Stories from UK -3; France; Africa -2; India; Canada; USA
Stories involve Royalty, Football, Bollywood director, police, MPs & MDs
Judge overturns rape conviction of Indian filmmaker, says 'feeble no' can mean 'yes'
An Indian court has overturned a conviction for a film director accused of raping an American student, ruling that a "feeble no" can actually mean "yes" when it comes to sexual consent.
The case centers on Mamood Farooqui, who was convicted last year of raping a Columbia University graduate student in New Delhi in March 2015.
The student said she arrived at the home of Farooqui, co-director of the 2010 Bollywood film Peepli Live, to accompany him and his wife to a wedding. However, when the student arrived at the house, Farooqui was alone and drunk, and began to make advances toward her.
The film director allegedly ignored the student when she repeatedly said "no" and restrained her arms when she tried to stop him from removing her clothes.
“You were supposed to be my friend,” the student wrote him in an email after the event, as quoted by the Washington Post.
“Instead you manipulated me. You hurt me. I said no. I said no many times.”
Farooqui was sentenced to seven years in prison for the crime.
However, that ruling was overturned on Monday, when Delhi High Court Justice Ashutosh Kumar ruled that it was likely that Farooqui had "no idea" that the student wasn't a willing participant in the act of oral sex, partly because she faked an orgasm – something the student has admitted to, saying she did so in order to end the encounter.
According to the judge, the student's feigning of an orgasm sent Farooqui a message that she consented to the sex, "even though wrongly and mistakenly."
“What [Farooqui] has been communicated is … that the [alleged victim] is OK with it and has participated in the act,” the judge stated in the ruling.
Consent usually is determined before sex occurs not after.
The judge also said that a "feeble no" can actually mean "yes" when it comes to sex.
“Instances of woman behavior are not unknown that a feeble ‘no’ may mean a ‘yes’. If the parties are strangers, the same theory may not be applied…. But same would not be the situation when parties are known to each other, are persons of letters and are intellectually/academically proficient, and if, in the past, there have been physical contacts. In such cases, it would be really difficult to decipher whether little or no resistance and a feeble ‘no,’ was actually a denial of consent.”
The judge went on to determine that "under such circumstances, benefit of the doubt is necessarily given to the appellant."
The judge's decision was hailed by Farooqui's wife, Anusha Rizvi, who said that "all the family members and friends of Mahmood Farooqui are relieved," the Delhi Times reported.
However, the ruling has sparked outrage online, with many taking to Twitter to express their disgust.
"A feeble no. A weak no. A subdued no. A shaky no. A trembling no. A meek no. A nervous no. They all mean no," one person wrote.
In another comment online, a person gave an example of different scenarios in which a person might provide a "feeble no."
Farooqui's acquittal comes just days after three Indian law students were granted bail while appealing against a sexual assault conviction from March. The high court judge determined that the victim's behavior could be interpreted as a "misadventure stemming from a promiscuous attitude and a voyeuristic mind."
Ah! The Indian mind-set when it comes to women! Good grief!
Rape is a frequent occurrence in India, with at least 34,651 reported cases in 2015, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. However, many rapes and sexual assaults go unreported.
Mass outrage occurred in the country in 2012, after a 23-year-old girl was gang-raped on a moving bus and later died in hospital. The attack led to street protests, prompting the government to toughen jail sentences for rapists.
Those found guilty of rape now receive a minimum of 20 years in prison, instead of the previous 10 years. The maximum sentence in India is life behind bars. However, critics argue that perpetrators are too often let off the hook, with judges instead placing blame on the victims.
Girl, 11, 'consented' to sex with man
The court ruled the man cannot be prosecuted for rape as the 11-year-old didn't protest. Photo / 123RF
A shocking court decision that declared an 11-year-old girl consented to sex with a man, 28, has sparked outrage in France.
Prosecutors deemed the child had engaged in a consensual "sexual relationship" with the man, leading to immediate backlash from children's rights groups.
The case centred on allegations the man lured the girl from a park in the northern Paris suburb of Montmagny to his nearby home in April.
The Local news outlet reported the man allegedly raped her. The girl's family said she was "paralysed" by fear and "unable to defend herself".
But in a decision that's prompted anger, prosecutors decided "there was no violence, no constraint, no threat, and no surprise" on the part of the man to justify the charge of rape.
Instead, the 28-year-old has only been charged with sexual abuse of a minor.
"Essentially they judged that she had consented to the sexual encounter because she was not physically forced into the act," The Local reported.
Rights group Le Voix de l'Enfant said in a statement: "The question of consent or its absence should never even be asked when it comes to rape victims who are minors".
