First Conviction for California's 'Revenge Porn' Law

Originally posted on Inherently Human

California’s new ‘revenge porn’ law has seen its first conviction this month and it’s starting a firestorm of conversation on the internet. Officials are hailing the conviction as a victory with Los Angelos City Attorney Mike Feuer stating, “California’s new revenge porn law gives prosecutors a valuable tool to protect victims whose lives and reputations have been upended by a person they once trusted.” State Senator and author of the law Anthony Cannella says, “I am happy to see my legislation doing what it’s supposed to do — protecting victims.”

While this official praise is strong and positive, the law has had critics from its inception. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was initially critical of the bill(and revenge porn laws in general) citing loose wording as an issue along with a concern for such regulation on free speech. Still, Feuer claims this conviction is sending a strong message to the people that such “malicious behavior will not be tolerated.”

Sadly, the sentiment expressed in response to this conviction has not been nearly as optimistic. Overwhelmingly people are looking to find someone other than the man to blame. Too often the adage, “maybe if you didn’t take naked photos this wouldn’t have happened,” is cited. It would seem that reservations about the effectiveness of such laws are justified.

At least a partial defence of such laws could be that they are still in their infancy. Only 12 states have passed laws on revenge porn; maybe as more adopt similar policies we will see a change in attitudes. More likely though is that the attitude will remain pervasive like victim blaming still is despite rape laws being almost universal.

The victim blaming is only part of the problem with revenge porn laws. But as the conversation grows, we need to be mindful of the way we approach these topics. As they are considered in more jurisdictions, including the UK, we have a renewed opportunity to challenge this narrative and to finally bring the law on this matter into the 21st century.

Trans* Rights - Disclose Your Gender History or it May Be Rape

The idea of transgender rights is not all that new. In many civilizations transgender, genderqueer, and in general gender minorities have been treated in certain specific ways. These customs may or may not have been codified into written laws but they can be seen as conventional laws or practices. However it is relatively new to our society and as such, there are no rules on how treat individuals who defy our gender norms and it seems that the law is struggling to keep up.

In the United Kingdom there has been a flurry of recent cases (here, here, and here) that all have to do with gender representation and how it affects sexual activity. Particularly, these cases revolve around issues of consent. These cases are important because they are setting the legal precedent for future cases, and unfortunately it seems that they are finding it to be a criminal offense to have sex with someone without disclosing your 'gender'.

New Jersey - Gay Marriage...What Now?

As I hope many of you have heard, earlier today New Jersey became the 14th state to allow same sex couples the right to marry! After many years of hard work by organizations like Garden State Equality, the courts ruled that same sex couples were being denied an equal right and ordered marriages to start today October 21st. 

After petitions from both Governor Christie and many in the state legislature, the Supreme Court of New Jersey decided to consider the appeal filed by the State before today. Friday afternoon they finally released their decision to allow the marriages to start and refused Christie's appeal for a stay. It was an exciting moment and it led to even more exciting moments all day today as couples from all across the state- previously denied the joy and privilege of being married- finally realized their dreams.

What's Wrong With Being Poly? Nothing!

In modern Western society, we've seen a great emphasis placed on marriage. Lately, with all the talk surrounding the marriage equality movement, it has become a very divisive issue in the public consciousness. In engaging in the ongoing public debate, an extremely common argument made is that allowing same sex couples would lead to all sorts of things like people marrying objects or people marrying animals OR people marrying more than one person.

So the first two make absolutely no sense whatsoever, as neither objects nor animals can consent so...that is really a non-issue. Despite this whole argument being a "slippery slope" fallacy, I would like to take this opportunity to challenge our boundaries on the third.

Extreme Porn and the Law - What Can Be Done and What Should Be Done

Yesterday, I attended a seminar at Durham University on extreme pornography and the law. Speakers and attendees came from all over the UK, coming from universities, rape counseling centers, or as people who had interaction with the UK laws on extreme porn.

The seminar started by exploring some of the ways the current laws for England and Wales, set out in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (CJIA), are misunderstood or misapplied. Professor Erika Rackley discussed the failure of the law to include images portraying rape under the umbrella of extreme porn.

