Current Events


A recent Statistics Canada report has revealed that only 1 in 5 sexual assault cases end up in court, and only 1 in 10 end up in a conviction. These findings signify the first time statistics have followed sexual assault cases reported by Canadian police all the way throughout the justice system. This discrepancy between cases reported and people convicted shows that there is a huge problem with the criminal justice system, which can be attributed to a number of different factors. This report only serves to fuel the growing global concern over the numerous cases of sexual assault that continue to grow day by day.
A Globe and Mail investigation showed that Canadian police are dismissing 1 in 5 cases on the basis of being “unfounded.” The Statistics Canada report did not include the vast number of sexual assault cases that were dismissed, or the countless cases that remain unreported. According to the article, “It is estimated that only 5 per cent of sexual assaults in Canada are reported to police.” If these numbers were included in the study, the rate of conviction would likely be even lower.
Although these cases are not limited to women, there is often a high amount of prejudice against female rape victims. "Sometimes police are very blaming of women," Dr. Johnson said. "They say, 'What were you doing there, what did you expect?'… That comes out in the research." Many women are dissuaded from pursuing matters in the courtroom, and the process is very taxing and emotionally draining. As a result, many rape victims avoid going to court, especially if the justice system doesn’t do a good job of supporting them.

In my opinion, I think this is a huge issue in society today. The fact that so few people are convicted for this awful crime only serves to motivate and encourage potential sex offenders, and that is certainly not the message that the Canadian justice system should be sending out to the general public. As criminology researcher Holly Johnson said, "I think that's an enormous problem. I think that points to a failure on the part of the criminal justice system to provide a reasonably just response to a very serious violent crime."
This isn’t the kind of world I want to live in, and it’s imperative that we start raising awareness now before crime runs rampant. If sexual assault cases aren’t taken seriously, how might that affect the rate of other crimes? It is important that we hold criminals accountable for their crimes, if only to show the rest of the world that crime will not be tolerated. There are many misconceptions about sexual assault cases, but they shouldn’t undermine the severity of the crime. As stated in the article, “Three-quarters of physical-assault charges made it to court in the period under study, compared to about half of sexual assault charges.” Why should a sexual assault case be treated differently from a physical assault case?
A remarkable thing to note, is that victims of sexual assault are highly likely to know their assailant. However “only 59 per cent of the allegations studied by Statscan involved an accused identified by police.” These statistics have baffled researchers, and only go to show how ineffective the justice system really is.
New Discovery
British scientists have recently succeeded in removing a gene from embryos only a few weeks old. The technology, called CRISPR, has been a very popular subject of discussion over the past few years, due to its success as a gene editing tool. However, it has also been under a lot of scrutiny; many people worry that the technology will be used to select ideal traits, and eliminate others, therefore disrupting the natural process.
In this case, a team of scientists used CRISPR to stop a key gene from producing a protein called OCT-4, which becomes active within the first few days of development in a human embryo.


In my opinion, I think that this breakthrough is a great achievement in modern science. The capabilities of this gene editing tool are practically limitless. In the future, it may be possible to eliminate genetic diseases completely, and this is obviously a very beneficial thing. The technology itself isn’t bad until humans decide to use it for bad; we shouldn’t hinder the development of a technology that can save millions of lives, because it might be used to design children. As seen in the article, “The researchers said their experiments, using a technology that is the subject of fierce international debate because of fears that it could be used to create babies to order, will deepen understanding of the biology of early human development.” If in the right hands, CRISPR can be used for research and medical purposes, instead of being monetized and industrialized.





Comments

Post a Comment