Friday, March 24, 2006

How to stop Incest

First, define 'stop.'

In the US, Dean Jane Martin of West Virginia (et al.) has 'proved' using recovered memory therapy that at least 100% of US fathers (and probably more) have committed incest with their children. Of course, pediatricians are required to regularly check all children for, and report, the slightest physical evidence of any abuse, and find such evidence less than 1% of the time; however, in spite of the fact that careful medical examinations carried out on a regular basis fail to show any of the trauma that should be a necessary consequence of sexual abuse, approximately 20% of women, even without recovered memory therapy, remember being abused; consequently, the American Medical Association estimates that 20% of all women have been subjected to incest.

The US attitude is that the 1% of fathers who leave conclusive physical evidence are more to be pitied than censured, it's the 99% who manage to rape their children without leaving any evidence whatsoever, presumably using sorcery to conceal their crimes, who deserve Salem-style retribution. Punishing this 99% might begin to bring an overall justice to the world, balancing what happens here.

In the Gulf, if a man commits incest, the woman is responsible. Two step daughters were recently arrested for incest with their stepfather, and their punishment is likely to be more severe than his, since, in this part of the world, it is understood that women tempt men, so all sex crimes are primarily the woman's fault.

Howver, if a woman who reports incest is guaranteed 180 lashes, as she is here in the Gulf, and if unreported incest is presumed not to have happened, then the UAE approach can greatly reduce incest.

I believe the problem was that one sister told her husband that her stepfather was having incest with her other sisters and the husband insisted they report the affair to the authorities. Unfortunately, only the other daughters will be lashed. If the law were extended so that the daugher reporting the incest would also be lashed for reporting the affair, I think we could stop all reporting of the crime, and the UAE could declare itself completely free of the scourge of incest.

And if we applied this approach in the West, I think Dean Martin would no longer recover memories of incest from 80% of her patients.

***

Again, in providing justice on balance, I heard a talk on not being afraid which focused on women who are afraid of being beaten by their husbands. The speaker said these women had choices, and should do whatever they could to avoid being beaten (as in, not angering their husbands). There's not much else they can do: there are no shelters (the Dubai shelter is being closed) and police are not allowed to interfere in domestic affairs. There is no place for the women to go, no way for them to support themselves, no real alternative to letting their husband beat them.

Meanwhile, in the West, only the criminal courts demand the medieval requirement of 'evidence' before a man can be prosecuted for beating his wife. Fortunately, Family Law courts do not. In approximately 48% of all Family Law civil cases (according to the New York Times), the Family Law court, concerned that the absence of any evidence is allowing a wife-beater to avoid the criminal justice system, will order the male domestic partner to pay more than 100% of his take-home pay. Under the Clinton law, he must then be gaoled for contempt when only 100% can be collected. No evidence, no proof of any kind is required. And the man cannot be released until he has paid in full. The new Clinton law does not allow the monthly amount to ever be reduced, or any amount forgiven, nor can the man be released until he has somehow handed over more than 100% of all his wealth and income.

So, for all the wife-beatings taking place in the Orient with complete impunity, Western men who have never touched their domestic partners are being sent to gaol for life without the possibility of parole. Thereby is global justice served, on balance.