Barbara Kay: A sadly necessary handbook for men falsely accused of sexual assault

Article here. Excerpt:

'Liam Allan, a 22-year old London, England-area criminology student, spent two years “in a terrible form of limbo” when he was charged with 12 counts of rape, based on allegations by a woman (unnamed) with whom he had had a consensual sexual relationship.

Had Allan been convicted, he’d have spent years behind bars and been permanently inscribed as a sex offender. In what seemed a he said-she said case, his prospects were dicey. As it happened, the complainant was sitting on a cache of about 50,000 recorded messages (Allan had lost his phone with copies), which the police had examined, but not disclosed to the prosecution or the defence.

Following two days of testimony, during which the phone calls were referenced, the prosecutor refused to continue until the defence had received and reviewed the messages. They were illuminating, as for example: “It wasn’t against my will or anything,” and “You know it’s always nice to be sexually assaulted without breaking the law.” Taken together, the woman revealed herself as a sex addict obsessed with “rough sex and being raped.” The case was dismissed at the request of the prosecutor, who admirably fulfilled his primary mandate — that is, to ensure a fair trial, not to convict.

Clearly the police knew those records rendered the charges unsustainable. Why were they withheld for so long? There are any number of bad reasons, including laziness, incompetence and bias, but no good ones. (You can see a detailed review of this case and what it says about systemic flaws in the U.K. criminal justice system at BarristerBlogger.com.)

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Mika Brzezinski on Harassment Due Process: Women ‘Can Say Anything And a Man’s Career is Ruined’

Article here. Excerpt:

'MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski argued that there may be an overreach in how sexual harassment is dealt with during a discussion of Sen. Al Franken’s resignation over his own accusations.

Morning Joe had a marathon segment on the topic Tuesday, in light of Democratic senators coming forward to call on Franken to un-resign, after the Minnesota lawmaker announced he would be stepping down over mounting allegations of misconduct. A number of his colleagues have lamented that there was no due process — in the form of an ethics investigation — to address his allegations.

MSNBC’s Willie Geist noted that lawmakers had previously criticized the ethics process as flawed, but argued “that may be true but it’s the process you’ve got, and you can’t throw out due process altogether — you’ve got to have due process.”

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TVLand Sitcom Mocks Extreme Man-Hating Feminism in the Classroom

Article here. Excerpt:

'With the onslaught of feminist propaganda in the media and man-hating becoming the latest trend, the only solution is to laugh at it all the way. As a sitcom, TVLand’s Teachers attempts to do its part by showing us how ridiculous extreme feminism can look in real life. At least, I hope that’s what it’s doing.

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Glenn Close On Weinstein Effect: ‘To Condemn All Men Is Stupid And Counterproductive’

Article here. Excerpt:

'Glenn Close hopes people in the entertainment industry can learn from the reckoning of sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood.

The 70-year-old actress recently sat down with Jezebel alongside “Crooked House” co-star Max Irons to discuss the upcoming thriller and the recent wave of sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood heavyweights, like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.

Close said she was never “preyed upon” by Weinstein, but said he was “known to be a pig.” The producer has been accused of sexual misconduct, ranging from harassment to assault and rape, by more than 60 women.

Throughout the interview, Close partially blamed biology for predatory behavior, and pointed to “the male DNA.”

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Swedes may be charged with rape unless they get ‘explicit’ sexual consent under proposed law

Article here. Excerpt:

'Sweden’s adults could be convicted of rape unless they receive a verbal or non-verbal sign of consent from their partner at each step of their sexual encounter, according to a new law set to come into force next year.

“It should be obvious. Sex should be voluntary. If it is not voluntary, then it is illegal,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who leads a center-left coalition, said during a presentation in Stockholm. “If you are unsure, then refrain!”

As with other ‘Yes means Yes’ initiatives, at any trial it will now fall on those accused of rape to prove that their actions were welcomed by their partner, rather than on the accuser to show that they did not consent – which Lofven said will “put the victims’ interests first.”

Standing next to the PM, Justice Minister Morgan Johansson said that the line on what constitutes a sufficient show of consent will be decided on a “case-by-case” basis, but added that he “expects the number of rape convictions to rise.”

Johansson openly declared that the law, which is expected to be enforced from July 2018, was launched as a purposeful “signal to Sweden’s men and boys.”

“If men’s violence against women is to cease, it’s the men who have to change,” stated Johansson, who has allotted some $120 million of extra funds next year for the police to combat sex crimes.
...
Although affirmative consent has been implemented in several states in the US in relation to college campuses and schools, Sweden is to become the first country to turn it into a universal law, Denmark having voted down a similar proposal.

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Why I Quit Teaching

Article here. Excerpt:

'Some years back, I decided I had to quit the teaching profession to which I had dedicated half my life.  The modern academy, I felt, was so far gone that restoration was no longer possible.  Indeed, I now believe that complete collapse is the only hope for the future, but as Woody Allen said about death, I'd rather not be there when it happens.

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Researcher reports human/android offspring are possible

Article here. And the best part: No false allegations, no divorces, no child support/alimony, no nothing you don't want. Anyone who thinks it's men who are the endangered sex is not paying attention, at least as far as survival into the future is concerned. With technology, a single-sex human race is possible. But unlike natural single-sex species, the individuals will all be male, not female. Excerpt:

'Dr David Levy, a world leading artificial intelligence researcher, will explain how the genetic information of cells can be manipulated to create a baby with human and robot DNA in his key note speech at the Third International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots.

Speaking at the conference in London on Wednesday, December 20, Dr Levy will explain how advancements in cell biology and bio robotics have led to his extraordinary conclusion.