Following Rackley there was a presentation by Simon Walsh, a barrister in London, and his interaction with the extreme porn laws. His presentation highlighted how easily the current laws are able to be misused and abused. His case exemplified how such laws can be used as a malicious attack on sexual minorities.

Steubenville Rape Case - Rape Culture

As I'm sure many of you have heard there has been a recent case decided in Ohio regarding two young men who had sex with a 16 year old girl while she was essentially unconscious. In case you haven't here is a quick summary of what has happened: Last summer, two young men (16 and 17) were out partying, and were allegedly seen dragging a 16 year old girl's body from party to party and committing sexual acts with her. One of the young men even took a video.

The two boys have been found guilty as of late, and the story has received national attention. This national attention, however, has its own consequences. While it encourages a conversation about rape and rape culture, it also exposes many of the attitudes we have about rape. This case in particular shows a worrying unwillingness to hold certain people accountable, and a desire to sweep personal liberties and justice for rape victims under the rug.

Sex Education in the US - A Summary

Sex education in the US has been an area of interest of mine for some time. When I was studying Social Justice at Rutgers I was curious to find out the correlation between sex education practices and results such as teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and transmission of other STI's. 

Looking at the recent CDC Surveillance report, I noted in another post that it seems that the South has a higher preponderance of HIV transmission. I also noted that there seems to be a correlation with the extensiveness of sex education (many southern states don't have mandatory sex education or STI prevention, or birth control methodologies taught). 

US Economy, Revenue, and Taxes

As almost everyone has probably heard, the sequester cuts have taken effect in the US. This has spiked an increase in attention to tax policy, because President Barack Obama and the Democrats have said that they will not accept any policy that does not have in it tax increases on the wealthiest of US citizens. Republicans on the other hand have said that they do not support any measure which attempts to raise taxes, especially on the rich because the Republicans consider them the job creators.

This is a major divide in US politics, and an extremely polarizing issue. This isn't anything new, but is being put particularly in the spotlight because of these recent events. I think now is a very good time to share some very important facts about the current state of the economy. Particularly in reference to the distribution of wealth and how this is or should be reflected in the revenue and tax policies. For starters why don't we start with the following video :

Is Internet Access A Human Right?

A relatively new (new as in modern) idea is starting to emerge in the world. With the advancement of society and technology, we are forced to face challenges with our rights. The internet is a very new advancement and a revolutionary one in human history, but how does this advancement play into our rights?

When this question is brought up there are many differing opinions but it can be boiled down to a more simple question. The first question that should always be asked is do we have a right to access the internet? This question is vital because it can, like the internet itself, be completely revolutionary to a society.

SCOTUS and Marriage Equality: Westboro Baptists Gives Their Two Cents

So I know I already did a post about the many many briefs that have been filed with SCOTUS about their upcoming cases on marriage equality, but today I found out that the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) submitted their own brief to the court. Let's have some fun and analyze just a bit of it!

The brief starts off by clarifying that it is being filed in support of no party. It says specifically, "The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas respectfully submits this amicus curiae brief in support of no party, but in favor of reversal." I already have to pause and laugh. If they are supporting reversal is that not supporting the appellant? That is what they are there for and that's what WBC is pushing for. Seems like support for the appellant to me.

South African Police: Authorities or Vigilantes?

I recently read an article about reports police abuse in South Africa. The article, from UK newspaper - The Guardian, used a website called South Africa's Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to show a number of violations of people's rights by South African Police.

Within a week of each other two constables appeared in court facing charges of rape. The first appeared on February 21, where it has been reported that he raped his former girlfriend after driving her and some of friends home from a tavern. They were using a state vehicle and after dropping off the friends, the victim was let outside the vehicle to pee. Allegedly there was "a chase", and afterwards the victim was assaulted, raped, and was threatened with death when she refused to get back in the car.

The second victim had been arguing with her sister prior to the police being called. The police handcuffed and brought the woman to a field where the constable allegedly raped her. The accused is out on bail for R1,500, or £150 ($225).