The girl's mother told the Mediapart websites she was shocked the rape charge had been dropped to the lesser charge of sexual abuse of a minor.
"She thought it was too late, that she didn't have the right to protest, that it wouldn't make any difference, so she went into autopilot, without emotion and without reaction," the mother said.
There are now calls for French legislators to introduce a legal age under which sexual consent cannot be presumed.
The man has not been named; that is to protect the man. The court has done nothing to protect the child. Since she is deemed not to have been raped, she will probably not get any psychological help to deal with the trauma. This is a complete and utter disgrace and reveals an extraordinary lack of understanding of children and their relationships with adults. The judge should retire.
Montmagny, France
'Sadistic' father jailed for child abuse in Redruth
Exeter Crown Court
A father who subjected four children to two decades of physical and sexual violence has been jailed for 30 years.
The 50-year-old, from Redruth in Cornwall, regularly beat his children and raped his daughter between the ages of eight and ten.
He was found guilty of five counts of rape, 11 of indecent sexual assault, one of wounding and 14 of child cruelty at Exeter Crown Court.
Judge Robert Linford described the crimes as "sadistic and wicked".
The man, who is a kick boxer, prevented the children from receiving medical help to cover up his attacks.
The court heard he would force his sons to fight each other against their will, knowing he would beat them if they refused.
He would also force washing up liquid into the children's mouths if they said something he did not like, and shot them with a ball-bearing gun.
As well as raping his daughter, he sexually abused his stepdaughter between the ages of six and ten.
During the trial the jury heard how the two boys and two girls were beaten and abused regularly over a 22 year period between 1987 and 2009.
He also attacked his wife so savagely that she was permanently disfigured and then ordered the children to clean up the blood from his bedroom.
The judge told him: "This is the story of lost childhoods and also a story of the most sadistic and wicked abuse that it is almost possible to imagine a man could visit on his children and step children.
"It was hateful and extreme abuse."
'Like shooting fish in a barrel': 15 men arrested in 12 hours for buying sex on street, police say
By Kelly Malone, CBC News
Winnipeg police say they arrested 15 men in about 12 hours for purchasing sex on the street. (CBC)
Fifteen men — age 19 to 62 — were arrested for purchasing sex on the street in Winnipeg over the weekend.
The police counter exploitation and missing persons units teamed up with outreach workers from different community organizations for Project Return.
The twice-a-year effort brings together resources from police and organizations such as Winnipeg Outreach Network to find at-risk kids who are being sexually exploited and get them somewhere safe. They went out for a few hours each day starting on Friday — about 12 hours in total.
In one of the arrests, Det. Sgt. Maria Koniuck, with the counter exploitation unit, said outreach workers spotted a youth they knew was at risk for prostitution and called police.
"The [youth] was actually in a vehicle which, we believe, he was a potential consumer of prostitution," she said. "[With the project] there are more eyes and ears open for the police to do the best job that we can."
Since its inception in 2011, the project usually has five arrests in about six hours by checking areas where people are known to buy sex as well as trap houses — places where at-risk youth hang out to avoid social workers and police, often where drugs are bought and sold.
This year, officers were on the street a bit longer and they made significantly more arrests, Koniuck said. "The sad thing is it was like shooting fish in a barrel," she said.
Although the internet has opened up the potential for people to buy and sell sex online, there are still people on the street, Koniuk said. "It seems like if there's a product, there seems to be a consumer."
It's important to connect with kids who are at risk of going to the street, or already there, as soon as possible, Koniuk said. Police see kids as young as 13 selling sex, and Koniuk said by that age, they can already be entrenched in it.
Through Project Return, 13 at-risk youth were found and taken to a safe place, police said.
The sad thing is, some will not stay and will be back on the streets within days.
Police also talked with 46 people involved in the sex trade to make sure they were okay and provide connections to services. They also handed out harm-reduction kits, food and clothing.
Koniuk said it's important for police to work with outreach groups and connect with people in the community. It means more people will contact police to let them know when a kid might end up on the streets.
"I really see a lot of the community are supportive of us and they will call and they will tell us. They don't want this to happen in their community," she said.
Child Prostitution in Zimbabwe brings MP to tears
Misihairabwi Raises Dust Over Child “Sex Workers”
It's amazing what MPs can learn when they leave their
ivory towers and experience the streets
Emotions ran high yesterday in the National Assembly as MPs almost shed tears debating a motion introduced by Proportional Representation legislator, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga (MDC) on the sexual abuse of girls as young as nine years old in Epworth, Mabvuku, Tafara and Dzivaresekwa.
