AG needs to tackle indecent assault gender bias
(CNS): The crime of indecent assault in Cayman has a gender bias that needs to be addressed, the court heard Tuesday, as the offence against a man appears to be considered as a more serious crime than an indecent assault against a woman. In a ruling Tuesday on an unrelated legal matter concerning an indecency case, Justice Charles Quin said that the “anomaly” regarding the difference between the sexes required the attorney general’s attention. During legal arguments attorney Nick Dixie had raised the discrimination issue, pointing out the difference in the category of an indecent assault offence depending on the gender of the victim that appeared to have no justification.
Cases of indecent assault against women or girls are listed as category B offences which can be tried in Summary Court, while offenders charged with the same crime on men or boys must be tried in the higher court as it is classified as a category A offence, regardless of the details.
Dixie is currently dealing with a case involving a defendant who is accusing of fondling the hand of a teenage boy and attempting to kiss him after enticing him into his car. If he denies the allegations, the man has no choice over where he will be tried as it has been transmitted to the Grand Court. But had his alleged victim been a teenage girl, the case could have been handled in the lower courts, where punishments on conviction are less harsh.
During his ruling dealing with a different aspect of the case, the judge agreed with Dixie that the gender bias was a strange anomaly for which there could be no justification, and he urged the country’s senior lawyer to address the matter because it could not be compatible with the Bill of Rights. The judge said that if the legislators feel that sexual assault on a woman can be handled in the lower court, then the same must apply to cases involving male victims.
A second indecent assault case handled by the judge Tuesday morning also highlighted the need for the court to retain its flexibility in sentencing on these type of cases because of the wide discrepancies in the offence.
In November 2013, legislators all supported a motion brought by Anthony Eden to introduce a statutory minimum of five years on all indecent assault cases against women and girls as well as an increase in the maximum to twenty years.
At the time the premier had spoken about making it law “quickly” because of the unanimous support, but three years later the government has not acted and their failure to do so was fortunate for an 18-year-old who was given a two-year probation and 100 hours of community service following his conviction of defilement and indecent assault.
The boy, who was 17 when he was caught hiding under his girlfriend’s bed by her father, had admitted having sex with her even though she was not yet 13 years old. The two had been friends for some time before they had what the young girl had said was consensual sex, which she had encouraged when she sneaked him into her bedroom.
The young man had no previous convictions and the judge found no aggravating factors in the case when he handed down the non-custodial sentence and pointed to authorities that have demonstrated the view of the judiciary regarding the wide range of sexually related offences — an issue that the judge said the public does not always appreciate.
He said this case was an example of a “virtuous friendship” between two young people of similar age where they end up having sex after being friends, compared to a much older person or one in a position of trust that might seduce an underage girl. Reading from legal authorities, Justice Quin said most judges take the view where virtuous friendships end in underage sex, it is not appropriate to pass sentences of a punitive nature because what is really required is a warning.
What does the AG do exactly?
While I agree that the Law should be gender neutral, there are some other factors to be considered. On all current validated assessments of the risk of recidivism in sexual offenders, having a male victim significantly increases that risk.
Before we get onto the moral anti-gay bandwagon, the number of male on male sexual offenses, are a tiny fraction of the male on female offenses.
Please provide references for “all current validated assessments of the risk of recidivism in sexual offenders” to substantiate this claim.
Static 99-R, Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II, Violence Risk Scale: Sexual Offender Version … Use the Google machine my friend.
What about the Gender Biased law of “Insulting the modesty of a woman” ? whereas there is NO LAW that make it an offence for a female to insult the modesty of a man(if men are entitled to have “modesty” in the Cayman Islands.
On a separate note, it would seem that a female can use defaming and derogatory words against another female but there is NO precedent for legal action in such cases
This country can’t think of itself as civilized until children are protected by law and in reality.
One would think that if anything, at least culturally, such a crime would be treated more seriously when a female is offended over a male being offended. It is completely counterintuitive for this crime to be treated more seriously when committed against a male over a female – it offends common sense. This is totally unacceptable, especially in this modern society.
I agree that if criminal prosecution procedures require this to be a Cat A offense when committed against a male, it should be Cat A across the board… What kind of message are we trying to send to our ladies? How was this even codified in the Cayman Islands?! It’s beyond just an “anomaly”; it’s reckless and incredibly offensive.
this does not surprise me, when you have politicians comparing women to objects (sacred vessel defense).
Think of all the effort that went in to investigating that women prison officer that was earning $20 a week more than her male counterparts,yet in nearly every job in Cayman women are paid less than men for the same work, and nothing is ever done.
It seems Cayman equality pay is only there incase a man is ever paid less than a female.
Misogynism is part of Cayman culture, now does anyone know which heritage day they celebrate it at?
Hi CNS: Why to I keep getting “Already voted”? Even when I haven’t and there are no votes shown at all!
CNS: It’s proving to be a very stubborn problem. We’re still working on it …
ALL crimes of this kind should be category A!!!!!
3 years later and the do nothing PPM have done NOTHING! Any wonder Eden Connolly and Suckoo left? Seems like those who stayed are happy doing not a damn thing
Virtuous friendship? Make me catch him in my under aged daughters room! It will be a virtuous assing
Ooh, you kinky thing!
People need morals today. There is no political system or ideology that can give children morals.
Morals come from virtuous parents and a responsibility borne of conscience.
No self respecting girl would put herself in jeopardy with a drunken bunch of blokes.
I can just see it now, “Excuse me lassie while I get shit-faced. After that, we can discuss Kepler’s laws of interplanetary motion.”
What dream world is our media living in? Raise your children properly and stop passing the buck.