole and if any are broken he will be back in prison. Probably he was released because of prison overcrowding not because they felt sorry for him or thought his setence was unfair. The prison system and sentencing is flawed I think we can all agree on that, and far too many people are released early - how many people have been sentenced to *life* imprisonment for murder and then released after ten years or less. That doesn't make them less guilty, and it's the same here.
2) he should be able to get on with his life, and the job he did before. Um NO. If he was a teacher, police, MP, social worker, doctor etc he could NOT have his old job back. If he has been convicted of child porn and was a teacher, I doubt very much many people would've wanted him anywhere near kids. Although he's not a threat to children, as a footballer, they look up to him. He visits schools, leads kids out onto the pitch - why would you want a convicted rapist to do that. It sends an appauling message to kids and especially teenagers. Also to be blunt as a footballer, young girls are drawn to him. He will be in the same position again with drunk girls, or girls who are trying to flirt/seduce him - or times when *he* is drunk. What happens if the same thing happenened? There is a huge amount of peer pressure and a 'lad culture' in football that goes hand in hand with racist, mysognistic and homophobic behaviour. If you want to avoid people commiting the same crimes, they have to stop being in the situation/culture they were when they did it. The FA is woefully pathethic in it's reactions to whenever a footballer commits a crime.
In an era when consent is blurred with internet, revenge porn, leaked pictures and what consent is, the last thing we need is a blurred message that even if you rape soemone and even if they are drunk it's not a big deal. Rape is a big deal. We should enforce that view in every way possible. We like to pride ourselves on how liberal we are, yet why is it when it comes to rape it boils down to liar/whore/slut/cheat/pansy/sissy (for guys)?
3) He isn't guilty (and keeps protesting his innocence). This troubles me a lot. I am well aware there are women who make false rape claimes, so I know it happens and sadly famous people do get targeted. Personally I think anyone found to make a false rape accusation should be given the same prison sentence as rape and be named and shamed. False rape is a DISGUSTING thing to do to someone and it infuriates me. It demeens real victims's fears and shame about coming forward, also it is a terrible, life changing thing for someone to be falsely convicted of rape, and I believe if someone is falsely accused of rape, they should go onto sue the person. In this case, I have a strong suspion he wasn't innocent. I cannot see what the victim could have possibily gained. She has been raped, had to go through a humilating trial, reliving what happened, was called a liar, and when he was convicted she faced a huge backlash because Evans is well known. Her identity was revealed on twitter - whcih is illegal. All rape victims are granted life long anonimity. She was harressed, sent rape threats, called a slut/whore/liar etc etc. She had to have a new identity and had to leave her friends and family, all this at 19 years old. Please tell me why she would make it up. She's not given interviews, not got any money from it. What has she gained? Would someone please tell me?
Also Evans maintains his innocence even after two years in prison, so to some people he's innocent. I hate to break it to people, but criminals DO lie. A lot of people convicted of sex crimes especially take years to admit their guilt. They staunchly insist their innocence. Look at all the older celebrities in Britain accused of rape, paedophilia and other disgusting crimes. Rolf Harris and Stuart Hall both insisted on their innocence, branded their victims liars. How many of us believe they are innocent? I have volunteered in courts and my sister works with rehabilitating sex offenders so I do have some background in this. Criminals like the Yorkshire Ripper - Peter Suttcliffe denied his crimes for years and his wife stood by him. There are cases of killers (in America) who denied their crimes up until the day they were exercuted and then confessed they *did* do them. Yes I AM aware there are innocent people in prison and yes I strongly dislike the idea that you get a 'lighter' sentence if you 'admit' your guilt and leads to false confessions, but also the fact is rape cases are very rarely brought to trial due to lack of evidence or not having a 'credable' victim, for the CPS to bring it to court they HAVE to have substancial proof of the crime, especially in serious cases like rape, so they had to be confident it would hold up in court and a jury was also convinced enough. No one has any idea what evidence was presented at the trial, so please don't jump to conclusions about the evidence.
I think Evans genuinely does believe he's done nothing wrong. I don't think he's 'evil' and probably is almost a victim of the horrendous macho culture in football. Girls are sex objects for men's pleasure, being drunk to him wasn't a big red flag saying no. He should have been taught better by his parents, teachers and people running the club. It disturbs me that he simply shrugs it off as 'cheating' on his girlfriend. At no time has he appoligised to his victim, or her family or condemned the abuse she got. Reguardless of what happened, she has lost her family and been verbally abused by his 'fans' and as a human he should acknowledge that. The video he released was a huge mistake in my opinion, as was bringing his girlfriend. It is uncomfortable to see her supporting her cheater/rapist boyfriend in that so stereotypical manner of the faithful wife, standing by her man no matter what. SHe believes he's innocent, as does his mother and sister. Oddly enough his aunt who works in the prison service doesn't.
