A space to resist rape myths? Journalism, patriarchy and sexual violence

In September 2018, a controversial judicial sentence concerning sexual violence caused a public outcry in Portugal. The court decision invoked the alleged environment of mutual seduction, the use of much alcohol consumption, and the lack of serious injuries to justify the suspended penalty. Stemming from the idea that understandings of what journalism is and what it should be are profoundly ideological and that notions of what it means to be and to behave like a woman and as a man have been developed (and altered over time) based on shifting realities within generalised patriarchal structures, this article intends to critically analyse the news media coverage of the controversial judicial sentence on this rape case in Portugal exploring the implications objective-based journalism entails for gender equality. As such, it will identify the shortcomings of objectivity and its leeway when covering sexual violence exploring how objective-based journalism provides room to (re)negotiate practices, norms, identities, and meanings concerning sexual violence, particularly rape and rape myths, and questioning whether a margin of maneuvre is enough to deconstruct patriarchal assumptions of feminity, masculinity and sexuality.

UPAYA PERDAMAIAN UNTUK PENYELESAIAN PERKARA PIDANA Reaktualisasi Kearifan Lokal dalam Hukum pidana Indonesia

One characteristic of Islamic law is not explicitly distinguished between the domain of public law with private law. Sanctions for deliberate murder is Qisas for example, where the victim's heirs have more permanent role to choose the death penalty imposed (Qisas) or give forgive me by asking Diyat (compensation). Amount number of Diyat is also can be negotiated through a kind of mediation method called Shulh (peace). So here the element of private law is more dominant. Even Diyat can be released at all heirs of the victim initiatives. In this last case the State may punish the offender with ta'zir, so here its public law elements recur. This idea is not unknown in Indonesian positive law provisions. The victim had usually been involved as a witness in his father murder case or rape case against her. In customary law in Aceh there are several institutions in efforts to realize peace for criminal cases, namely in the form of adat meulangga, dhiet, sayam or takanai (South Aceh). Principles of peace settlement of disputes may also be considered not only for civil cases but also in criminal cases. Thus the doctrine that says the criminal nature of a case will not remove although there is peace agreement, would need to be revisited. However it is important also to restrict that not every criminal case could be solved by peace agreement. Criminal cases like premeditated murder and rape should be excluded from the possibility of peace agreement.

Tribunal Theatre in Spain: Jauría and the La Manada Gang Rape

Jauría (2019) was the first tribunal verbatim play in Spain and it had a great impact on audiences in the context of heated debate about how national legislation had a long-standing legacy of sexism. Based on the transcripts of the legal proceedings of the La Manada gang-rape case, Jauría not only clarifies this controversial case for different types of audiences, but it also poses very important questions concerning the nature of rape and how the judicial system treats the victims of rape. This article studies the performative force of tribunal verbatim in shaping the audience’s understanding of an actual gang-rape case and indicates how a feedback loop is created in the performance itself, transforming the spectators’ attitudes. Svetlana Antropova is a lecturer at Villanueva University in Madrid. Her recent publications include ‘Filming Trauma: Bodiless Voice and Voiceless Bodies in Beckett’s Eh Joe’, in Elspeth McInnes and Danielle Schaub, eds., What Happened? Re-presenting Traumas, Uncovering Recoveries (Brill/Rodopi 2019), and ‘De/Construction of Visual Stage Image in Samuel Beckett’s Play’ (Anagnórisis: Revista de Investigación Teatral, XXII, 2020). Elisa García Mingo is an associate professor in Sociology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and is an associate member of the Centre for Transforming Sexualities and Gender at the University of Brighton.

Intersections of race and gender in sexual assault trials

This essay traces the development of intersectionality theory within the field of language and gender in relation to research on the language of rape trials. In early work on the topic, I used Judith Butler’s notion of the ‘rigid regulatory frame’ to understand the cultural intelligibility of certain kinds of rape victims in the legal system and the unintelligibility of others. But the inequities that complainants often experience in rape trials are not merely the result of sexism; rather, it is sexism and racism which together interact to disadvantage complainants and protect white male perpetrators, who occupy a privileged position within these contexts vis-à-vis men of colour. In line with recent work in the field, I end with an analysis of a rape case that demonstrates the necessity of attending to nonhegemonic masculinities and intersectionality.

