Absurd rape ruling demonstrates how far we have yet to go

Community outrage encouraging, but misogyny persists

Ethan Cabel

On Friday, Feb. 25, a group of student activists, feminists, representatives of community organizations and community members rallied outside the Law Courts on York to protest the sentencing decision made by Justice Robert Dewar regarding a Thompson rape case.

The day before, the Winnipeg Free Press ran an article outlining the decision made by Dewar and his victim-blaming reasons for making it.

In explaining the two-year conditional sentence that he gave to the man accused of rape, Justice Dewar detailed the survivor’s clothing, conduct and attitude on the evening of the assault.

To quote him directly, “sex was in the air” that night, and because her attacker may have misread her signals, the rapist is a “clumsy Don Juan.”

Between Dewar’s ruling and the response that followed, it is clear that, as a culture, we have not yet reached the simple conclusion that women are not responsible for the violence carried out against them.

Women do not ask to be raped and we do not enjoy it. A tube top, lipstick and a kiss do not constitute consent.

Women should be free to dress and behave as we please without fear of degrading and dehumanizing sexual violence.

Think about it: would a judge ever, in detailing the sentence for the assailant in a murder or robbery, describe what the victim of the crime was wearing? Where they were? What their attitude was?

It’s absurd to think that anyone invites a violent assault by dressing a certain way. 

In this culture, however, we still separate sexual assault from other forms of violence. We see rape as a product of unrequited desire. It’s almost as though men’s sexuality is uncontrollable and women must act as the gatekeepers, responsible for arousing that uncontrollable sexuality.

The truth is that rape is inherently violent, both physically and emotionally.

It is about control over the survivor. It tears away the survivor’s sense of safety and autonomy.

It tells her that she is public property – that her body is not her own, and if she dresses or moves or uses it in certain ways, she will be held accountable for attacks made on her.

Worse than the absurdity of using the survivor’s dress and conduct against her is how it works to re-traumatize this woman.

Having internalized the popular narrative about who is responsible for rape, survivors of sexual assault already blame themselves in many cases.

This survivor was courageous enough to come forward with her story, and it was one of the very few sexual assault cases that make it to sentencing. Dewar has reinforced the idea that “she asked for it,” and he has done so at this woman’s expense.

On Friday, the energy in the crowd was huge.

Passing motorists honked and cheered. At one point, a woman stood up and told the crowd about her own assault. It was an incredible moment of bravery.

There is so much support and commitment in our community to changing our culture and making the world safer for both women and men.

One of the conditions that Dewar gave to the accused was to write a letter of apology to the survivor of the assault. This patronizing condition trivializes the woman’s ordeal and contributes to the trauma she is experiencing.

Our community of women, feminists and allies asks that Dewar take back his ruling and justification for it.

He owes an apology to this survivor, and to women everywhere.

Erin Vosters is a former University of Winnipeg student and a member of Winnipeg’s FemRev Collective, which will be hosting the second Pan-Canadian RebELLEs Young Feminist Gathering in May 2011.

Published in Volume 65, Number 21 of The Uniter (March 3, 2011)

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