I'm curious if someone had raped/slept with his drunk sister, mother or girlfriend and then they'd said they'd been raped, would teh family have brushed it off, claimed she wasn't that drunk or she was outright lying, becuase until that happens his family have absolutely no right to comment, let alone brand his victim a slut on Twitter. They should have the common decency to shut up. He has a right to protest his innocence but not further trumatise his victim. I'm curious what Evans, or his family or fans would actually 'define' consent becuase he really does not 'get it'. A lot of people get confussed especially when alcohol is involved, but it is NOT an invitiation for sex and even if it HAD been consesual as he insisted why the hell did he sleep with her?? He has a girlfriend. WAs a drunk 19 yr old really that irresistable?! I personally think all footballers should have manditorily to sign a code of conduct before they are signed up, stating in plain terms if they commit crimes they won't be reinstated and will not be able to play again at *any* premiere club. Being a footballer, earning a lot of money is a priverlegde. Laods of equally talented men and women don't have the chance Evans had. Also lets not forget his lovely, supportive fans who have sent numerous rape threats to his victim and also anyone including other female celebrities who criticise Evans or want him to leave the club. Isn't it nice his fans have his back and that because of freedom of speach they can say those things...why the HELL hasn't Evans spoken out? He could've condemn the rape threats and said anyone who does that is no fan of his. But no. All he does is repeat his innocence. He should have condemned the rape threats immediately, he should have acknowledged why people are upset and that he understands why rape is such a serious deal, he should have made a donation to rape charities and used this an an exercise, even in the most cynical PR terms to raise awareness of rape in general, it might have made people believe more in him but he hasn't. He and the football clubs have unsuprisingly handled the whole deal especially his video with crass, ignorant, idotical incompantancy. Big suprise.
4) it wasn't that big of a deal, it wasn't a 'violent' rape. First off, this makes me sick. Everyone has a mother or sister, daughter, friend, cousin, brother, son, dad and anyone of them can be raped. Please don't tell me if someone you loved was raped no matter the circumstances or if YOU were it wouldn't be a big deal or say 'well if you behave like that....'. I don't care if she was drunk. No one deserves to be violated. If someone is murdered while drunk or mugged while drunk, did they deserve it? If someone forgets to lock a window and is burgleed or goes down a dark alley and is attacked, do we berate them and say they should've known better/not lead the criminal to temptation? Do we blame children for 'tempting' killers or paedophiles because of their age or because they were outside? For God sake, STOP the victim blaiming!!! Rape is a big deal. It's a horrible thing to happen, it's horrible to discuss and therefore needs talking about. Why do we blame rape victims, out of all the victims of crime, rape victims and battered women are disbelieved, dismissed and doubt is expressed about their honesty. Remember Rhiannia? Apprantly lots of WOMEN figured she must've pissed Chris Brown off to be beaten. Jesus. Rape is nasty, humilating and devistating. Lots of psychologists and criminal experts call it 'unfinished murder' because some victims never recover from it. Liek soliders they suffer PTSD and has flashbacks, nightmares for years. How many of us have got drunk at times...do we deserve to be hurt because of it? Rape is a bed is no less trumatic than in an alley. if you are raped by an ex boyfriend or your husband in your room does that make it worse since he was kind enough not to make you bleed too?
5) He's a victim of mob justice. Yes he most likely is, the club was 'genuinely suprised' so many people didn't want Evans back. Weird. I mean sure lots of fans have kids and teenagers, wives, sisters, girlfriends, why would they feel uncomfortable with a rapist holding their child's hand? Hmmm. THis is one of the problems. Evans life is not ruined. Not really. He can't play football perhaps (maybe another club will take him) but he still has his family and girlfriend's support, he still has fans support and no doubt a lot of fans will pity him, some will protest on his behalf. But his life isn't ruined. He's young and can get a new job. His victim doens't have that oppertunity. She has to live with what happened to her. We talk about rehabilitating offenders, but how do you rehabiliate someone who is convinced they've done nothing wrong? Until he sees drunk can't give consent there's a stalemate. Perhaps he could have played again if he'd shown remorse or at least some understanding of why rape is so serious but between him and his family they've ruined that chance. To be honest, very few celebs face justice, not really. Look at Chris Brown, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson (well ok his career's over) all of them hurt women and haven't faced any real consequences because rape/violence against women is shruged off. THis is the FIRST time people have really protested that if you rape you face more consequences than a short prison sentence.
He had a choice to sleep with that women. She didn't.