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MsSaskia -> RE: Submissive beat me. (12/6/2007 12:18:47 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: darchChylde
in cases of domestic violence, especially with trans victims or those in a alternative-lifestyle (remember that bdsm and Ds are still in the closet and you can still be legally descriminated against or even prosecuted for practicing bdsm... legally, there is no consentual assault) the criminal justice system will, almost without fail, actively victimizes the victim... "innocent until proven guilty" is just that; in america you have to prove guilt, not innocence... what does this mean in action? this means that the defense gets to (often publicly) pick apart every part of your life in order to get their client off or atleast persuade you into going for a lesser charge, to sum it up this is legal blackmail
as for the original attacker pressing charges? am i the only one that sees george dubya's joining mensa as more likely than someone in texas letting it go public that he was in any type of relationship with a trans girl?
I've got a lot more experience with nonconsensual violence than I'd like. I think a bit less would've been nice, really. What it did, though, was motivate me to become a social worker and get involved in activism on all sorts of issues that usually involve the most marginalized populations. What I learned was that the marginalized stayed marginalized and any help they could get from the system was a drop in the bucket.
Just about any involvement with any kind of authority meant trouble, and the "tell me alllll the juicy details" was the least of it and always deeply humiliating and served no purpose but to let the authorities (whoever had power to help at the moment) decide whether you were a good victim (a nun with a busload of orphans on their way to listen to the Pope) or a bad victim (everyone else, but definitely deserving of whatever happened). When I worked at a homeless shelter for women with children, my own coworkers would sit at staff meetings and, instead of discussing cases, would gossip about the residents and make decisions about who got what resources based on whether they thought the resident was a bitch or not. Case files were treated like comic books. And when I worked on a rape crisis hotline, I heard stories over and over again from very recent victims who'd gone to the police to file a report and been told by the officer that they had to wait 72 hours to file. 72 hours is the legal limit for evidence collection, which means that the officers deliberately ensured that the victim would not be able to provide any physical evidence if the case came to trial. The officers also knew (know) full well that the number of victims who come forward is incredibly small, and the number of victims who come forward after being turned away (officers refusing to take a report) is infinitessimal. All a big laugh for the officers, plus a good way to get out of all that annoying paperwork.
If I'm ever in a position again where someone's assaulted me, I have countermeasures in place and they do not involve voluntary contact with authorities. Jail would be preferable to knowing someone completely got away with it. Then again, I know how to fight with and without weapons now, so retaliation is really less of an issue.
There is a certain segment of the population that actually targets people they know will be "bad victims" in the eyes of the police. When I worked with homeless teenagers, I heard stories about other homeless kids who'd find out which girls had warrants out and then they'd rape them, knowing beyond any doubt that the girl could not go to the police without being arrested herself. Transgendered (and queer and black and homeless et cetera) folks are a popular target for people who like their violence nonconsensual, since they know exactly what will happen if the victims come forward. People who don't get targeted are average citizens with more mainstream appeal and some access to resources.
People on the fringes of society are really on their/our own. The system teaches us that reporting will make things worse for us. What we're left with is the same methods that worked before police departments and social service organizations existed: tribal justice.
And yeah, my first thought after reading posts that advised Ms Sakura not to track the perp down because he might report her was, "Hello, 911? I just got beat up by a kinky tranny!" Ha. Not likely. Her attacker is most likely a fringe dweller himself ("What's that, sir? You say you previously had a consensual sadomasochistic relationship with this transgendered person? I see!") and knows full well how much sympathy he'll get from reporting.
I have a feeling Ms. Sakura is not OK right now. Coming here hoping for some kind of support didn't get her much. I hope she has a good support network in her city and I hope she puts the word out for others in her community to watch out for the guy that did that to her.
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