"Steve Hayes" <hayesmstw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 16:08:52 -0700, "S. L'Gree"
<put_your_b@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> >Police spokeswoman Brenda Muntemba blamed "weak laws" for the
> >increasing child rape cases.
> >"There is nothing the police can do if an offender is arrested and
> >appears before court where he is then given bail. Our court system and
> >even the prisons (service) need serious reforms," Muntemba said.
> And surely what is needed is not new legislation, but the application
of
> existing laws -- or are there places where rape is legal?
Application of social regulatory law, such as that which covers ***ual
assault, tends to be based on what society, particularly conservative
society, thinks and believes.
Accordingly I have long believed that "rape" should be removed from the
list
of crimes and replaced with "***ual assault". Same thing, different
connotations. There are people, probably women as well as men, who
believe
that a woman who dresses attractively, or perhaps "provocatively" is
"asking" to be raped. If this were rephrased as "***ually assaulted" one
might have fewer people believing such drivel.
Although whether this would be a deterrent for children I don't know. I
was
in a shop at the Oriental Plaza the other day when a small child was
misbehaving. The mother told the child to stop. The child continued.
The
father threatened the child with a hiding. The child continued. The
father
duly administered the hiding. I approved. I know many other people would
not have on the grounds that one should not abuse a child and that
physical
and ***ual and emotional abuse are all just forms of abuse.
Moira, the Faerie Godmother
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