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, in a cracking voice, narrated how she, together with a human rights organisation, Katswe Sisterhood, and seconder of the motion, Mabvuku Tafara MP, James Maridadi (MDC-T), went to visit the affected minors that were allegedly sexually abused in a suspected prostitution ring.
She said her heart bleeds when she watches police officers being deployed to man fuel queues, when they were doing nothing to bring to book men, some as old as 65 years, that have been allegedly sexually-abusing the minors under the guise they were “girls selling sex” and paying them as little as 25 cents.
“On August 14, when I was invited by Katswe Sisterhood to go and see the abused girls, I assumed I was going to see 16-year-olds, but I was shocked to see children aged nine years describing that they get paid 25 cents by men about 60 to 65 years, and for two hours, I cried because most of the children were orphans and they were sick,” Misihairabwi-Mushonga said.
“At places like Mabvuku-Tafara, there are beerhalls, where they even ask minors to get contracts from their parents so that they allow the girls to strip-dance. It’s a shame that men go and watch these young children dance and they pick them to go and sleep with them.”
The legislator said the abused girls narrated how they were subjected to horrendous kinds of sex act by the suspected paedophiles.
“If police can pick 10 to 15 of these paedophiles and put them in jail, they will make a big statement, but, instead, they are manning fuel queues, which are problems we created ourselves,” the legislator said.
She blasted Social Welfare minister Prisca Mupfumira and the provincial administrators’ office for arresting and banning Katswe Sisterhood, an organisation that has been trying to assist the affected children, for exposing the rot.
“About 76% of people in this House are HIV positive and live on ARVs [anti-retroviral treatment], but you are unable to do something to save those children. The minister needs to come and give us a statement and explain what she has done,” Misihairabwi-Mushonga said.
Maridadi said he reported some men in Mabvuku that are allegedly sexually abusing young girls, but to date, no arrests have been made, even though he provided addresses.
Maridadi also blasted the State broadcaster, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, for parading the children in front of cameras interviewing them.
Meanwhile, the 54 recently rescued girls are receiving psychological rehabilitation and assistance from the State.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare ministry secretary, Ngoni Masoka told a national dialogue on commercial sexual exploitation of children on Monday that the girls, who — all under 18 years, were being counselled.
“Rehabilitation of the children, specialist child protection services such as medical support, counselling and psycho-social support services are also offered to survivors,” he said.
Masoka said the government appreciated the role the media played in raising awareness on the subject.
Harare provincial social welfare officer, Susan Ngani said: “We managed to remove 54 children from these harsh environments, and among them 18 had not yet been sexually abused.
“However, they were also victims of other abuses. Efforts are still underway to make sure that we remove more children.”
Queen Silvia and Princess Madeleine of Sweden Will Attend World Childhood Foundation USA Gala on October 2 in New York
Amina Mohammed, Melinda Gates and Monika Heimbold to be honored; New York notables, celebrities and international leaders to address hidden epidemic of child sexual abuse worldwide
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired) - Philanthropists, chief executives, United Nations leaders and celebrities will come together to address the hidden epidemic of child sexual abuse at the World Childhood Foundation USA ("Childhood USA") Thank You Gala on October 2, 2017.
Princess Madeleine
The gala will be held in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, founder of the World Childhood Foundation, and Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine of Sweden, co-founder of World Childhood Foundation's #EyesWideOpen global awareness initiative, at Cipriani, 25 Broadway.
Four hundred guests are expected to attend, with the goal of raising money to benefit children at risk of abuse and survivors of child sexual abuse primarily in the US but also internationally.
"Every child deserves to have a happy and healthy childhood," said Her Majesty, Queen Silvia of Sweden. "However, more than 200 million children worldwide are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation. It is imperative that we invest in programs and initiatives that work to eliminate sexual abuse and violence against children."
During the Gala, Childhood USA will honor leaders who have significantly furthered the cause of children's rights. Honorees include:
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General
Melinda Gates, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Monika Heimbold, Chair of The Heimbold Foundation and a co-founder of Childhood USA
Childhood USA will also feature one of the new programs/initiatives it supports: Safe Horizon, an organization that assists victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Furthermore, Childhood will highlight its corporate partners, leaders in making child protection one of their core business priorities, and developing innovative solutions to prevent child sexual abuse.
"We need governments, civil society, academia and the private sector to come together to fight violence and child sexual abuse," said Dr. Joanna Rubinstein, President and CEO of World Childhood Foundation USA. "Therefore, I am proud that Childhood brings together all these stakeholders to enable collective action to end child abuse by 2030, using the Sustainable Development Goals framework."