Discontinuity formulation of restitutions in Aceh qanun against the protection of rape victims

This study discusses the fulfilment of the rights of rape victims in Aceh in the form of restitution payments. Restitution which is the main punishment in Qanun Aceh No. 6 of 2014 concerning the Jinayat Law, has never been included in the judge's decision in the cases of rape. Basically Qanun Jinayah has shown its side with rape victims by formulating punishments for perpetrators which are certain to have a deterrent effect such as the length of prison sentences and the number of sentences handed down to the perpetrators. However, the problem of hampering the fulfilment of restitution to victims is a new problem in the realm of enforcing the Jinayah Qanun in Aceh. This raises the question of why restitution was never included in the decision of the Sharia Court for the rape case in Aceh. This research is a literature study using a normative approach which is then explained descriptively. The results of this study showed that the restitution was never included in the decision is due to the incompatibility of the restitution formulation mentioned in the Jinayat Law Qanun and later referred to differently in the Jinayat Procedural Law, namely as compensation. The fulfilment of this right to restitution is also hampered due to the absence of a governor's regulation that contains technical rules regarding the mechanism for executing restitution for victims. The impact of this discontinuity in the formulation of restitution makes judges unable to include sanctions for restitution in their decisions.

Strength Versus Sensitivity: The Impact of Attorney Gender on Juror Perceptions and Trial Outcomes in a Rape Case

We examined the impact of attorney gender on perceptions of a criminal rape trial. Community members ( N = 208) read a trial summary describing a rape scenario in which the gender of the prosecuting and defense attorney were manipulated. The results revealed indirect effects of prosecuting and defense attorney gender on verdict through perceptions of characteristics related to attorney competency. Qualitative analyses further showed that the terms “strength” and “powerful” were central to juror perceptions of male attorneys, whereas the terms “sensitive” and “sympathy” were central when the attorneys were female.

Leslee Udwin’s India’s Daughter (2015), the power of storytelling and question of social change in the #MeToo era

In an op-ed, Leslee Udwin, the filmmaker of the controversial but meaningful documentary, India’s Daughter speaks of the tensions she faced in India amidst her film’s release. After her movie was banned in India, she abruptly left the country to avoid arrest. Her film explores the complexities and nuances of the 2012 Delhi rape case. It drew criticism when the trailer was released because it allegedly focused on the rapist’s narrative. Drawing upon my interview with Udwin and archival research, I explore the multitude of ways in which Leslee’s position as a powerful storyteller and an outsider influenced her documentary’s success within and outside of India. A medium of social change, Udwin’s documentary underscores the patriarchal and misogynistic attitudes that continue to exist while simultaneously challenging the role of the state, politicians and law enforcement who are in charge of protecting women’s rights.

The Rape Theory and Phenomenon among Teenagers

Social problems in Malaysia is on its red alert, especially involving rape and sexual assault among teenagers. Due to this serious increment, all the researches regarding theories and rape phenomenon among teenagers are supposed to benefit the citizens. Thus, this concept paper aims to briefly discuss the rape theories and explain the rape phenomenon among teenagers as well as the advantages obtained from rape case studies. Several rape theories and importance of understanding rape phenomenon include to introduce new branch of knowledge in psychological counselling and consequently, those importance’s would benefit the counselling practitioners (teachers, counsellors, counselling and psychology lecturers), parents, citizens, government institutions and not to forget, the NGOs

A Quest for “Justice” in Capital Punishment: A Socio-Legal Study of the Nirbhaya Gangrape Case

The December 16, 2012 gang rape case in India’s capital ignited fierce discussion on women’s rights, safety measures as well as the punishment for the rapists. A major question stemming from this case and elaborated in this paper is: is capital punishment for a rapist an effective measure, as a form of “justice” for the victim? The paper concludes that capital punishment should be abolished even for gruesome crimes like rape and it further raises the question whether capital punishment can serve as a reform tool for the existing and oftentimes dysfunctional criminal system in India. Through a thorough analysis of Mukesh & Another Vs State of NCT of Delhi and others (known as the Nirbhaya gang rape case), the paper explores capital punishment for the rapist from a socio-legal and cultural perspective. The case particularly becomes important as, along with other issues, it is concerned with the question of rights of the victim vis-à-vis the rights of the offender. In other words, the paper delves deeper into the conflict between the victims’ interests and the right of the offender in the justice system by examining who is responsible for what and to what extent. Taking a human rights approach, the paper examines the human rights jurisprudence in India as well as in international laws. Further, it maps the social and historical perspective revolving around rape victimhood and gender along with arguments that have been predominant for and against capital punishment, particularly for rapists in an Indian context.