For those who haven’t heard, Canadian judge Robin Camp could possibly be removed from the bench for telling a 19-year-old woman who claimed she was raped that she was not doing enough to protect herself from her attacker. Camp also suggested that she provoked her attacker and his advances. Here is a short list of Camp’s most notable remarks towards the victim during the 2014 sexual assault trial:
- “Why couldn’t you just keep your knees together? Why didn’t you just sink your bottom down into the basin so he couldn’t penetrate you?”
- “[Young women] want to have sex, particularly if they’re drunk.”
- “Some sex and pain sometimes go together…that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
These rather controversial remarks were not the first of their kind, and an investigation was launched by the Canadian Judicial Council in November of 2015. The victim, who has concealed her identity, stood before Camp in court in June of 2014. She accused a man from Calgary by the name of Alexander Wagar of raping her over a bathroom sink at a house party. Wagar was later acquitted by Camp in September of 2014. However, the Alberta Court of Appeal overturned Camp’s ruling, and Wagar is scheduled for a second trial in November of this year.
Camp did not only speak to the victim. He did have a few remarks for Wagar as well:
- “I want you to tell your friends, your male friends, that they have to be far more gentle with women. They have to be far more patient. And they have to be very careful. To protect themselves, they have to be very careful.”
The victim has said that Camp’s remarks about her behavior and how she should have behaved made her hate herself. “He made me feel like I should have done something, like I was some kind of a slut.”
Camp testified on September 16th before a five-member committee as part of a proceeding that began on September 12 and will end next week. He has since apologized for his conduct. His attorney argued that Camp has “consistently shown remorse” and has taken steps “to educate himself and gain insight into his beliefs” (Guerra). The official ruling of Judge Camp’s case has not been released yet. It is still unsure if he will remain on the bench.
When I first read Judge Camp’s comments, I felt physically sick. Why is it so hard for the world to understand that rape is not the victim’s fault? No one asks for rape. No specific clothing, no specific attitude, no specific state of inebriation. Nothing. No means no. The only one guilty of rape is the rapist.
Let’s take a look at the words Judge Camp had for the victim’s attacker, Mr. Alexander Wagar. You know what, men DO have to keep themselves safe. It's such a scary, objectifying world out there. They have to walk to the bathroom in groups, they can't go outside at night alone, they can't walk down the street without getting verbally and sometimes physically harassed.
Oh wait...no. That's women.
We live in a society where it is the woman’s fault. It’s the woman’s fault for dressing in a way that’s “asking for it.” It’s a woman’s fault for not being more assertive in saying, “No.” It’s a woman’s fault for being outside alone, for being at a bar alone, for walking out of the grocery store alone. It’s our fault.
Now in no way am I saying that women should throw caution to wind. That’s not at all what I mean. Take care of yourselves, ladies. Take care of those around you. What I am saying is that it is not fair to have to live your life in fear of the man who is walking behind you in the parking lot. It is not fair to have to feel the need to travel in groups in order to feel safe. It is not fair for a man to treat you like his next conquest, and then, if you refuse his advances, it is not fair for him to threaten you with words or with actions. There is something wrong with this culture that has been the “norm” for too long.
All of Judge Robin Camp’s credibility went down the drain once I read these horrible accusations he made of the 19-year-old victim. Judge Camp, I’m sorry that the victim didn’t even think to adjust her pelvis on the bathroom counter so her assailant couldn’t penetrate her. I’m sure that that thought didn't even cross her mind. After all, she was drunk. According to you, that means that she most definitely wanted to have sex.