On the morning of October 2, Childhood USA and the Swedish Mission to the United Nations will host a high-level meeting with world leaders at UN Headquarters to discuss strategies to end violence against children.
About World Childhood Foundation (WCF)
WCF envisions a world where all children are free from violence, sexual abuse, and exploitation. Founded in 1999 by H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden, WCF supports the development of solutions to prevent and address violence, defend children's rights, and promote better living conditions for children.
A United Nations accredited NGO, WCF raises awareness about child sexual abuse through programmatic support, global advocacy initiative #EyesWideOpen (co-founded by H.R.H. Princess Madeleine) and high-level meetings with government, academic, civil society, and private sector leaders. In 2016, the WCF served over 73,000 clients -- both directly and indirectly -- in the United States alone and launched the Stewards of Children Prevention Toolkit mobile app (http://www.socapp.org) in partnership with Darkness2Light and Ericsson. Childhood USA is a board member of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.
Child sexual abuse expert who worked in Rotherham is keen to tackle issues in Norfolk
Geraldine Scott
An expert in child sexual abuse has claimed Norfolk has “a lot of issues” with abuse by peers and siblings.
But the clinical psychologist - who set up a community-based therapeutic services in Rotherham, South Yorkshire and now works for our region’s mental health trust - said the county was also one of the first areas to highlight harmful sexual behaviour as a priority.
Dr Romana Farooq yesterday (Tuesday) received a prestigious award for her work in Rotherham, where a shocking history of abuse was uncovered in 2014.
Dubbed the “biggest child protection scandal in UK history”, more than 1,400 children were subjected to appalling sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
Children as young as 11 were raped by multiple perpetrators, abducted, trafficked to other cities in England, beaten and intimidated.
After the abuse was uncovered, Dr Farooq set up a community-based therapeutic service for children and young people at risk of, or subject to, sexual exploitation.
And she was nominated for an early career award from the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) division of clinical psychology’s faculty for children, young people and their families by a local councillor.
The award is presented to clinical psychologists who have shown significant skill within five years of qualifying. And Dr Farooq was handed the prize at the BPS annual conference yesterday.
Now a specialist clinical psychologist with the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), Dr Farooq leads NSFT’s input into Norfolk’s harmful sexual behaviour team, which is a partnership with Norfolk youth offending team.
This service provides professionals who work with children and young people with specialist training to identify the signs of sexualised behaviour with the overall aim of reducing offending and protecting vulnerable young people.
Dr Farooq said: “It is great to be recognised by the BPS, especially so early on in my career, but I genuinely feel the work I did would not have been possible without the commitment of the children, young people, their families and the community in Rotherham.
“We recognised traditional services were not accessible to the most vulnerable, particularly those from ethnically diverse communities. As a result, we brought together ideas from community psychology and detached youth work to engage vulnerable children and young people where they were at, which sometimes meant meeting them on street corners and parks, which helped us to engage with them much more successfully. The fact that the BPS has recognised this work is really gratifying as it shows there is a new focus on tackling child sexual exploitation.
“I decided to move to Norfolk because it is one of the first areas to highlight harmful sexual behaviour as a priority. There are a lot of issues around peer-on-peer exploitation and sibling-on-sibling abuse in the county, but there is also a real desire to tackle those issues. I was really keen to be part of that and help make a difference to these highly vulnerable young people.”
Norfolk, UK
Former Exeter police constable sentenced over
child abuse images
BY ALEX RICHARDS
A former Exeter police constable has been sentenced today for offences related to indecent images of a child.
Jonathan Fulcher, 34, appeared at Exeter Crown Court and has been sentenced to eight months in jail suspended for two years, given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and placed on the sex offenders register for making indecent images of a child between June 2010 and October 2016, and possession of ammunition without a firearm certificate.
Fulcher, from Crediton, was a serving police officer in Exeter but was suspended from duty at the start of the criminal investigation. A Special Case Hearing was held before Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer on 3 July 2017 and Fulcher was dismissed from the police service without notice.
Assistant Chief Constable Russ Middleton said: “Jonathan Fulcher has acted in a wholly inappropriate and criminal manner for which he has been sentenced at court today. “As soon as these allegations came to light, Fulcher was suspended from duty and a full investigation launched. He has now been dismissed from the police service.
“Devon and Cornwall Police expects the highest ethical and professional conduct from all officers and staff operating within the Force, and robustly investigates misconduct and allegations of criminal offences.
