From today's Kitchener-Waterlo o Record (link will be taken down after seven days)

Some choice quotes

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A 44-year-old Cambridge man was sentenced yesterday to a year of house arrest for sexually assaulting three women at his workplace.

Lino Martins was found guilty earlier of six counts of sexual assault on his co-workers from 2002 to 2004.

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But explaining the sentence, Epstein said Martins' actions were mostly at the "low end of sexual assault." As well, the assaults had significant consequences for Martins' family, said the judge, who found the accused, too, had suffered.

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Isn't it usually considered appropriate that someone should "suffer" when they sexually assault three women in their workplace?

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Court heard that two of Martins' victims left work because they felt humiliated. The third left because one assault aggravated an old injury.

"I thought he would get six months (in jail)," said the other woman. The third victim was not in court.

Court heard that while at work, Martins would come up behind the women and thrust his pelvis into their buttocks. His penis was erect, which, on several occasions, he made sure the women knew.

Epstein said the two most serious incidents happened at one victim's home while her husband was away. Martins kissed the woman, held her against the door as he was leaving her house, and told her he wanted sex. He then masturbated.

When Martins returned to the woman's house a second time, the woman thought he was there to apologize, Epstein told the court in his summary of evidence.

Instead Martins straddled the woman on the kitchen floor after she fell. He kissed her and fondled her breasts, asking her for sexual favours. The woman screamed and told him to leave.

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In his judgment, Epstein said Martins showed violence during the assault at one victim's house, but the violence "lacked an element of brutality."

He also noted that Martins stopped when the woman reacted, and that there was no further touching.

Martins cannot be blamed for the culture at the workplace but his actions showed a "callous disregard for their feelings," Epstein said.

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So, if "the culture of the workplace" says that sexual assault is OK, then go right ahead and do it?

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But Epstein said he agreed with Martins' lawyer, Bob Miller, that Martins was not a threat to the community and that the offences. His offences were against people he knew, and were not predatory sexual assaults on strangers.

Crown prosecutor Jane Young asked the judge for a jail term of nine to 12 months. In victim impact statements Young read to the court, each woman wrote about losing her self-confidence and about the embarrassment and lasting hurt caused by Martins.

After the sentencing, family and friends of Martins' hugged each other outside. Some women cried.

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Don't worry strangers. You're only in danger if the assailant knows you... because, that makes sexual assault less of a crime.

[ 07 March 2006: Message edited by: Scott Piatkowski ]

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Originally posted by Mr. Magoo:
House arrest should certainly eliminate any possibility of him sexually assaulting anyone he knows. How would anyone he knows ever end up in his house?

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Martins hasn't shown remorse, the court gives him a slap on the wrist for violating 3 different women. He's not obligated to go to counselling.

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His offences were against people he knew, and were not predatory sexual assaults on strangers.

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Any judge who writes lines like that into a judgement should be up for re-education, at least.

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posted by Mr. Magoo: House arrest should certainly eliminate any possibility of him sexually assaulting anyone he knows. How would anyone he knows ever end up in his house?

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Originally posted by swirrlygrrl:
Well, they probably weren't wearing bonnets and crinolines when they were assaulted.

Yeesh. Its not a good day when I suddenly start to think that maybe some type of political vetting process for judges may have merit after all. (Though I'm sure such attitudes would get this judge fast tracked by some Conservatives, rather than kicked to the curb.)

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Originally posted by writer:
Yah!

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And where in that were all the conservatives asking for lenient sentencing for sex offenders?

There were a handful of blind, partisan apologists for Ramsay.

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Say what you like about Conservatives, I suspect that they would not be interested in supporting judges who take a soft line towards sex offenders.

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Gee, thanks for the permission. I will!

Um, the precursor Reform party had a Justice Critic who was convicted of sexual assault and blamed the young Aboriginal victim for showing him her underwear. So, I'm sure the Cons don't want judges who are soft on the good victims of white, stranger assaulted virgins. But all those tainted women with loose morals? Well, their bodily integrity isn't so important to them, as I see it.

*edited to add*

writer is faster than me. Go, writer!

[ 07 March 2006: Message edited by: swirrlygrrl ]

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Mr. Jack Ramsay (Crowfoot, Ref.): Mr. Speaker, the justice minister's reading of Mrs. de Villiers' letter in the House yesterday indicates clearly that the minister remains committed to a law that allows rapists and child sex molestors to walk free and has attempted to defend his position by leaving the impression that the victims of crime support this law as well.

If this impression is wrong and the minister does not really support rapists and violent offenders walking free, will the minister move immediately to amend the Criminal Code to restrict conditional sentencing to non-violent offenders?

