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August 19, 2005
Apartheid Laws in Australia
[The trigger story for this article can be found online - Month's jail for sex with girl, 14 or in the extended article....]
An Australian man* who was 55 had been "promised" some years ago that he could marry a young girl when she grew older. She turned 14 so he took her, raped her (including anal sex), and beat her with a boomerang. The obvious charges were kidnapping, rape, assault, and penetration of a minor. It is quite likely that additional charges could also be laid. The judges ruling? One month.
WTF?
You know that I rarely swear on the blog** but I could not believe this. One month. One lousy month. Any one of those charges should be worth multiple years.
Why did this happen? It happened because the man* was not just a man. He was an Aboriginal elder. He claimed that it was right under "his" law. He also claimed to not understand that it was against Australian law.
Let's start with getting one thing straight - ignorance of the law is never an excuse. Let's continue with the next point - everyone in this country should be equal before the law. There is not one law for Aboriginals and one law for non-Aboriginals. Or at least there shouldn't be. What next? A third law to cover ethnic immigrants who want to beat their wives. Or have more than one wife***: "Your honour, that is not against my law...."
Regardless of ethnicity, importance, money, religion - the law should be impartial. This perpetrator should get the regular sentence for the crimes and it should be widely and clearly publicised to disabuse any other confused individuals who somehow think that the law does not apply. The magistrate should also be sent back to school until he demonstrates an understanding that there is only one law in Australia. We do not want to live in an apartheid state.
I recently complete a short item for my theology course which touched on whether it was possible to be Aboriginal and Christian at the same time. I suggested that it was very possible for the Aboriginal view of spirituality to become Christian but it was unlikely that a true Christian could continue to accept all of the cultural aspects of being Aboriginal - including accepting the violence towards young women which appears to be part and parcel of Aboriginal society.
[* Using the word "man" here in the loosest possible way - I do not want to deliberately offend all my male readers by suggesting that all men are like this.]
[** Most of the swearing is done by Rofl :-)]
[*** If the plural of mouse = mice, is the plural of spouse = spice? Actually I can recall one wise gent telling me that any man who married more than one woman got exactly what he deserved :-) It is hard enough to keep one woman happy - impossible to keep two....]
Original article as it appeared in Month's jail for sex with girl, 14
An Aboriginal elder has been given a four-week jail sentence for hitting his 14-year-old "promised wife" with a boomerang and having anal sex with her after the judge took into account his actions were permitted under traditional law.
The girl fled her home after being shamed by the charges, which were brought against the 55-year-old man under Northern Territory law.
An independent MP, Loraine Braham, yesterday attacked the decision by the territory's Supreme Court to suspend a 24-month jail sentence for the man, who had pleaded guilty to charges of assault and having sexual intercourse with a child.
Ms Braham said a four-week jail term was "totally inadequate".
"The offender has the judge's sympathy. His remarks reflect concern for the offender, not the victim," she said.
Justice Brian Martin said after hearing the case during an under-the-tree session in the Yarralin community, 400 kilometres west of Katherine, that he took into consideration defence submissions the elder believed his actions were permitted under Aboriginal law.
Justice Martin, the territory's Chief Justice, said he also took into account that the man was unaware at the time that territory law prohibited sexual intercourse with a person aged under 16 and that he had pleaded guilty.
He described the case as complicated, reflecting a clash of laws, cultures and generations.
The court was told the man, who cannot be named because this would identify the victim, accepted his actions were contrary to territory law and had abandoned his marriage claim to the girl. The girl had been promised to him at the age of four.
Justice Martin asked that his sentencing remarks be sent to police, Aboriginal bodies and communities "to ensure all Aboriginal people understood the law".
"Everyone in those communities, particularly Aboriginal men, must understand that women, children and other vulnerable groups in society have a right to be protected," he said.
The Northern Territory Government last year passed legislation banning traditional marriage as a defence against under-age sex.
Justice Martin suspended the 24-month jail sentence after one month on condition the man agreed to a $250 good behaviour bond and to have no contact with the girl for two years.
Posted by Ozguru at August 19, 2005 01:00 AM
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Comments
Oh, but surely there was also a wrist slap, no?
Posted by: Old Horsetail Snake at August 19, 2005 04:31 AM
