Most people assume "sexual assault" is the same crime as "rape" was.
It isn't.
Sexual assault includes a broad range of wrongful conduct -- as it was intended to. That's not widely understood.
The main problem is not that the public doesn't understand the nuances of the Criminal Code -- it's that Parliament (knowing the nuances) has ignored them. So all sexual assaults lead to the registration as a sexual offender.
Last month Vic Toews told the Senate this broad brush approach didn't make sense. He was right.
And in the limiting of pardons it seems that there will be an attempt to distinguish between levels of offence.
And Vic Toews is right again.
I don't agree that we should bring back "rape" into the Criminal Code -- too much history there -- but some amendment of the language may make sense.
10 comments:
A nice polite Liberal response to a Con wedge issue. Duh!
the "R" word with all its history is exactly why Vic TwinkleToes is talking about it.
And what exactly is wrong with the history of the "R" word? Rape, as a sexual assault, is one hell of a lot worse than grabbing an ass on the skytrain. The word has meaning. Why are you trying to hide it in euphemisms and minimizations?
I'm not at all clear on what you're saying, James. This is a very important issue, & I'd like to see a much clearer post on the issue & an further explanation of why you think Rape should be separated out (if I'm understanding you correctly?) from sexual assault?
It should be separated from more minor fact scenarios such as when a 13 year old boy pinches a girl's ass on a dare. That conduct should not be condoned, and there should certainly be consequences, however that 13 year old boy should not spend the rest of his life labelled as a sex offender.
It is wrong to group all such conduct as sexual assault. Personally I would retain sexual assault instead of rape, but I would create new offences to cover groping and other such conduct.
Gayle said...
It should be separated from more minor fact scenarios such as when a 13 year old boy pinches a girl's ass on a dare. That conduct should not be condoned, and there should certainly be consequences, however that 13 year old boy should not spend the rest of his life labelled as a sex offender.
Wow, Gayle. That makes two posts from you today (another at Adrian McNair's blog) that make perfect sense. You're scaring me...
Thats why I should post late -- I DON'T want Rape briught back into the Code. I do want discretion as to the Sex Offender registry for trial judges.
amazing eh Fred, 2 sensible posts in a day. That's 2 more than you achieve in a month.
"amazing eh Fred, 2 sensible posts in a day. That's 2 more than you achieve in a month."
...or Gene Rayburn in a year.
James C Morton said...
That's why I shouldn't post late -- I DON'T want Rape brought back into the Code. I do want discretion as to the Sex Offender registry for trial judges.
Yes, but as you said earlier there does need to be some distinction between offenses. Equating a vicious rape with a friendly pat on the ass is ludicrous...
But James, it would seem the mandatory registration of Fernando Manuel Alves as a sexual offender is a good thing, no?
Had it been been left to the judge's discretion, the only significant deterrent stopping Alves from pursuing his serial rape habit would not exist.
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