(Hansard)

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On the other:

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As you may recall, in November of 1999, Reform MP Jack Ramsay went on trial for raping and unlawfully confining an Aboriginal girl in Saskatchewan in the late 1960s. He was eventually found guilty of attempted rape and in May of 2000, he was sentenced to 9 months in jail. The conviction was overturned on appeal and a new trial date was set. In a surprise move, Ramsay pleaded guilty to one count of attempted assault in October 2001. He was sentenced to a year in prison and 120 hours of community service.

MediaCan Interview: Shannon Sampert
Doctoral Student
Department of Political Science, University of Alberta

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[ 07 March 2006: Message edited by: writer ]

Are you contending then that the left generally supports tougher sentencing for sex offenders than the right?

I suspect you would lose dismally in such a link war.

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NDP detects politics on eve of MLA’s sentencing

The only case that closely mirrors the Arntzen situation is that of Jack Ramsay, an Alberta MP who in 1999 was convicted of trying to rape a 14-year-old girl in 1967.

Ramsay maintained his innocence following the conviction.

Like Fentie, Preston Manning, leader of the Reform party, pushed to permit the MP to have the opportunity to appeal in court.

Pressure inside the party resulted in Ramsay being ousted from its caucus.

But, he did not give up his seat in the House of Commons and sat as an independent MP, saying he would maintain his position until his options of appeal were exhausted or his constituents told him to quit.

There was political pressure from all parties for Ramsay to leave the House of Commons, but the issue was never brought to a vote.

Ramsay later lost his seat in the 2000 federal election.

“I think there are people disturbed and really uncomfortable about the fact that Mr. Arntzen continues to act as a representative of people even though he’s been found guilty of these charges,” said Hardy.

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According to this piece, former Yukon Party MLA Haakon Arntzen "was convicted of three counts of indecent assault in May for crimes against two women who were children at the time."

[ 07 March 2006: Message edited by: writer ]

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Yes, you have found evidence of one conservative hypocrite.

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Baby, I've from Alberta and Saskatchewan. You want to talk Conservative hyprocricy and criminality, let's talk Devine government. Or, hey, all those Conservative MPs not named Garth Turner speaking out against the Emerson appointment (*chirp* *chirp* Who else loves the sound of crickets?)

I am pretty sure that I didnt.

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Originally posted by writer:

Once I see half of the right's structure, candidates and elected representatives filled with women, I'll give some time to its position on crime. Which is to say never.

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Get off, already, and let us speak for ourselves.

[ 07 March 2006: Message edited by: writer ]

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Originally posted by Scott Piatkowski:
Although there is lots of fun to be had in pointing out Conservative double standards on any issue, I started the thread to talk about the judge's unacceptable remarks and the attitude behind them.

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Fair enough. Isn't this one of the results when sentencing is left to the judge and their discression? One of the consistent arguments against mandatory minimum sentencing is that the judge and jury is far better empowered to determine the proper punishment given that they are fully aware of the case.

Perhaps this is a case were the offender is simply not quite cognisant of what is legal and appropiate when it comes to relating to the opposite sex (I have an inlaw like that).

Poor bastard.

All too often judges behave as if the whole matter bored them. Sentences like this one teach the victims that there really is no "justice" anywhere in this country or in our court system. Sentences like this and too many others teach all women that sexual assault and rape has been trivialized and that we do not matter, we can be used, misused and abused with near impunity.

Had this maggot assaulted a judge or a lawyer many of us know in our hearts the result would have been different.

If I were to slap a judge in the face I'd feel the full force of the law in it's judicial majesty. This guy repeatedly assaults women and the judge says the guy sufferred...

I suspect the trivialization is because if every judge handed down maximum jail time for sexual crimes we wouldn't have enough bricklayers in the country to build enough prisons to hold them.

Of course the Crown SHOULD appeal but I doubt it will.

I think many of us learned a lot when it was revealed a woman had been severely wounded , escaped from the Picton farm, called the cops, and charges were laid. Charges of attempted murder, in fact. And were dropped the day the trial was supposed to begin even though the woman was willing to testify and there was ample evidence she was alive only because of her own courage and raw blind luck.

We know we don't matter. We know we are walking targets. We teach our daughters as best we can how to stay as safe as is possible in this society. And we know we can't keep them safe.

And it has diddly to do with Liberal or Conservative policy, ideology or philosophy. It has to do with male supremicist bullshit and a court system that is so corrupt it is a travesty.

This just is an asshole. Working in a field which is replete with assholes. And this guy will be allowed to go to work , he'll continue his assholiness, women will be assaulted and traumatized and the only "suffering" this guy will experience will be that his leisure time is slightly curtailed.

