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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Sexual Assault Of Intoxicated Women, Janine Benedet Jan 2010

The Sexual Assault Of Intoxicated Women, Janine Benedet

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This article considers how the criminal law of sexual assault in Canada deals with cases of women who have been consuming intoxicants (e.g. alcohol and or drugs). In particular, it considers under what circumstances the doctrines of incapacity to consent and involuntariness have been applied to cases in which the complainant was impaired by alcohol or drugs. It also reflects on problems of proof in such cases. Finally, it examines whether the treatment of this class of complaints tells us anything about the law’s understanding of consent, and capacity to consent, more generally, in the context of competing social understandings …


The Age Of Innocence: A Cautious Defence Of Raising The Age Of Consent In Canadian Sexual Assault Law, Janine Benedet Jan 2010

The Age Of Innocence: A Cautious Defence Of Raising The Age Of Consent In Canadian Sexual Assault Law, Janine Benedet

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In 2008, Canada raised the age of consent to sexual activity with an adult from 14 years of age to 16. This change was motivated, in part, by several high profile cases of internet “luring” of younger teenagers. This article considers whether raising the age of consent has had any benefits. It begins by discussing the history and development of age of consent laws in Canada. The justification for a statutory age of consent has shifted from one based on the age at which a girl is deemed to be sexually available to one based on her capacity to give …


Forced Marriage As A Harm In Domestic And International Law, Catherine Dauvergne, Jenni Millbank Jan 2010

Forced Marriage As A Harm In Domestic And International Law, Catherine Dauvergne, Jenni Millbank

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This article reports on our analysis of 120 refugee cases from Australia, Canada, and Britain where an actual or threatened forced marriage was part of the claim for protection. We found that forced marriage was rarely considered by refugee decision makers to be a harm in and of itself. This finding contributes to understanding how gender and sexuality are analysed within refugee law, because the harm of forced marriage is experienced differently by lesbians, gay men and heterosexual women. We contrast our findings in the refugee case law with domestic initiatives in Europe aimed at protecting nationals from forced marriages …


Forced Marriage And The Exoticization Of Gendered Harms In United States Asylum Law, Jenni Millbank, Catherine Dauvergne Jan 2010

Forced Marriage And The Exoticization Of Gendered Harms In United States Asylum Law, Jenni Millbank, Catherine Dauvergne

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While claims of forced marriage or pressure to marry represent only a tiny portion of refugee claims overall, they provide an illuminating sliver reflecting the major recurring themes in gender and sexuality claims from recent decades. Refusal to marry is a flashpoint for expressing non-conformity with expected gender roles for heterosexual women, lesbians and gay men. This paper presents results from our study of 168 refugee decisions from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States where part of the claim for refugee protection concerned actual or threatened forced marriage. In the present discussion, we highlight our findings from …