Spain's MeToo movement! 18-Year-old girl subjected to rounds of violence, judge: "The accused did not use force, not rape"

Saturday (28th), the streets of Spain poured tens of thousands of people, holding hands, angry show "This is not sexual abuse, but rape" slogan, draw international attention.

26th, Spain Navarra Northern Court of Justice in the 2016 bull-day rounds of the case, the 5 accused of violent crimes were not established, only a minor sexual abuse of 5 people each 9 years in prison sentence. The verdict, which sparked public discontent and took to the streets, was a further extension of the debate over the gaps in Spanish laws defining standards for sexual assault and rape.

According to the Pamplona police estimated that the weekend about 35,000 people participated in the demonstration, not only the incident in Pamplona city demonstrations lasted 3 days, Spain and other places such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia and other big city people also expressed their concern through practical action, forcing the conservative Spanish government to promise Will modify the legal norms of sexual abuse. (Recommended reading: The most painful letter from an Iranian girl to the world: I was raped but sentenced to death )

Pictures | source

Pictures | source

The victim's "passivity" is the consent evidence: the so-called justice, is still the patriarchal system

The case of returning to the rounds of violence according to police reports, June 7, 2016, the 18-year-old female victim in the "San Ferming" (Fermin) rush to the Cattle festival, in the early morning met a man accosted her, followed by another four men surrounded her, forcibly took her to the door of the apartment, take off her clothes, and unprotected sex, the rounds of success, but also snatched the victim's cell phone.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that the 5 men who committed the act not only filmed the sexual assault with their mobile phones, but also boasted in WhatsApp social groups and pledged to share the recordings, calling themselves "Wolves" (La Manada), which even had other women's record of victimization.

After a five-month trial, police reported that the victim remained "passive or neutral" in the whole scene and remained close to his eyes. According to Spanish law, allegations of sexual abuse were different from rape, as the incident did not involve violence or intimidation, and 5 accused had not been convicted of violent crimes, and 5 persons had been sentenced to 9 years ' imprisonment for minor sexual abuse offences.

Defense attorneys believe that "obvious passivity" is evidence of the victim's consent.

A government prosecutor in the Navajo region of Spain said the victims were too traumatized to move at the time and would appeal against a legal decision in the coming days that the case should be rape rather than sexual abuse.

Past, there are many discussions about why the victims are not able to rebel immediately when they are violated, including the presence of victims, the "dissociation" state of being too traumatic, according to Xia, a psychiatric physician at the Armed Forces General Hospital, explaining that "dissociation is a psychological defensive machine, Separating all conscious activities or memories that can trigger psychological pain from the whole spiritual activity, To achieve the role of defending oneself ", in the face of psychological trauma, the victim may not be able to act in real time, and another discussion is that many research statistics show that when the violence against the perpetrator may cause the victim to be more serious injury, so many victims in the present may also choose not to resist.

Through the case, the public began to discuss Spain's current legal norms on sexual assault and rape, whether there are omissions? Under Spanish law, it is necessary to attach specific acts of violence to a criminal act, such as a knife threat or a physical blow to the victim, to undertake more serious sexual assault or rape. (Recommended reading: sexual Assault is not what you think!) 10 cards understanding and embracing the status of sexual abuse

The court ruling prompted tens of thousands of women to support the victims by Twitter with a #cuentalo label (Spanish: Tell it) about their experience of sexual harassment, and to express dissatisfaction with the decision, when the law required the victim to submit a proof of "specific violence", When debating lawyers still use the "passivity" of the victim as an interpretation of their consent to sexual intercourse, whether such justice is still under the patriarchal system of oppression.

Many said they were not only concerned about the case, but were also looking for more substantive improvements to the legal system as a whole, and to improve the binding of the law to women. According to Reuters, a female protester at RTVE, a local radio station, said:

"Justice is still patriarchal, it blames us (women) and we are not protected." 」

Pedro Sanchez, the socialist leader, also posted his anger on Twitter: "What can we learn from this rape if the pack of wolves does not do a collective violence against a helpless woman?" 」

Pictures | source

Pictures | source

How far should the victim fight to be saved from being killed?

On the day of the court's verdict, many women took to the streets in order to protest the noise in Spain, the demonstrators thought the judge lightly sentenced to the punishment of sexual assault, at least 5 wolves sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Parade people hold high "not just no" (No es No), "This is not sexual abuse, this is rape" (No es abuso es violación) and other slogans, that the judge ignored the evidence, vertical sexual assault. Anna Botan, head of the Banco Santander Bank, one of Spain's biggest banks, said, "The ruling is a retreat for women's safety," says Manuela Camena, a former judge at Madrid. The verdict does not meet women's demands and expectations for justice, Camena called on the country's Supreme Court to re-examine the law and overthrow it.

According to the Guardian , the Spanish national newspaper (El Pais) editorial pointed out that under Spanish criminal law, victims had to submit evidence of violence and sexual assault charges were established, but this condition was very harsh for the victim. "It is a matter of pain." To what extent can the victim's party be prevented from being killed and, at the same time, to be recognized as a victim of serious violations of sexual autonomy through evidence? 」

Chelo Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the 8M feminist organization, said the extent of the changes in Spanish society in recent years, the scale of the protests has shown changes in recent decades, "the sense of Spanish society has changed," she said, "the problem is that these institutions, which still retain the idea of patriarchy and sexism." Adriana Lastra, senior official of the main opposition social party in Spain, said the court ruling was "a shameful","that was the product of patriarchy and the Culture of masculinity (macho culture)." (Recommended reading: Why do you have date rape?) Blame the victim, is to acquiesce in the culture of violence )

After three days of demonstrations, Inigo Mendez de Vigo, a government spokesman, said it would discuss with the Legal Advisory Board in the future whether to update the classification of sexual offences since 1995.
At present in Navarre (Navarra) Prosecutors decided to continue to appeal for the crime of sexual assault. In addition, a petition by a network-initiated judge has been signed by more than 1.2 million persons as at 28th.

#Yo Te Creo I believe in you: we will defend women's right to free choice of lifestyle

Over the past two years, the "Wolves" case has been burnt down to the #MeToo运动 of Spain, and thousands of people who have expressed support for the victims, under the slogan of Yo Te Creo (I believe you), have been on the street in community and reality to respond to women's protection against sexual abuse and legal rights.

According to the Guardian , a group of Carmel nuns at the Entravia Monastery in the Basque community, in response to the incident, said in the face book that, in addition to condemning the court's light sentencing of the perpetrators, they also conveyed the support and resolute struggle for women's freedom and rights in the lines:

"We are isolated, clothed in conservative skirts, and have no evening to go out, no parties, no drinks, and we keep our virginity." Such precepts and lifestyles are our own free choice, so we will defend the right of all women to freely choose their way of life without being criticized, raped, threatened, killed or humiliated. 」

The protests and reflections caused by this round of violence are still spreading in the community and the world, not only against a single case, but also against the entire judicial system and patriarchy, through the streets of thousands of people, to protect women's rights and interests, and strive for women's freedom, to make substantial changes.