Ahead of his speech, Daily Star Online can exclusively reveal extracts of his radical research paper, titled “Can Robots and Babies Make Humans Together?”

In his conclusions, Dr Levy, author of Love and Sex with Robots, will argue that “it is possible” for humans and robots to make babies given “recent progress in stem cell research and artificial chromosomes”.
...
In April 2016, Stanford University and the Valencia Infertility Institute announced a project in which human sperm, with tails, were created from skin cells.

In September 2016, researchers led by Tony Perry at the University of Bath reported that they had discovered a method of creating offspring without the need for a female egg.

This research allowed Dr Levy to conclude that a baby can be conceived without IVF treatment or sexual intercourse.
...

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"Women Are Invited to Give Fewer Talks Than Men at Top U.S. Universities"

Link here. Excerpt:

'It’s not because they turn down talks more often, or because there aren’t enough women to invite.

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When Saying ‘Yes’ Is Easier Than Saying ‘No’

Article here. Excerpt:

'For years, my female friends and I have spoken, with knowing nods, about a sexual interaction we call “the place of no return.” It is a kind of sexual nuance that most women instinctively understand: the situation you thought you wanted, or maybe you actually never wanted, but somehow here you are and it’s happening and you desperately want out, but you know that at this point exiting the situation would be more difficult than simply lying there and waiting for it to be over. In other words: saying yes when we really mean no.
...
There are other names for this kind of sex: gray zone sex, in reference to that murky gray area of consent; begrudgingly consensual sex, because, you know, you don’t really want to do it but it’s probably easier to just get it over with; lukewarm sex, because you’re kind of “meh” about it; and, of course, bad sex, where the “bad” refers not to the perceived pleasure of it, but to the way you feel in the aftermath.'

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After Weinstein: 45 Men Accused of Sexual Misconduct and Their Fall From Power

The NYT is keeping a list. Not comprehensive but something. Excerpt:

'In early October, Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer, was fired from his namesake company after multiple women came forward to accuse him of rape and sexual assault.

In what appears to be a seismic shift in what behavior is tolerated in the workplace, a cascade of high-profile men, many in the entertainment and news media industries, have since been fired or forced to resign after accusations of sexual misconduct that ranged from inappropriate comments to rape. This page will be updated periodically.

45 Firings and Resignations

The men in the list below have been fired, resigned or experienced similar professional fallout.'

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Matt Damon is right about sexual misconduct

Article here. Excerpt:

MATT DAMON IS RIGHT. There is a big difference between patting someone on the rear and rape or child molestation.

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Meet the Women Worried about #MeToo

Article here. Excerpt:

'I am concerned that we are throwing knee-touching into the same basket as rape, which does a grievous disservice to mere knee-touchers and rape victims both. I am concerned that we are increasingly wont to confuse genuine abuse of power in the workplace with often distant memories of men who have made failed – ‘unwanted’ – passes. In the complicated dance of courtship, someone has to make a move, and the way one conventionally discovers if one’s attraction is returned is to brave some gentle physical contact and perhaps accept rebuff. Were I still a young woman looking for a partner, I would not wish to live in world where a man had to secure a countersigned contract in triplicate before he kissed me.

I am concerned that we are casting women as irremediably scarred by even minor, casual advances, and as incapable of competently and sensitively handling the commonplace instances in which men are drawn to them sexually and the feeling doesn’t happen to be mutual.

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Canada: Well-regarded Boxing Coach cleared of Sex Assault charges

Article here. Excerpt:

'Leo Marsh was once knocked out so hard in the ring that the first word he woke up to was: "Eight."
...
Last week, the boxing coach and member of the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame was found not guilty of sexual assault and sexual exploitation laid in Dec 2015.

In an exclusive interview with CBC News, Marsh explained, "For the first time in two years I can be who I am and not be afraid of what people would think of me. I'm 65 years old. I have a bad heart. And I spent my whole life building up a name that my children could be proud of.

"I'm watching this person who has lived a normal life," Lee said. "Who has been volunteering for nearly five decades, teaching kids how to box. Watched his reputation go down in flames and watched his life just dismantle itself, waiting for the trial to happen."
...
Marsh believes the complainant was pushed into making the allegations by a pair of adults who had a grudge against him.

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Woman Accused of Lodging False Rape Accusations When College Player Stopped Texting Her

Article here. Excerpt:

'A football player for the University of Oklahoma was accused of rape and slapped with an emergency protective order this month, however, after police began an investigation; it appears that the charges were false and lodged by the woman after the player rejected her.

The Sooner’s starting running back, Rodney Anderson, found himself accused of rape after first meeting a woman named Courtney Thornton at a bar on November 16. Thornton alleged that Anderson took her back to her apartment, and then raped her. The 23-year-old Thornton applied for an order of protection on December 4 when news broke of the accusations.
...
However, after an investigation, police say that the woman’s story fell apart. The charges were deemed unprovable, according to the DA.

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In sex assault laws, definition of consent varies widely

Story here. Submitter's comments are in the first comment. Excerpt:

'For two months now, as accusations of sexual misconduct have piled up against Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced mogul has responded over and over again: “Any allegations of nonconsensual sex are unequivocally denied.”

Consent is a concept central to law on sexual assault, and will likely be an issue in potential legal cases against Weinstein, who is under investigation by police in four cities, and others accused in the current so-called “reckoning.”

But the definition of consent — namely, how it is expressed — is a matter of intense debate: Is it a definite “yes,” or the mere absence of “no”? Can it be revoked? Do power dynamics come into play? Legally, the definition varies widely across the nation.

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