Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2010 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun LEGAL SYSTEM CAN'T HELP DATE RAPE VICTIMS Buying A Test Kit For Offending Drugs Is An Effective Way For Women To Protect Themselves Ignore the hand-wringing from women's organizations that a new test kit for date-rape drugs is a cynical attempt to profit from female fear. Single women who drink in bars should run out and buy one. Their paranoia is justified: The true bottom line is you'll get no redress and little sympathy from the courts if you're a drugged rape victim. Already available in Quebec, the $5.99 kit will do what the legal system has been unable to do -- protect women from predators who spike their drinks. Drinkers apply drops of beverage to a blotting paper. If the drink contains traces of GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate), ketamine or the benzodiazepine group, which includes Valium and Xanax, the colour of the test area changes. I have followed cases of date rape and I have been legally restricted from reporting the outcomes because the men -- often repeat offenders - -- got off scot-free or with a slap on the wrist. The evidence might not be good enough to win a conviction, but it is usually so compelling and damaging to the men's reputations that publication is problematic. The rules and standards of criminal procedure give the benefit of the doubt to the accused: Victims of date-rape drugs rarely have reliable memories and previous unproven allegations, no matter how similar, cannot be used as evidence at a trial. After three years, for example, a high-profile case assembled by the Vancouver police department resulted in a single guilty finding and not a day in jail for the 45-year-old accused of several rapes. The television warnings and appeals by police for victims to come forward only led to those women being humiliated in court and feeling abused again. These men have a simple MO: Meet a woman, slip them a Mickey Finn, escort them away and sexually assault them once the chemicals take effect. A few drops or grains of colourless, odourless drugs such as GHB can cause unconsciousness in 15 to 20 minutes and usually cause memory loss. You wake up often bloody and sore in a strange bed with a man you don't know and no or little recall of what happened. If the woman or police question what happened, these savages claim their victims were drunk, using drugs and consented. The addled women don't stand a chance. Police and prosecutors can rarely help. Consider a Metro Vancouver man charged with four counts of sexual assault and one charge of administering a noxious substance. One woman was left bleeding from the nipples, her legs and arm bruised. She also had significant pain and swelling to the vaginal area and blood in her urine. Here is what she said in her victim impact statement: "I am unable to feel safe and secure and this has drained me of the ability to feel happy or joyful because there is also the knowledge that I have been damaged. I don't feel whole. I feel used, dominated, broken, brutalized, and like my soul has been shattered. The very core of my sense of self of being a strong capable woman has been taken from me. Sorrow, anger, and fear are dominant emotions now. I feel like I have nothing to offer anyone." Prosecutors highlighted the aggravating factors and asked for a jail sentence of between 12 and 18 months. There is no minimum sentence for sex assault but the maximum is 10 years. The judge didn't agree and suggested to the woman that maybe she suffered only from "some rough play" she couldn't recall. He dismissed three of the sexual assault charges and the noxious substance charge, sentencing the man to no jail time and a year's probation. Needless to say, the victim was stunned: "I think this whole fiasco has been bungled from the very start." Rape Relief complained loudly that none of those attacks would have occurred had the police and courts responded properly when that man was first caught in Whistler. He beat the charges there, too. The courts treat each incident as a stand-alone, singular crime and unproven allegations are considered inadmissible hearsay. The victims' hazy recollections and the rules of evidence sink most prosecutions. Women's groups oppose these new test kits because they think the system should do a better job and the onus should not be on women to protect themselves. I agree, but I also say don't put yourself at risk waiting for pigs to fly. Every woman who goes out for a drink unfortunately must be on alert: The system can't help you. Buy a testing kit -- who cares if some company is pocketing a profit? It's better than waking up in a strange bed groggy, abused and scarred for life. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D