SueC #GTTO she/her@topsyscatmum Mar 4, 2024
A wee thread. On why I’m an ally.
When I was 19, my best friend at work was called Christopher. He was 21. He spent a lot of time looking at my boobs, which were pretty epic, but not in a leery way.
So I asked him why. And he finally felt safe enough to say
That he felt he was born in the wrong body. That he always felt that he was female. And explained that it wasn’t the same as homosexuality or lesbianism. Not that that would have been a problem.
We talked until 4 am that night. It was the late 80s. The HIV and Aids bashing
Endemic. The headlines were horrific, and the gay bashing worse.
So, we came to an agreement, that she could be herself when with me, whether out and about or at home watching movies. We learnt about make up together. I called her Christine at her request, or Chris at work
We learnt about fashion together, and she introduced me to the most fabulous shoe shops in Bristol that catered for larger feet. Though this was pre Kinky Boots days.
She became my best friend outside of work too. One of those who you share a look with and know what each is
Thinking.
After 2 years, Christine decided to explore making the transition. She went to the gp. Had the psyche evals. Had to live and work as a woman for two years before any treatment could begin.
So, I accompanied her to an hr meeting at her request to support her as
She told work, a civil service org, of her medical needs.
Unfortunately the hr rep was a bloody dinosaur homophobe and transphobe. It didn’t go well. Nor was she supported by the line managers in the office.
She was openly bullied or mocked and I couldn’t stop it. I tried.
God I tried… But sexuality wasn’t a protected characteristic back then.
Christine took her life on her 24th birthday. She never did reach full transition.
She was literally bullied to death for wanting to be her authentic self.
So. I will always be an ally. For Christine.
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SueC #GTTOshe/her @topsyscatmum Sep 17, 2023
I wasn’t going to do this… But the conspiracy theories are exhausting. So. Rape. A thread About the stuff we blindly refuse to think about.
1. Rape is not about sex. It’s about power, domination and anger.
2. Most rapes happen within a domestic violence setting or a relationship. Let’s not forget that rape in marriage was still legal until 1991. 
Until 1983 in Canada, but refer also below for the sordid judicial reality
3. 7% of reported rapes are stranger rapes. 59% acquaintances
4. 34% of reported rapes are by family members.
5. In England and Wales only 1.6% of 50k reported rapes per annum result in charges.
6. Only 1 victim in 200 will see charges laid in the 12 months after the rape or sexual assault.
7. Less than 20% of rapes are reported
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Marital Rape Is Criminalized But Not Upheld, Legal loopholes protect the rapist in these cases.
Key Points:
Marital rape was criminalized in 1993. Yet, legal loopholes in many states fail to hold the rapist responsible.
The legal loopholes downgrade the sexual assault to a lesser crime or none at all if the victim is married to their attacker.
State legislators must be pressured to update rape laws to include marital rape rather than considering marital rape a different crime.Ontario ruling shines spotlight on misconceptions about marital rape
Consent and the conjugal bed, Spousal sexual assault has been illegal in Canada for 34 years, but an Ottawa judge seems to have ignored that in a recent ruling. Zosia Bielski reports on one of the least understood but most intimate forms of violation
Criminalization and Prosecution of Rape in Canada
for those jurisdictions that do not have a rape classification) by providing full translated transcripts of the relevant articles of the Criminal code and the Criminal procedure code. Canada does not use a separate rape classification—the relevant criminal code provisions defining assault and sexual assault
The Judicial Treatment of Marital Rape in Canada: A Post-Criminalisation Case Study
Abstract
This chapter analyses the judicial treatment of marital rape in Canada from 1983 until 2013. This review of 30 years of case law – the first comprehensive review of marital rape decisions in Canada since criminalisation – allows an assessment of whether the sexual assault laws that women advocated are being applied as intended. Section II discusses the reported cases of marital rape in Canada over this period, focusing on issues related to consent, mistaken belief in consent, evidence, and sentencing. This analysis reveals that, although there are some positive developments, there are significant ongoing challenges with fulfilling the goal of protecting women’s rights in the application of sexual assault laws in the spousal context. Section III concludes by highlighting the overall trends in the case law and identifying potential responses to the continuing challenges.