A woman was INJURED... well, I hope she can find a lawyer who will take this to civil court and I hope she gets a HUGE judgement and can get some satisfaction in financial terms because "financial" is the only thing these ass holes understand.

And anyone who tries to defend the judge in this case or others in other cases is also an ass hole.

Also, have the Crown appeal AS POLICY all ridiculous sentences like this one. Have some way of kicking this judge's butt off the bench for making such stupid statements and rulings.*

I don't support minimum sentences for crimes because things would be very different if this guy had expressed remorse, learned from his crimes, participated in counselling or anti-oppression training, make ammends or reparations, etc. The house arrest might have made sense. No evidence of any of that here, and therefore totally innapropriate sentence.

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Originally posted by writer:
The solution? In this current climate of profound ignorance about women's experiences, fight tooth and nail for half of the world's adult population to finally share power equally. Enough already.

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[ 07 March 2006: Message edited by: Aristotleded24 ]

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Originally posted by writer:
Bullshit.

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Or what if a woman has friends and family who would, upon learning of such an incident, go out and deliver "justice" to the perpetrator? (Note: I am not actually advocating that anyone should go out and do this, just raising the possibility that some people would or have done so.)

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Aristotle 24, I know you mean well, but this does become tiring. For some of us, it isn't a question of theory. And we've explored and described it. Many times. On babble. And been attacked.

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Originally posted by writer:
And you come across like yet another well-intentioned patronizing male squatting in the feminism forum. Which I'm sure you don't mean to.

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Aw crap. This is in the feminism forum?! Never mind.

[ 07 March 2006: Message edited by: Stargazer ]

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“The world is also starting to grasp that there is no policy more effective in promoting development, health and education than the empowerment of women and girls. And I would venture that no policy is more important in preventing conflict, or in achieving reconciliation after a conflict has ended,” [UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan] added.

He noted that there are now 11 women Heads of State or Government and three countries - Chile, Spain and Sweden - now have gender parity in Government. “But we have far, far more to do,” he warned. “The rate of progress overall is slow.”

... UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador, Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman ... shone a spotlight on the need to end violence against women, particularly violence against the hundreds of thousands of women and girls caught in the crossfire of conflict.

UN marks IWD

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At some point in time, history will demand an explanation for the torpor that transfixed the international community while women were being decimated, and are still being decimated, in numbers that would numb the mind of Einstein.

Speech by Stephen Lewis to UN Reform and Human Rights Conference

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Their phone number is (519)894-2231. The Editorial Page Editor is John Roe ( [email protected] ), and the Insight Page editor is Carol Ross Williamson ( [email protected] ).

How can we possibly "educate" them? I mean, what with them being so teddibly teddibly superior in so many precious ways compared to the rest of us with our sweaty little concerns.

They live in such a rarified atmosphere their brains are probably oxygen deprived, making them incapable of learning anything newer than , say, 17th century opinions.

They get "elevated" for probably political reasons. I don't think they have to write a test or even apply for the job. Kiss enough political airse and whammo you're no longer a lawyer you're a judge.

A bunch of women showed up in court in Powell River when a guy was on trial for sexual assault of a little girl. Some wore Women Against Rape tee shirts, some had other feminist slogans... and we were told we had to either cover the tee shirts or leave the courtroom. The only ones who didn't have to hide their affiliations were the Salvation Army women and the nuns from the local convent. We were not allowed to take notes and if we did we would be told to leave the court room.

Didn't matter what happened to the perv WE were given a perfect example of what justice means in this country!

Well, we've just been given another example, by another judge.

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What Needs To Be Done To Challenge Gender-based Violence?

• Analyze the various forms of masculinity; reveal the violent forms, and work towards changing them.
• Reveal and question the values promoting or glamorising violence - competition, hardness, insensitivity, idolising winners in war, sports and business life.
• Analyze and question male roles and ideals, the concept of "male honour" prevailing in male cultures.
• Develop and value fatherhood; develop the skills and qualities of fatherhood among men and boys.
• Integrate a gender perspective into school education to create awareness of the different positions of boys and girls within the family, in culture and reproduction, and to promote their development into balanced personalities and into men and women in a relationship of equality and mutual respect.
• Develop legislation on violence against women to criminalize gender violence in all forms and provide women with protection when facing violence or being threatened by it.
• Increase the number of shelters for women and support the work of shelters and counselling services.
• Help men to abandon their violent behaviour by establishing support and therapy services and providing appropriate therapies.
• Encourage men to establish their own groups and voluntary activities to combat men's violence against women, and support such movements.
• Increase the proportion of women in politics, foreign policy and international decision-making.
• Promote and further secure equality between women and men both through legislative and administrative means and through changing public opinion and shaping attitudes and values, thus building a culture of equality and peace.