Voting Rights Act on Trial

This past Wednesday the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments surrounding the Voting Rights Act. For those of you who don't know this particular law, it was enacted in 1965 to battle racial discrimination at the voting booth. The act functions such that the government can be held liable for abridging a person's right to vote based on their "race or color." Section 5 of the act states:

"Whenever a State or political subdivision with respect to which the prohibitions set forth in section 4(a) are in effect shall enact or seek to administer any voting qualifications or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting different from that in force or effect on November 1, 1964, such State or subdivision may institute an action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for a declaratory judgment that such qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure does not have the purpose and will not have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color, and unless and until the court enters such judgment no person shall be denied the right to vote for failure to comply with such qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure."

Massachusetts School Directive on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Youth

On February 15th the Massachusetts Department of Education issued an 11 page directive on the proper ways to go about addressing having a transgender student. The directive was made in response to the 2011 antidiscrimination act that took effect in the summer of 2012 and questions from those who weren't sure how to handle children who don't confrom to society's gender standards.

The directive has come under fire recently because it instructs schools to allow students who are biologically male but identify as a girl to use the girl's locker rooms, bathrooms, etc. Fox's Bill O'Reilly addressed the directive in a segment on February 26th.

 

Trans Expulsion in California Raises Many Questions

It has come into the public eye recently that a California school, California Baptist University (CBU), expelled a student because she is transgender. As is usually the case, it may not be a simple as that but that certainly seems to be the case.

Domaine Javier

In early 2011 Domaine Javier, was accepted to CBU's nursing program and was receiving two scholarships. In April 2011 Domaine appeared on an episode of MTV's "True Life" titled, "I'm Passing as Someone I'm Not" (the name of the episodes is an issues in and of itself) and revealed that she is transgender.

US Marriage Equality: Getting Support from All Sides

In case you, my valued reader, were not aware the US is on the verge of having a major step taken in the battle for marriage equality. While it is no sure thing, with all the recent reports of whats been happening there's seems to be an atmosphere thats well prepared for a step forward.

Today has presented the world with a truly great thing. Today President Barack Obama filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court regarding the case for marriage equality and Proposition 8. In case you didn't know the specifics, Prop 8 was a ballot measure in California that removed the (already judicially given) right to marry a person of the same sex. The measure was challenged and struck in all the lower courts and has been appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court is not only considering Prop 8 regarding marriage equality though. There have been many cases brought up throughout the country surrounding the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a piece of legislation signed when Clinton was in office, that prohibits federal recognition of same sex partnerships as marriages and the subsequent rights that entail from such a status.

London Ex-Gay Ad Fiasco - Back Again

The prosed ad campaign.

Today Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, today is being taken to court over a decision made last May concerning ads that were to be posted on buses in London. Maybe some of you heard about this or were following the turn of events back then. If not and you want a rundown on what was happening you can see a story on it here and here.

The decision to not allow the advertisement to run on the London buses is being challenged as an infringement on the group's free speech. Specifically they are calling it a 'stifling' of their free speech, and a worrisome turn towards 'reverse discrimination'.

Law and Sexuality: A Theoretical Exploration - Part 1 Defining Terms/Concepts

Often times the law does not reflect academic results. This is especially true when it comes to mental disorders and issues of psychology. A big area that the law doesn't seem to recognize or understand fully seems to be the idea of human sexuality. Human sexuality is complex, and our understanding of it ever growing, but it seems difficult for the law to keep up with developments in the academic fields.

Sexuality is first broken down into three main categories:

Sexual Identity, which constitutes one's inner feelings about themselves in relation to others and even their bodies. It incorporates the biological aspect of sex, but also things around intercourse.

Sexual Expression, is similar to identity in that it also incorporates biological sex and intercourse, but as the name implies it is more about how such things are expressed. It seems to be a more physical whereas sexual identity is more internalized and metaphysical, and has to do with self association.

And then Gender. Gender has to do with ones social role and social identities.

Each of these categories are part of sexuality as they have to do with how you relate to yourself and others sexually, as well as your sexual desires and actions. Each aspect can be broken down into other aspects that address such desires and relations more specifically.