Fundamental Justice Is the Issue: Extending Full Equality of the Law to Women and Children

The legal doctrines that are in place to protect women and children against male sexual aggression actually operate to minimize the use of the system for redress, and to reduce the impact of the process when it is used. Because the courts are the only means of legal recourse available to women and children who have been sexually assaulted, any failure by the courts to ensure just outcomes actually serves to reinforce male sexual violence. The solution requires that we stop confusing the social conditions under which this form of violence occurs with the criteria used by courts for treating a crime as “not serious.” The key players in the courts can act as powerful forces for instrumental change.