Fact Sheet on Gender Issues
Masculinity and Gender Violence

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It would be a nice start if guys who say they care made the effort to educate themselves - and each other.

[ 09 March 2006: Message edited by: writer ]

Heph says one thing I won't forget and that is 'we have no natural allies'. Well neither do we Heph, and we're 51 percent of the population and not a whole lot has changed for us and in fact, it's going backward. I've heard my gay friends call women 'fish'; call lesbians 'unhappy bitchy dykes', I've heard straight men talk about women my entire lives as if we are less than they are, down to our very core (emotions, our jobs, our lives). Where are our allies? That's what I would like to know.

Do you know why women have no lesbian spots to hang out in Toronto? Why apparently it's because lesbians are no fun! That's why. End of story. let's not even bother to examine the unequal role of lesbians. Why bother? I realize this isn't typical (I really hope not) but these are the answers and responses I am routinely given.

[ 09 March 2006: Message edited by: Stargazer ]

[ 09 March 2006: Message edited by: cogito ergo sum ]

[ 09 March 2006: Message edited by: Accidental Altruist ]

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I don't think in the big picture there really is any justice in rape cases or sexual harassment cases. Let's face it, as much as we want to pretend it's otherwise, a large number of men associate rape and sexual assault with sex, not with violence.

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So it is quite natural for the two to merge when the socializing mechanisms are breaking down or absent. Dating rituals and socially accepted norms governing violence are artifical restaints and processes that may or may not be adopted by members of a population.

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All this was inspired by the principle - which is quite true in itself - that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes.

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We are programmed to procreate. It is a biologicial imperative.

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Sex assault leniancy

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The Kitchener-Waterloo Sexual Assault Support Centre was concerned reading the article (Record, March 7, Man Suffered Too, Judge Says) outlining Justice Epstein's explanation of the sentencing of Lino Martins for a series of sexual assaults on co-workers.

Epstein's reported rationalizations demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of the issue of sexual violence against women. Perpetuating the myth that true sexual assault is about a stranger attacking in an alleyway, Epstein agreed that Martins was not a threat to the community, in that his attacks were on people he knew, as opposed to predatory sexual assaults on strangers. In fact, victims of sexual offences are known to the offender in 80 per cent of cases, Statistics Canada reported in 2002.

Assaults by acquaintances and family members make up the bulk of sexual assaults in our community and are just as damaging; our tolerance and excuses for these types of offences needto end. Epstein's description of Martins as a man dedicated to his family, and a community volunteer, who "suffered too" throughout this process, further reminds us that the system has been identifying too highly with sexual offenders for far too long.

In recognition that sexual harassment in the workplace is a pressing issue for businesses in Waterloo Region, the Kitchener-Waterloo Sexual Assault Support Centre is offering comprehensive sexual harassment awareness and prevention training.

Sara Casselman
Kitchener-Waterloo Sexual Assault Support Centre
Kitchener

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Crown should appeal Martins' sentence

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Liz Monteiro's March 7 account in The Record of Justice Michael Epstein's sentencing of Lino Martins on six counts of sexual assault has left me shaking my head in disbelief.

Despite commenting that Martins "lacked remorse" and that Martins had not sought counselling, Epstein chose to impose a 12-month conditional sentence which, in my opinion, in no way recognizes the seriousness of Martins' repeated offences against three female co-workers.

As a father of two grown daughters who are out in the workplace, I can imagine how the husbands and families of the assaulted women feel, let alone the victims themselves. Indeed, I wonder how Justice Epstein would react if his wife or daughters, if he has any, were subjected to the kind of sordid assaults which Martins perpetrated against the three women.

This conviction on six serious sex assault charges cries out for an appeal by the Crown seeking a jail sentence and psychiatric counselling for Martins before he is unleashed again into an unsuspecting community.

Rob Gilbert
Elora

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Originally posted by otter:
Until this species finally comes to grip with its inherent instincts, the programming, rape and violent acts of all description will continue to assault our senses.

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Originally posted by jabber:
How is this so important when it was announced yesterday that churches were closed
http:// in New York?School closing

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pookie says Huh??

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And rightly so. Pook I was showing an American friend what a good discussion site was like, in particlar the simplicity of use of the UBB Code system. He also happens to be a Catholic and he particularly wanted to try placing a URL to a word hence the link he chose. I near died laughing when I saw it.