“The vast majority of our staff demonstrate commitment on a daily basis to these professional standards and the Force’s obligation to instil public confidence in the police service. Fulcher’s actions have fallen well below these standards and his behaviour has let the police service and the public down."
Ex-Celtic youth coach to admit to at least two of eight child sex abuse charges - but only if docs rule him fit to face trial
Jim McCafferty faces further medical evaluation
before the case can proceed
BY JILLY BEATTIE
Former Celtic football coach Jim McCafferty will plead guilty to at least two of eight child sex charges he faces if doctors rule he is medically fit to do so, a court heard yesterday.
Scot McCafferty, 71, who had been living in south Belfast, was due to be formally face abuse charges following his arrest last December, but the case was adjourned for the fifth time in 85 days.
Lawyers for the prosecution and defence told Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland that a recently received report from a psychiatrist indicated that McCafferty should be examined by other medical specialists.
McCafferty’s defence barrister, Patrick Taylor, indicated that “there would be pleas to counts one and two” and he asked for this to be registered by the court.
However, Mr Taylor QC also said a psychiatric report, which was made available to the legal teams 24 hours earlier, had highlighted other potential medical issues which he said should be further examined. He said the outcome of further medical examinations could have a bearing on the admissions McCafferty allegedly made, his ability to register information and order his thoughts.
Now a report will be requested from a pharmachologist about sedation doses, and a further report will be requested from a neuropsychologist. Mr Taylor said both reports on the fitness of McCafferty, from Raby Street, would take some time to complete.
Prosecution barrister David Russell told Belfast Crown Court that having read the existing report on the remand prisoner, he felt there were “real concerns” over McCafferty’s cognitive abilities.
Mr Russell QC said that the Crown would need to engage their own medical expert to compile reports on him. And he added: “So I can see a real issue about the arraignment taking place.”
Judge McFarland said that it could take up to two months for the reports to be completed. He agreed to adjourn the case until November 8, when it will be mentioned again.
Former Celtic kit man and youth scout McCafferty did not appear in court yesterday but had been transported from Maghaberry Jail for the intended arraignment.
McCafferty had been returned for trial from Belfast Magistrates’ Court last May on eight charges of intentionally touching a boy under the age of 16 in Belfast on various dates between 2012 and 2015.
McCafferty, who lived in Wishaw before moving to Belfast, was arrested in December after giving an interview to the Daily Record and then walking into a Belfast police station.
He has been on remand amid fears for his safety. He didn't apply for bail and is expected to remain in custody until the trial gets under way.
McCafferty, who previously lived in Glasgow, worked at Celtic Football Club more than 20 years ago. He was also a kit man for other Scottish clubs, including Falkirk and Hibs , before moving to Northern Ireland eight years ago.
Medical students wage war against child sexual abuse
WILDA EVANS
Prof. Ebenezer Baddoe addressing the students about the importance of fighting child sexual abuse
The Federation of Ghana Medical Students Association (FGMSA) has launched a campaign against child sexual abuse in the country.
The campaign, which is an initiative of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and Peace (SCORP) of the FGMSA, is to help sensitise the public on the effects of child sexual abuse on victims and how to get victims to speak out to get culprits identified and arrested.
Targeted at children between one and 17 years, the campaign is on the theme: “’It’s wrong, stand strong, Fight Child Sexual Abuse now!!!”
“’It’s wrong, stand strong, Fight Child Sexual Abuse now!!!”
At the launching ceremony in Accra, the Head of the campaign, Mr Kennedy B. Ngaaso, said: “The objective of the programme is to promote and protect the rights of children.”
According to him, the rights of children needed to be upheld so that they could grow up in an environment devoid of abuse or other harmful practices.
He said dealing swiftly with perpetrators of child sexual abuse would go a long way to help address the problem and ensure justice for the victims of the criminal act.
Mr Ngaaso, therefore, called on parents, family members, teachers and caregivers to lend their support to help wipe out the negative practice by reporting to the right authorities when it happens.
The Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs Gifty Twum Ampofo, assured the public that the Human Trafficking and the Domestic Violence secretariats of the ministry would work with the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Department to ensure that the culprits of child sexual abuse were apprehended and dealt with.
She stated that child sexual abuse was wrong regardless of who it happened to because no child deserved to be abused no matter the situation the child was in.
The Head of the Paediatric Department at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Prof. Ebenezer Baddoe, called on the youth to be good advocates of the campaign by liaising with the authorities when such an issue came up.
“When it happens to someone don’t say because you are not a family member you will be silent. Don’t stay silent, report it when it happens,” he said, adding that “help the afflicted by contributing to the arrest of the culprit(s) and don’t stigmatise the victims but rather console them”.
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